Sand in the brooder -- it's worth it!

[DelcoChix]

Thanks for sharing the information--I've been thinking about sand for the runs, read good reports on it, but not about the brooder use.
The "ChickenLady" on facebook has a great idea for a scoop for those who want to use sand in their coop or run (when a small scoop isn't practical)....she wraps hardware cloth around a plastic pitchfork (we have 4-5 of them for the much larger horse stall clean-up!), and secures it with wire ties. That way it's not too heavy but you can sift the finer sand easily. I plan on making one once I get the sand for the run later this spring. If you haven't seen the pitchfork I'm talking about, google "Future Fork" for an idea, although they are at TSC or most any farm store, an lots of online horse/tack shops have them, such as Big Dee's, Chick's, etc. Future Fork is a name brand, there are lots of others...cost $10-20.

 

[3riverschick]

Future Fork is a name brand, there are lots of others...cost $10-20.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000HHLRGM/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new

 

[mandelyn]

I'm a sand convert too! I have a rubbermaid start-up brooder that gets paper towels the first week. That way they learn what food is. Then they go into a bigger space with sand. I use a wire screen kitchen strainer and a dust pan to clean, it's faster because it processes more per scoop.

I have sand in the coop for the big birds, and use the pine shavings in the run. Wet sand stinks to high heaven. So you need a roof over a run, or more of a gravel base.

The compost pile benefits, more poo, less bedding, some sand aids in soil drainage. Using sand as bedding is a must if you have clay based soil and plan to use your compost for gardening, the mix after you till it in is nice. I haven't bought any soil ammendments at all because my compost is 2 years old now and just perfect.

Bedding costs are way down too. The sand lasts until it's gone. The pine shavings last until they're soiled.

Used to have a to clean brooders with a big black garbage bag for all the pine. Now? Just a little grocery bag.

After the chicks are raised, throw the sand in the coop and keep on using it.

 

[ni22]

I planned to use sand in my coop but didn't even think about using it in the brooder, my girls are 4 days old and I think I am going to switch them over to it today. The pine shavings are a huge mess!

 

[Seaarla]

I'm going to try the sand as soon as I can get to a pet store to buy it. At the barn where I keep my horse we had a load of white chert dumped to level some stalls. I am wondering if that will work for now? Does anyone know? If so it's just right down the road and I won't have to go far or long from my babies. Thanks

 

[mandelyn]

Not sure about the chert. Is it finely ground like sand or larger bits? If it's larger grain than sand it will be difficult to clean. Sand falls nicely through screen, which is the best way to clean.

A pet store more than likely will have small bags of reptile sand for a lot of money. A hardware store will have larger bags of children's playsand for a better price.

Using unwashed sand will be dusty. Playsand is the type that has been washed and sifted, and is better suited to a brooder environment.

 

[ni22]

I picked up the sand for my coop out of the desert. There is an abundance where I live, I did pour it through a screen before putting it in the coop though to get any debris out.

 

[chickendude9]

Well, im running low on my wood shaving im using..ill give sand a try!

 

[Bellatrixed]

Just a mini update, I've now been using the sand for three weeks now. There is still NO smell at all! A couple times it started getting a little "chicken-y" smelling... not really a BAD odor, just an odor... and I just added more Sweet PDZ to the sand and the smell went away.

The only issue I'm having is that after week two it started getting ridiculously dusty. The only reason they're still in the house at this point is because their outdoor brooder isn't finished yet, and then we got a big snowstorm so I decided to just keep them in for another week. But the dust is awful.

I'm pretty sure the dust is mostly from the chickens themselves than from the sand, though, but the sand can't help! I would still never brood with anything else. It only takes about 5-10 minutes a day to scoop it all out.

 

[aggiemae]

I use sand in the brooder after the first few days.

Do keep in mind that it heats up, holds and hold heat far longer that shavings and that even the areas not under the light can get too warm. So raise you light an inch or two right away then keep checking the chicks for the first 6-8 hours. Also make sure that have plenty of water (with ACV) for hydration just in case they get over heated.

One of the main reasons that chicks stink because their poop stinks and they pretty much wallow in it. Shredded pine makes i worse. We use stall dry, with is volcanic sand. BTW washed beach sand is safe if it's washed provided the beach isn't polluted, but it's isn't nearly as absorbent or quick to dry are Sweet PZE or stall dry.

Something you can do to reduce the poop odor is giving your chicks a few spoons of butter milk mixed with there starter feed ever two days for a week. and this will prevent pasty butt too. You can use plain active culture Yogurt but chicks don't seem to like it as much.

I usually mix it and let it dry out for a few hours and them put it into the feeder. I use about 1/2 spoon butter milk per chick.