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

[Jono]

I have a lot of pool filter sand which I use in my clivia potting medium and was curious if anyone has tried it in a brooder (clean pool filter sand of course). It is nice and coarse and dust free. Can anyone think of a reason why not?

 

[candyNflowers]

I dont know if there are any extra chemicals in pool filter sand or not nor how fine it is. construction grade sand might be safer.-lisa

 

[candyNflowers]

I think next time i brood chicks i will go with the construction sand as it has some bigger particles in it. this time round i used straight Stall Dry which worked great to keep the smell down and keep things dry but I think it was probably even more dusty than regular sand would be and the dust clouds made it a pain to sift the poos. I love it in the coop poop board but i dont have to stand the dust there as i can use a kitty litter scoop with bigger holes since the poop is bigger and quicker to sift out than the baby poops. I do like that when i spill water it doesnt waste bedding material like it did when i used the pine pellets although i like the pine smell. -lisa

 

[CoryS]

im going to try sand,I hope its worth it.Because it will smell better and i do not want ti step on pop enymore

 

[yelrom]

Sand sound like areally good idea. Ive heard it on a few other of the forums while searching what to use but im still not to sure about using it for my brooder. Ive recently incubated 5 eggs and there due to hatch this week, ive got wood shavings and they worked fine with my other lot of chicks but im willing to try sand with these ones but im still not sure about some things :
•will the the day old chicks eat it?
•will they breath it in?
•is it ok for the babys to sleep in?

Please help me ive only had chickens for nearly a year now and im pretty new about it.

 

[Suzierd]

Sand sound like areally good idea. Ive heard it on a few other of the forums while searching what to use but im still not to sure about using it for my brooder. Ive recently incubated 5 eggs and there due to hatch this week, ive got wood shavings and they worked fine with my other lot of chicks but im willing to try sand with these ones but im still not sure about some things :
•will the the day old chicks eat it?
•will they breath it in?
•is it ok for the babys to sleep in?

Please help me ive only had chickens for nearly a year now and im pretty new about it.

I would use paper towels for the first couple days then switch to sand. This gets them eating good they see the food easy.

 

[txnative]

I'm a first-timer with chicks and decided to go with sand. I used paper towels on top of the sand for 3 days and now they are just on sand alone. They were two weeks old yesterday. I am loving the sand! I got a reptile scoop to take care of the poop, and I have a bag of sweet pdz if it starts to smell, but so far so good. I have no other bedding to compare it to, but I'd definitely do sand again. When the girls move outside I'll be using the sand to fill in holes in the driveway, too, so it has definitely been worth it!

 

[erinnoie]

Got some chickies today and we're trying out the sand method! Thanks for the advice!

 

[barbjess]

I found some at Home Depot.

Do you remember what the sand was called? I stopped in and got this sand based on the clerks recommendation. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Quikrete-50-lb-Play-Sand-111351/100318476#specifications

Is this okay?

 

[txnative]

I got my play sand from Walmart, so I'm sure the Home Depot sand will be good, too.