Sand in the coop?

[team_realtree]

How clean would using sand on the floor of my chicken coop be? How often would it need to be cleaned and if so how would i do it aside from completely swapping out the sand.

 

[joebryant]

Quote:
I wouldn't use sand in my coops, only wood shavings and food-grade diatomaceous earth.
I would use sand and food-grade diatomaceous earth in my run though.

 

[aubreynoramarie]

ive got pine and straw in my coop. the girls love to make a mess of it, and yes it is messy when they decide to kick it all into their food and water.
I ve got sand in my run though, but the girls seem to enjoy digging below it to the soil beneith. i think they find it funner to wallow in. i wish i wouldnt have put sand in my run but all the byc ers suggested it. my girls just seem to enjoy the dirt spots more. then again i haven't had a snow or rain yet, so i haven't yet seen the perks.....pros and cons, man!

 

[elmo]

I use sand in my small coop and love it. I use a reptile litter scoop (made for sand) to pick up the odd poo that falls outside the boot tray I use as a droppings board. Couldn't be easier.

I pick up droppings daily, and the coop floor has stayed pretty much the way it was when I first put the sand down. And I haven't needed to replenish the sand in almost a year. When I build a big coop this fall, I'm going to put sand on the floor of that one, too.

 

[HennyPenny2]

I use sand in both the run and coop. I love it! I used to use pine shavings and I hated it. The sand is much cleaner. The poo sits on top and I use a litter scoop and just sift it out like a litter box. It is cool in the summer too. The run same thing. Also the sand helps dry out the poo and it doesn't smell.

 

[gallinamama]

where do you find a Reptile scoop???

I have just put sand in my run and have been raking it... seems to work but I have to replace some sand lost. I use wood shavings in my coop... does really good soaking up the poop.. easy clean up as I have linoleum on the floor of the coop.. I need to put more windows in the coop because it is so hot right now.. I just let them go from run to coop... so far everything is great!! I do need to find a way to keep the water clean... I have to change it daily and want to be able to go for a day or two away at our cottage. have any suggestions? the food trays are find... figured that one out...but I have spoiled the girls... they love the treats more than the food...

Quote:

 

[elmo]

Quote:
You can get them lots of places. Here's the model I use:

http://www.google.com/products/cata...og_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CC8Q8wIwAg#

I got mine from Petco or Petsmart, can't remember which. A very worthwhile investment of $5, in my opinion. I've been planning to rig it onto some kind of long handle so I don't have to stoop. That's the only thing I want to change.

 

[chuckzoo]

I've just put sand in my run (the coop has pine shaving) and I like it. We bought bags of play sand because it was easier to get to the coop. It is very white at the moment and they look like they at the beach - minus the tar balls!

 

[consdrs]

I have one coop with sand in the run and in the small coop. my other coop has sand in the run only and shavings in the coop. I MUCH prefer the coop with sand in the coop. so much easier to deal with. I have had it that way for a year. when I go to clean it out I sift out all the "stuff" with very fine screen. then add more sand as necessary. its time to clean out my big coop with the shavings and I am going to replace it with sand. shavings are SOOO messy! I use them for nests only. I cleaned out the sand in my big run last fall ( 2 years old) and I spread the sand in my garden. It was basically not sand any more but more of a mix of rocks dirt and sand. started not draining well. we live in PNW with lots of rain so it needed to drain better. chickens like to dig so no matter how much sand there is they dig up everything underneath. No waiting for a year or better for it to break down.

yeah your right I love sand....

 

[Buugette]

Quote:
I wouldn't use sand in my coops, only wood shavings and food-grade diatomaceous earth.
I would use sand and food-grade diatomaceous earth in my run though.

Same here... sand in the run... and chips and DE in the coop.