Sand in the run?

[BoerneChickens]

Quote:
Food grade diotomacious earth - helps keep away mites, lice and all sort of other creepy crawlies. Just make sure you use "food grade" not the stuff they sell for pools

 

[lizzy06019]

We put a nice 2-3 inches of 3/4 inch stone down before putting down about 6-8 inches of playground sand in our run. Although the chicks aren't old enough to actually use the run yet, I notice the once muddy area has stayed well-drained during heavy rainy periods. I think the chickens and I will be very happy with this choice! Does anyone know where you can buy DE? And about how much it costs? Do you toss some in every once and a while?

 

[Chieftain]

Quote:
I think that a run based on a compressed layer of gravel, covered with a compressed layer of coarse sand, properly drained, is the absolute best choice you can make for a run, bar none. If you can cover it and keep it dry, so much the better. Your chooks will have a constant source of dietary grit, the sand will dessicate everything the chooks leave behind, and you will never have a sloppy mess.

 

[Ehigh57]

For all the folks that have put sand in their runs, how deep does it need to be and if the run is covered with a roof can it be less deep? Along those lines, what is an approx.cost for sand in that volume? Say for a 16 x 12 ft run.