sand in the sleeping area???

[arcatamarcia]

I use sand in my hen house. It's easy to scoop the area under the roost where the vast majority of poop lands. And anything that is wet dries out in short order. I wouldn't use anything else. But I'm in California and don't have to worry about what's warmer.

 

[the3ofus+oursixchicks]

Quote:
so it sounds like i made a good choice about the sand. also sounds like i need to put something extra on top of it like hay,sraw, wood chips or shavings right?

 

[the3ofus+oursixchicks]

also what i did was put sand on half of the whole coop and left the other half just the yard. i didnt know about their liking to scratch on the ground. so i put it on half and put it in the house they sleep in. ok help with the names. the house they sleep in is called the coop is that right? the pen they play in is called the run is that right? mine free range 97% of the time. we did have chickens as a kid but all these names i want to get them straight. even calling the hens the girls my husband is like they are chickens. i love calling them the girls. so does my daughter. we love our chickens

 

[southerndesert]

the3ofus+oursixchicks :

ok i have been reading here alot about how good sand is. ok my question is is it ok to put it in the floor of their sleeping house?

We do and it is a layer about 3 inches deep that we remove and replace every 2 months or so. Between changes we use fine rakes and cat litter scoops to remove poop mixed with straw they throw from the nest boxes. Makes great material for the compost bins. The sand is dumped out back on our property and after a few years clean enough for reuse in the runs and pen etc.

We are in AZ where we see very little rain so this works well for us, but in real wet climates it may be different.​

 

[ninabeast]

I have been using sand since my hens were 1 week old; they are now 23 weeks old, and half are laying. I live in a northern climate which has been EXTREMELY wet this year. I have had no problems except when I had a waterer leak. They love the sand, it's easy to clean. They dustbathe in it, and so I can control the quality by adding DE, etc.

I haven't changed it yet, am planning to do so next spring, but I have a poop pit and they free range, so there really isn't all that much poop in the sand. It was very cool for them in the summer, with the little heat we had. I haven't had a winter yet, though. I may well put 6" of pine shavings on top for the coldest months, then change it all out in the spring. We just built our nesting boxes, and decided to go with pine shavings there. I didn't want them spending an hour or more on cold sand in the winter. It's all working really well.

 

[dbounds10]

I use sand in the coop and the run, would not have it any other way. So easy to clean and you dont have all those shavings to have to get rid of. The sand keeps everything dry. Here are a couple pics.

I use an extra nest box for my water so they never spill.

This is what I use to clean it out

This is my run

 

[WalkerH]

Quote:
Just wondering, where did you get that long scoop from? That could come in handy if I switch to sand come spring.

 

[dbounds10]

Quote:
Just wondering, where did you get that long scoop from? That could come in handy if I switch to sand come spring.

Ordered it from here

http://goliathscoop.com/index.html