Sand litter users - this thread is for you

[JanLaurel]

I use sand in my run. It's pretty easy to clean, but the chickens don't seem to forage in it much. Suppose this is one of the downsides of using sand. I have 7 chickens in a 100+ square feet run. To clean it I use a plastic rake this filters the sand out, but keeps the droppings that I then put in the compost. It takes me about 15 minutes. I do this each day or so. Not a huge fan of sand, in a while I might change it to fine mulch and have sand just under the roost.

I have 6 chickens in a 800 Sq Ft fenced/roofed area with sand and they forage constantly. I scatter their pellets and some treats out in the area so they are always searching and finding food. They dig holes in the sand that I have to cover over so I don't break my ankles!

 

[jlwquilter]

My sand is just in the coop. My large run is dirt and mulch and bushes and the chickens dig constantly in it and not so much in the sand inside the coop.

Gravel rake! That’s the name of it . If on occasion I’m in a hurry I use the gravel rake to rake backwards (push the sand with it) and that quickly buries the poop under a thin layer of sand. Buried poop doesn’t smell or attract flies either. The sand desiccation of poop is great!

 

[jeansweezey]

For the past year and a half, I have been using a sand/screenings substrate in my coop. This litter was chosen carefully after doing a LOT of research. I live in the Deep South so this was a great move for my flock. It essentially eliminated odors, decomposition, and cut down on flies by 75% easily. It also helps keep feet clean and has reduced bumblefoot. I have virtually no threat of frostbite but the sand/screenings stay dry in the winter so I'm not too concerned about it. I could always throw down some straw on top if the weather drops too much for an extended period of time.

ANYWAYS, I do have a question for those of you who use sand. I know some people sift the poop daily. I don't have time for that... I *do* clean my coop weekly. The sand absorbs the moisture from the poop,making it easy to clean up with a kitty litter scoop.

I'm interested in hearing how others go about this task.... My coop is 10 ft x 10 ft. I have approximately 35 chickens. It takes me an hour to an hour and a half. I have 2 different scoops... The first one generally gets everything dime sized and bigger and gets about 75% of the waste. The 2nd scoop has very fine screening. I use it to clean out everything missed by the 1st scoop. It is very time consuming but when I'm done, the sand is nice and clean.

On occasion, I use a pitchfork because the girls knock straw out of the nesting boxes and then poop on it which causes clumps. I also use the pitchfork to clean dirty, poopy straw out of the nesting boxes. I compost everything.

As I mentioned, this chore can be very time consuming. I usually throw on some tunes and entertain the girls (who invariably come by to watch and dig through poop in the wheelbarrow) with my singing.

But I do wish it took a little less time. Other than scooping daily, what are some other tricks you are using to clean your coop?

 

[jeansweezey]

For the past year and a half, I have been using a sand/screenings substrate in my coop. This litter was chosen carefully after doing a LOT of research. I live in the Deep South so this was a great move for my flock. It essentially eliminated odors, decomposition, and cut down on flies by 75% easily. It also helps keep feet clean and has reduced bumblefoot. I have virtually no threat of frostbite but the sand/screenings stay dry in the winter so I'm not too concerned about it. I could always throw down some straw on top if the weather drops too much for an extended period of time.

ANYWAYS, I do have a question for those of you who use sand. I know some people sift the poop daily. I don't have time for that... I *do* clean my coop weekly. The sand absorbs the moisture from the poop,making it easy to clean up with a kitty litter scoop.

I'm interested in hearing how others go about this task.... My coop is 10 ft x 10 ft. I have approximately 35 chickens. It takes me an hour to an hour and a half. I have 2 different scoops... The first one generally gets everything dime sized and bigger and gets about 75% of the waste. The 2nd scoop has very fine screening. I use it to clean out everything missed by the 1st scoop. It is very time consuming but when I'm done, the sand is nice and clean.

On occasion, I use a pitchfork because the girls knock straw out of the nesting boxes and then poop on it which causes clumps. I also use the pitchfork to clean dirty, poopy straw out of the nesting boxes. I compost everything.

As I mentioned, this chore can be very time consuming. I usually throw on some tunes and entertain the girls (who invariably come by to watch and dig through poop in the wheelbarrow) with my singing.

But I do wish it took a little less time. Other than scooping daily, what are some other tricks you are using to clean your coop?

I use shavings in the nest boxes. I also have trays (like the ones you put in the bottom of dog crates) underneath the roosts. I can easily clean every day for about 20 minutes. I have 26 chickens in an 8x12 coop.. So many poops! I can't believe I only cleaned once a week when I used shavings on the floor! I use a cat litter tool with a long handle to pick up poops on the floor and a short handle cat litter tool to clean the trays. I like to make the cleaning chore the first thing I do in the morning so they don't walk on the poop and make it unrecognizable.

 

[DobieLover]

What are poop boards and where do you get them? Never heard of them.

 

[ohallorm]

I use sand in my chicken coop and it is very easy to keep clean. I found what I think is a hay fork, and had my husband wrap wire meshing all around the tines. I use the screen covered hay fork to scoop the poop, and I also use a small child size hoe to push the chicken poop on to the hay fork. I shake the hay fork and the clean sand trickles through. I then dump the droppings into a bucket I keep under the coop. Takes only minutes to clean the coop. When the bucket is full I bring it over to my garden area. I used to clean 2-3 times a week when I had 20+ chickens, but now having only 2 birds, I clean once a week. This works perfect for me.

 

[raingarden]

Sand is great as long as it's dry. Our elevated layer coop has a solid wood floor. I only clean it every six to nine months when it starts to smell or attract flys. The sand will eventually become compacted with moisture and poop and has to be chiseled/chopped off the floor.

 

[TJAnonymous]

My sand is just in the coop. My large run is dirt and mulch and bushes and the chickens dig constantly in it and not so much in the sand inside the coop.

Gravel rake! That’s the name of it . If on occasion I’m in a hurry I use the gravel rake to rake backwards (push the sand with it) and that quickly buries the poop under a thin layer of sand. Buried poop doesn’t smell or attract flies either. The sand desiccation of poop is great!

My run is quite large. It is a mix of sand, gravel, dirt, and grass. I'd really like to put down a sprinkler system under some sod. I'd run the sprinklers at night after everyone is in the coop.... But that's for another thread.

I used the gravel rake today. It cut down on the time by half! It still took me 45 minutes but that's because I can't really rake it outside like you do. My coop floor is sand on top of poured concrete slab. There's actually a big step in front of the people door into the coop. I put a board across it at the bottom to keep sand from spilling out of the coop so this limits me from also raking it outside. Also I compost the poop and straw.

However, I was able to rake most of the poop to a center pile and then scoop it with the kitty litter scoop from there. It was a lot easier so I still call it a successful adjustment.

I really need to make some minor adjustments inside my coop, such as installing poop boards, a couple of new roosts, and then block off the rafters so they can't roost up there. This would solve a lot of problems.

 

[Drcallen]

For the past year and a half, I have been using a sand/screenings substrate in my coop. This litter was chosen carefully after doing a LOT of research. I live in the Deep South so this was a great move for my flock. It essentially eliminated odors, decomposition, and cut down on flies by 75% easily. It also helps keep feet clean and has reduced bumblefoot. I have virtually no threat of frostbite but the sand/screenings stay dry in the winter so I'm not too concerned about it. I could always throw down some straw on top if the weather drops too much for an extended period of time.

ANYWAYS, I do have a question for those of you who use sand. I know some people sift the poop daily. I don't have time for that... I *do* clean my coop weekly. The sand absorbs the moisture from the poop,making it easy to clean up with a kitty litter scoop.

I'm interested in hearing how others go about this task.... My coop is 10 ft x 10 ft. I have approximately 35 chickens. It takes me an hour to an hour and a half. I have 2 different scoops... The first one generally gets everything dime sized and bigger and gets about 75% of the waste. The 2nd scoop has very fine screening. I use it to clean out everything missed by the 1st scoop. It is very time consuming but when I'm done, the sand is nice and clean.

On occasion, I use a pitchfork because the girls knock straw out of the nesting boxes and then poop on it which causes clumps. I also use the pitchfork to clean dirty, poopy straw out of the nesting boxes. I compost everything.

As I mentioned, this chore can be very time consuming. I usually throw on some tunes and entertain the girls (who invariably come by to watch and dig through poop in the wheelbarrow) with my singing.

But I do wish it took a little less time. Other than scooping daily, what are some other tricks you are using to clean your coop?

I use this in my nesting box, they are washable easy to keep clean and I do not have to use straw or shavings in my coop. I also use the sand similar to what you are saying only I keep a cardboard under the nesting roost and scrap it off each day and the sand and replace the cardboard every couple weeks. P 6 Pack Washable Nesting Box Pads MAT Bottom Chicken COOP Hen House Poultry NEST I get them from Amazon.com I cut and placed linoleum under neath of them to keep the wood clean and it is also washable. saves money and keeps the coop really clean and my girls love it. My coop is also 10x10 hope this helps. Thanks for sharing your information as well.

 

[Drcallen]

For the past year and a half, I have been using a sand/screenings substrate in my coop. This litter was chosen carefully after doing a LOT of research. I live in the Deep South so this was a great move for my flock. It essentially eliminated odors, decomposition, and cut down on flies by 75% easily. It also helps keep feet clean and has reduced bumblefoot. I have virtually no threat of frostbite but the sand/screenings stay dry in the winter so I'm not too concerned about it. I could always throw down some straw on top if the weather drops too much for an extended period of time.

ANYWAYS, I do have a question for those of you who use sand. I know some people sift the poop daily. I don't have time for that... I *do* clean my coop weekly. The sand absorbs the moisture from the poop,making it easy to clean up with a kitty litter scoop.

I'm interested in hearing how others go about this task.... My coop is 10 ft x 10 ft. I have approximately 35 chickens. It takes me an hour to an hour and a half. I have 2 different scoops... The first one generally gets everything dime sized and bigger and gets about 75% of the waste. The 2nd scoop has very fine screening. I use it to clean out everything missed by the 1st scoop. It is very time consuming but when I'm done, the sand is nice and clean.

On occasion, I use a pitchfork because the girls knock straw out of the nesting boxes and then poop on it which causes clumps. I also use the pitchfork to clean dirty, poopy straw out of the nesting boxes. I compost everything.

As I mentioned, this chore can be very time consuming. I usually throw on some tunes and entertain the girls (who invariably come by to watch and dig through poop in the wheelbarrow) with my singing.

But I do wish it took a little less time. Other than scooping daily, what are some other tricks you are using to clean your coop?

I use this in my nesting box, they are washable easy to keep clean and I do not have to use straw or shavings in my coop. I also use the sand similar to what you are saying only I keep a cardboard under the nesting roost and scrap it off each day and the sand and replace the cardboard every couple weeks. P 6 Pack Washable Nesting Box Pads MAT Bottom Chicken COOP Hen House Poultry NEST I get them from Amazon.com I cut and placed linoleum under neath of them to keep the wood clean and it is also washable. saves money and keeps the coop really clean and my girls love it. My coop is also 10x10 hope this helps. Thanks for sharing your information as well.