Sand litter users - this thread is for you

[TJAnonymous]

That would work. Only thing I'd be aware of is how something more solid like landscape fabric would potentially block/change airflow and ventilation if you have air moving through the roof.

Ah, it's always fix one thing and create another problem instead - LOL! How many chickens are in that coop? I don't recall if you said.

Good point about the airflow. I also have some of that orange plastic barrier fencing that they use on construction sites. I could use that instead and it won't block airflow.

Oh, I have about 35-40 birds in there on average.

 

[jlwquilter]

Sounds like you have a few things to try out

Yeah, you need at least 33 feet of roost using the 10” per bird convention.

I’d be interested in hearing how you work it out, especially covering the rafters if you do take that interim step. Good luck!

 

[TJAnonymous]

Sounds like you have a few things to try out

Yeah, you need at least 33 feet of roost using the 10” per bird convention.

I’d be interested in hearing how you work it out, especially covering the rafters if you do take that interim step. Good luck!

By the time I put in the new roosts (with poop boards!), I should have a total of 42 feet of roost space. It'll just be nice to not worry about getting poop on my head every time I walk into the coop at night. Sadly, this has happened. More than once....

 

[Bar72176]

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?

Instead of sand, I use Horse Stall Refresher granules by Sweet PDZ, which is kinda like baking soda. It absorbs moisture and breaks down ammonia and nitrogen allowing poo to go into garden without composting. I use a plastic rake tines with narrow gaps between tines and rake the poo on a diagonal with short quick pulls. Diagonal raking causes poo to rise up. Makes it alot faster.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Instead of sand, I use Horse Stall Refresher granules by Sweet PDZ, which is kinda like baking soda. It absorbs moisture and breaks down ammonia and nitrogen allowing poo to go into garden without composting. I use a plastic rake tines with narrow gaps between tines and rake the poo on a diagonal with short quick pulls. Diagonal raking causes poo to rise up. Makes it alot faster.

Interesting.... Never heard of Horse Stall Refresher (and I have 4 horses....). How much did you have to pay for it and in what sized coop? Curious how it compares. I paid about $40 total for a pick-up truck load of masonry sand and screenings. I mixed them together and that's what I'm using in the coop. I barely used a third of what I bought inside my 8 ft x 10 ft coop.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Oh, and do you have a picture? I'd love to see it

 

[Bar72176]

Sounds like you have a few things to try out

Yeah, you need at least 33 feet of roost using the 10” per bird convention.

I’d be interested in hearing how you work it out, especially covering the rafters if you do take that interim step. Good luck!

Interesting.... Never heard of Horse Stall Refresher (and I have 4 horses....). How much did you have to pay for it and in what sized coop? Curious how it compares. I paid about $40 total for a pick-up truck load of masonry sand and screenings. I mixed them together and that's what I'm using in the coop. I barely used a third of what I bought inside my 8 ft x 10 ft coop.

It's quite a bit more than sand but it does alot more than sand, also. It is about $16 for a 40# bag at a local small town feed store. It actually absorbs and chemically breaks down the ammonia and nitrogen of the bird poop and animal urine so I can go straight to garden with it without having to compost it. In a horse stall it keeps the urine smell down and floor dry. I sprinkle it on roosts, feed can lids, anything that my birds poop on gets a sprinkling. Then I can come back later with a dog poop rake and roll the poop right off. I just keep a thin layer on the floor of my 10ft ×12ft chicken house and sprinkle more on as needed. I just sift with a rake right out the door into a plastic tub as needed. It maybe worth my while to mix it with sand. Could get same benefits and save more money. I came across it at a Dickie Bub sold as Coop Refresher and looked it up online then found a feed store willing to order it for me. Like night and day compared to straw.

 

[TJAnonymous]

It's quite a bit more than sand but it does alot more than sand, also. It is about $16 for a 40# bag at a local small town feed store. It actually absorbs and chemically breaks down the ammonia and nitrogen of the bird poop and animal urine so I can go straight to garden with it without having to compost it. In a horse stall it keeps the urine smell down and floor dry. I sprinkle it on roosts, feed can lids, anything that my birds poop on gets a sprinkling. Then I can come back later with a dog poop rake and roll the poop right off. I just keep a thin layer on the floor of my 10ft ×12ft chicken house and sprinkle more on as needed. I just sift with a rake right out the door into a plastic tub as needed. It maybe worth my while to mix it with sand. Could get same benefits and save more money. I came across it at a Dickie Bub sold as Coop Refresher and looked it up online then found a feed store willing to order it for me. Like night and day compared to straw.

I have a rather large compost area....but then I compost manure from chickens, goats, horses, and a rabbit. Also lots of leaves, straw, hay, and wood shavings from time to time....oh, and garden waste. So I don't really mind composting the poop. We live in the deep south on heavy red clay soil. Composting from the sand actually helps lighten the soil up a bit so it's been beneficial.

 

[jlwquilter]

I used pzd for awhile. I’d mostly sprinkle it on the roosts, especially where a wet poop was. I liked the product but eventually decided it wasn’t adding much value for me. Putting a splat of dry sand on a wet poop and then scraping it off with the putty knife did about the same job.

I do recall a time when the sand in the coop got wet - leaky hose somewhere else drained into the coop. I did end up digging the sand up and replacing most of it, which was no more work than mucking out a stall or a deep litter coop. The sand I didn’t replace dried out and I put new sand on top. I think I did the dig out one other time due to flooding from a tropical storm. But that’s twice over many many years. And it’s my fault the coop is lower than some other areas. I’d fix that if it was easy but it’s not so I live with the chance of very rare flooding of the sand. Other coops we built don’t have that issue - live and learn!

If I didn’t have access to lots and lots of free sand I’d be looking into using pdz for sure.

 

[TJAnonymous]

I'm thinking about getting something like this muck rake and lining the inside with metal screening. The gravel rake helps but it still takes me far too long to sift out poop.... Besides, something like this will hopefully make it easier on my back too!