Sand material?

[Hippie SkiSlope]

I have been thoroughly convinced to try sand for coop bedding! I contacted a local quarry and inquired about coarse sand/river sand. They said they only have limestone products and could offer crushed limestone. Is limestone fine or does it need to be silica sand? I can’t seem to find the answer to this anywhere...

 

[DobieLover]

I have been thoroughly convinced to try sand for coop bedding! I contacted a local quarry and inquired about coarse sand/river sand. They said they only have limestone products and could offer crushed limestone. Is limestone fine or does it need to be silica sand? I can’t seem to find the answer to this anywhere...

Can you go to the quarry and get a sample? The sand shouldn't be too coarse or sharp.
Where are you located? Some areas are better suited to sand than others. For instances, I'm in the north where we experience all 4 seasons. I use poop boards to manage 95% of the load in the coop then bed down the coop floor with hemp bedding (and have used large flak pine shavings previously).
I eliminated sand from the sand/PDZ mix on the boards and switching over to hemp has further reduced the dust load in the coop. It's still dusty, but not nearly as bad as it was. I want high air quality more than I want something easy for me. But the PDZ and hemp combo are pretty darn easy!

 

[Hippie SkiSlope]

I found another quarry not too far and called them today. They have silica sand. I got to pick the guy’s brain a little about the types and explained what I was hoping to do. He said the limestone will cake up over time so that’s definitely a no go.
Is hemp easy to find for you? I’m in PA and we’re not a green friendly state. I have no idea where I’d look for hemp products, but that does sound intriguing. Forgive my beginner questions, but what is PDZ?

 

[aart]

Forgive my beginner questions, but what is PDZ?

Sweet PDZ is a mineral called zeolite, found in the horse aisle of farm stores(TSC).
You want the granulated, not the powder.
Works great on poop boards....unless you have a small coop I'd not use as floor bedding.
With poop boards my large flake pine shavings last 6 months or more on the floor.