Sand on the floor of the coop?

[AZ Heat]

I know there are quite a few people here who like to have sand in the run, but what about in the coop? Is it a good idea to put a few inches of sand on the wood floor of the coop?

 

[pipermark]

Cant hurt, only caution , I purchased non-sterilized sand once for my brooder. I gave the birds Cocci. This is a parasite that lives in the ground.

Food for thought.

 

[AZ Heat]

Quote:
How do you sterilize it if you buy a truck load of it from the local concrete plant?

 

[pipermark]

its probably not sterilized. I purchased sand by the bag, usually sand for childrens sandboxes is sterile.

If you want to be cautious and you feel strong about doing this, you could switch them to medicated feed for about a month after you put the sand in.

 

[AZ Heat]

So buy sterilized sand...sounds like the safer route. Thanks.

I'll be doing that then and pouring it in the coop and run, one bag at a time.

 

[DawnSuiter]

Im a big fan of it.. use it in every one of my coops & pens.. check out the link in my signature line

 

[BJ_BOBBI_JO]

We are thinking about putting sand in the coop that we are cleaning out for our chickens to start using for the winter.

It is about a 20 foot long 10 foot wide coop so I figure we will have to get a truck load.

About how often do you need to change the sand?

Will it last a while?

Do you need to poop scoop the coop like a cats liter box if it has sand in it?

My coop has a cement floor to it.

 

[DawnSuiter]

Quote:
I think I covered all of this on my BYC page: https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=11374-sand-for-your-coops

Hope that helps

Added: I change the sand if I move new chickens into the place... otherwise I have found no reason to change it really other than once per year for a fresh new start