Sand or deep litter for a warmer coop?

[yellowish_chickenfeet]

Hey everyone!
At the beginning of my research, I was sold on the deep-litter method, and I know that's what a lot of people on here use. Recently, though, I have heard a lot about sand. It's supposed to be a good insulator, and I suspect it would produce less moisture than the composting shavings would. I know that moisture is your worst enemy in winter, so it would be great to cut down on that. What are all yous' opinions on bedding?

Thanks!

 

[lazy gardener]

DL. I've visited sand floored coops, and found that while they had the appearance of cleanliness, the air quality set my lungs off for an entire day of misery, (from a 5 minute visit) while I can spend plenty of time in my DL coop without issue. Sand is a poor insulator, while leaves, hay, straw, even shavings are better insulators.

 

[yellowish_chickenfeet]

DL. I've visited sand floored coops, and found that while they had the appearance of cleanliness, the air quality set my lungs off for an entire day of misery, (from a 5 minute visit) while I can spend plenty of time in my DL coop without issue. Sand is a poor insulator, while leaves, hay, straw, even shavings are better insulators.

Okay...I had thought that sand would be cleaner. The cleanliness is one of our biggest priorities, so I guess that rules out sand... What about crop impaction, do many chickens attempt to eat their bedding? That was another of my concerns, I've seen a couple of threads where chickens had gorged themselves on hay and gotten it stuck in their crop. Also the price; sand is a lot cheaper than shavings. Thanks for the response!

 

[lazy gardener]

My chickens occasionally eat hay. I've been keeping them on DL for 4 years and never seen a crop impaction. I also give them mountains of long stringy garden debris, and never had issue.

 

[yellowish_chickenfeet]

I'll keep that in mind then. Thank you!

 

[TattooedChicks]

I use a combo. Sand with lime as a base and desiccant plus clean straw on top for insulation and poop collection. If my coop had an open floor, deep litter would be my preferred choice.

 

[jennyf]

I have sand in a coop and a small run, deep litter in their larger outdoor run. This could be entirely a misperception on my part, but when gets cold, sand is COLD and unforgiving. Both winters when it's been around zero for periods, I've ended up dumping shavings on top of the sand. They seem so much happier to have something to snuggle down into. Then removing the shavings in spring. I love the sand for the ease of cleaning though.

 

[yellowish_chickenfeet]

I use a combo. Sand with lime as a base and desiccant plus clean straw on top for insulation and poop collection. If my coop had an open floor, deep litter would be my preferred choice.

That sounds like a good idea, I'm just trying to find something that works for all of our needs. Thanks for the response.

 

[yellowish_chickenfeet]

I have sand in a coop and a small run, deep litter in their larger outdoor run. This could be entirely a misperception on my part, but when gets cold, sand is COLD and unforgiving. Both winters when it's been around zero for periods, I've ended up dumping shavings on top of the sand. They seem so much happier to have something to snuggle down into. Then removing the shavings in spring. I love the sand for the ease of cleaning though.

Oh, I had heard on a few places that sand is a good insulator, but I guess it makes sense that it would absorb the temperature around it. Thank you!

 

[Deb T]

Im thinking about putting down sand at the base then Deep litter on top of the sand in the RUN. I figure I would probably need to clean it out 2 or 3 times a year. Is this a good plan with sand as the base?