Sand or pine shavings for winter warmth??

[leighks]

Our coop is just about ready for the pullets to move in (1st time chicken owners), but I'm still debating what to use on the coop floor.
We live in western New York where summers can be hot and humid, and winters can be cold and snowy, with wind chills up to -15 during the worst days. Most of the winter's average temps are in the teens.
I was going to use sand on the coop floor but read sand gets very cold in the winter. The coop has concrete floors, is 15'x15', and will have 6 chickens.
What works best to keep a coop warmer- sand or pine shavings? I don't want to put something on the floor now only to change it in a few months. What do others in 4 season areas use on the coop floors?
Thanks!!

 

[azygous]

I use sand in both coops and runs. It acts as a heat sink, warmer in winter and cooler in summer. While temperatures may dive, sand will resist losing heat for much longer than the cold spell lasts. In summer, it can be dampened to create evaporative cooling. Even dry, it heats up slower than the ambient temp, providing a cool place for chickens to hunker down in.

The ease of cleaning is a plus, too.

 

[ChickenMammX4]

We use pine flakes in our coop. Since we have a poop board under the roost filled with Sweet PDZ which we sift out daily (or about), the floor stays pretty clean and we only clean it out twice a year. Any poo gets hidden in the pine flakes so the floor always looks clean. I have no experience with sand, (we do Deep Litter in the run) but people seem to either love it or hate it.

 

[Little Coop on Salt Creek]

I use sand in both coops and runs. It acts as a heat sink, warmer in winter and cooler in summer. While temperatures may dive, sand will resist losing heat for much longer than the cold spell lasts. In summer, it can be dampened to create evaporative cooling. Even dry, it heats up slower than the ambient temp, providing a cool place for chickens to hunker down in.

The ease of cleaning is a plus, too.

We did sand in our coop and first 2/3 of the run. We love it, just scoop poo out like a big kitty litter box. Really keeps poo aroma to a minimum.