Sand or soil?

[Farmerharry]

So I’m planning to change out the sand in my coop. I have 2 hens (1 bantam and 1 australorp) + 1 Rhode Island Red rooster. They spend most of their day inside the coop while I’m not at home, but I let them out for atleast 2-3 hours during the day. I want to change out the sand inside because it smells pretty bad due to all the accumulated poop. Is it better to use soil or sand or a mixture of both? My neighbours use soil for their 3 bantams but I’ve always used sand, so just what’s to know which one was better. Doing some research, I found out there’s actually many different types of sand and soil, so which type would you say is the best?

Also, it’s summer right now and I can see my chickens are feeling very hot. I put a standing fan connected on an extension cable to provide them some air , it is working well but is inconvenient because if it rains, I have to move it away. Any suggestions for what else I can do?
Thanks all

 

[rosemarythyme]

Have you considered deep litter? I don't know what you might have access to but it's a mix of materials like wood chips, shavings, garden and plant bits, dry leaves, grass, etc. It's good for drainage if you get rain, and the materials will compost with the chicken poop as the chickens scratch it around. If managed right there should be little to no smell and you end up with a pile of compost for your garden.

 

[Alaskan]

for a small coop and just a few chickens, have you thought of using sweet PDZ?

 

[Alaskan]

for a small coop and just a few chickens, have you thought of using sweet PDZ?