Sand under roosts over whole floor of a raised coop?

[aart]

A fifty pound bag costs about $6 at TSC

Hmmm.....Really?!
$10 for 25# at TSC here.
I get a 40# bag for $15 at my mill.

 

[FlyWheel]

You're right, I was thinking of something else.

 

[medicineman2]

What's nice about PDZ (zeolite) is that it not only absorbs moisture but it also forms a weak chemical bond with nitrogen, so it locks up a lot of the ammonia from the birds poop. This not only keeps the coop from smelling as bad it also creates a healthier environment for the chickens. It will continue to do this regardless if you scoop it out daily or every few days. If you compost the zeolite will actually help as it slowly releases the nitrogen into the mix.

A fifty pound bag costs about $6 at TSC and will easily cover 30 square feet a few inches deep. I have two 6 x 1.5 foot trays servicing ten chickens and one bag will last nearly a month before it gets to thin. Most gets stuck to the poop but some gets kicked onto the floor where it still does it's job keeping the bedding odor free. Most people are amazed that my coop doesn't smell bad even though I have ten chickens living in it.

Do you mix the PDZ with sand? Do you cover the whole coop floor or just the poop boards?

 

[FlyWheel]

I use the granulated PDZ (Stall Refresher) in the trays, The bedding (Koop Clean) has powdered PDZ mixed in with it, so I guess both. I have been thinking of mixing in some sand with the PDZ in the trays to stretch it out a little.

 

[thecreekhouse]

The entire floor of my coop is designed to be a poop board. I don’t use any litter or shavings in the coop, instead I use a thin layer of PDZ (a natural substance with a consistency much like sand. You can get it at feed stores like Tractor Supply).

Here’s some info on how this works in my coop: Tour my Tennessee coop (semi permanent tractor) and run

 

[jsr5]

how deep do ya'll typically put sand in your various methods. I already know sand in the run isn't an option it would all just wash down the hill. Think I"m going to seriously give the leaf and forest litter a go in the runs. I"m just setting up my Bantam coop it's a 10x16 shed I plan to partition it off for a rooster area a girlie area and several areas for breeding the various breeds of bantam I have accumulated. so if I am gonna use a deep litter I need more door clearance or if I use sand how much do I need to allow or do I need to allow any and just use it on poop boards under roosts. (though typically my bantams prefer a shelf to any kind of roost I"ve tried building for them. Just looking for the devil and you know he's in the details

If I like the sand in the bantam coop I'l likely convert to that in the big girls coop as well. Not really happy with the pine shaving's there thats why I"m looking to try somthing different. Big girls have a 12x12 I built and they are going to get another 12ft added on as the aforementioned chicken math is getting our goat. Can't imagine life without the girls (and boys) now though. And to think when this got started I only imagined stinky trouble makers who occaisionally caused me the work of butchering. Stinkers moved right in and stole my heart and THEN I discovered bantams. That my friends was the end of the world as I knew it

 

[jsr5]

The entire floor of my coop is designed to be a poop board. I don’t use any litter or shavings in the coop, instead I use a thin layer of PDZ (a natural substance with a consistency much like sand. You can get it at feed stores like Tractor Supply).

Here’s some info on how this works in my coop: Tour my Tennessee coop (semi permanent tractor) and run

By the way like your coop it is eerily similar to the converted tractor store coop I currently house my bantams in. I guess great minds think alike