Sand versus Pine shavings

[aart]

I am thinking that I will need 6 of the 8 cubic feet bags to cover a 13 feet by 12 feet area. Does this sound about right?

I start out with just a couple inches of shavings, then add when they start to thin from breaking down. I just changed out my shavings yesterday and put a bale(8cuft) and a half over my 6x16 coop floor.

One last thing, in your post you mention "PDZ" and "cecal". As a newbie, I am unfamiliar with those term? Can you enlighten me?

Sweet PDZ is the mineral zeolite, find it in the horse aisle of farm stores.
You want the granular not the powder.
I only uses it on the poop boards, which are sifted daily, poops go to friends compost.

'Cecal poop' is excrement from the cecal area of the intestine.
They drop one of these for every 8-10 regular poops.
They look rather different and really stink.

Good visual references for all kinds of poops,
just don't jump to any terrible conclusions too quickly:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/02/whats-scoop-on-chicken-poop-digestive.html
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/?topic=17568.0

 

[chixrus2013]

Today I finished the last steps in constructing my chicken run and coop. My coop has a dirt flooring and initially I was planning to put down pine shavings but after reading the following article, Using sand in your chicken coop, I am leaning towards putting sand on the flooring and poop board. For my brooder, I am thinking about putting pine shavings instead of sand. I would appreciate any feedback on my next planned task.

I am all for sand in the coop!!! I have tried both shavings and sand and sand for me is awesome!!! I can see that you may have difficulty getting it into your coop if it's on a hill though. However, I find it great. It doesn't require a lot of cleaning at all. I use boot trays under the roost bars and I empty those and rinse them off once a week. The sand in the coop barely gets any poop, and what it gets it it seems to dry up and just be scratched into by the chickens. I use a pooper scooper once a week, just to pick up any larger poops, if there are any. Often, there's nothing to pick up. The sand does not smell and I literally had my sand in my coop for over a year without the need to change out. It's great on the chickens feet and keeps their nails and feet healthy and clean. The very best thing I like about it is that it doesn't get all over everything like shavings do. Shavings always end up coming out the door, getting on my feet and clothes, etc. I'm not sure when people are saying they only change shavings out a couple of times a year, what they mean. When I used shavings I had to completly change it out every week or else it really began to smell and get filled with poop and matted down, etc. I had it about 4-5 inches thick. Anyway, I find sand to be much less labor intensive and much less of a mess.

 

[aart]

I am all for sand in the coop!!!

How big is your coop @chixrus2013 ?
...and.....
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[danieltony010]

How big is your coop @chixrus2013 ?
...and.....
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!
View attachment 2171465

My coop is approximately 13.5 feet by 11.5 feet. My run is approximately 12 feet by 32 feet. I am located in Wake Forest, North Carolina (the central or Piedmont section of the state). It is late Spring here. We have four distinct season with hot summers and moderate winters.

 

[aart]

My coop is approximately 13.5 feet by 11.5 feet.

The sand does not smell and I literally had my sand in my coop for over a year without the need to change out.

That's a lot of sand to change out once a year!
What do you do with the old sand?
How deep is it?
Do you scoop poops daily?

I'm not sure when people are saying they only change shavings out a couple of times a year, what they mean.

I use poop boards.

 

[wamtazlady]

My suggestion is to not worry about sand or shavings so much. You try one of them. Then try the other. Figure out what works best for you. What you end up using may or may not be what you first thought would be best. You will not know that until you give each a try.

 

[Happy Lady]

I am all for sand in the coop!!! I have tried both shavings and sand and sand for me is awesome!!! I can see that you may have difficulty getting it into your coop if it's on a hill though. However, I find it great. It doesn't require a lot of cleaning at all. I use boot trays under the roost bars and I empty those and rinse them off once a week. The sand in the coop barely gets any poop, and what it gets it it seems to dry up and just be scratched into by the chickens. I use a pooper scooper once a week, just to pick up any larger poops, if there are any. Often, there's nothing to pick up. The sand does not smell and I literally had my sand in my coop for over a year without the need to change out. It's great on the chickens feet and keeps their nails and feet healthy and clean. The very best thing I like about it is that it doesn't get all over everything like shavings do. Shavings always end up coming out the door, getting on my feet and clothes, etc. I'm not sure when people are saying they only change shavings out a couple of times a year, what they mean. When I used shavings I had to completly change it out every week or else it really began to smell and get filled with poop and matted down, etc. I had it about 4-5 inches thick. Anyway, I find sand to be much less labor intensive and much less of a mess.

I am thinking of doing the sand in my new coop. How many inches deep do you have the sand in the main coop area? My husband is building my pullout trays to go under the roosting area and I have straw or hay for the nexting boxes.