Sand vs. Deep litter. Let's solve this

[arcatamarcia]

I think you said it yourself, you don't want to clean it. I use sand. I love sand. But I clean my coop every day and my run once a week. The poop pretty much sits nice and dry on top waiting for me to come and scoop it up. If I only wanted to clean it twice a year I'd go with deep litter where the poop will fall below the shavings. It's all about the right tool for the job. For your job I'd go deep litter.

 

[BantamoftheOpera]

Quote:
This is what I do

 

[rancher hicks]

One thing I noticed this last time I cleaned is that if I have a "deep" pile of chips the poop sits on top and I can just take off the top layer and add more chips. In the run I have straw which keeps their feet drier, though I do have the runs covered and plastic on the outside to deter it from becoming full of snow. You could use clear plastic "drop cloths" , which is easier to see through. I use it on certain sections of the run.

Not the best view but you get the idea.

 

[ontimeborzoi]

I have used both sand, alone, and deep litter, and after nearly eight years of coop keeping, have settled on both, together. : ) I put a couple of inches of sand in, and a few inches of shavings over that. The wood floor stays bone dry, poop rolls up into dry balls. I was afraid, when I first added the sand to the shavings ( rather than the other way around ) that I would end up with the worst of both methods, but as it turns out, I have no complaints. I hated the feel of sand under my feet in the coop, and putting shavings on top mitigates that. Even when its all raked together, the sand sifts down to the bottom and shavings end up on top.
Try combining the two!

 

[rancher hicks]

Yes, but what kind of sand?

 

[franstojek]

Yes I would like to know too! What kind of sand is best that does not get hard and packed when wet?? Part of our run is covered and part open so I am afraid when it rains the sand will get nasty and wet and will take forever to dry. I heard river sand and washed sand but someone said washed sand needs time to dry?? Please advice! Thanks!

 

[gale65]

We've tried both and while the sand dried out the poop nicely, I hated it. I hated the dust and I hated having to scoop it all the time. I think if we had a taller coop at the time I wouldn't have hated it quite as much but even so it was hard for me. Our new coop is tall but it's also bigger and dh was very concerned about me cleaning it because I have carpal tunnel syndrome and would have crampy hands for at least a full day after scooping (I was scooping every 3 days or so so that I could get a day or two of relief in between) and that was only a 4 x 6 coop. The new one is 5 x 10. He really wanted to do deep litter for this coop because he's willing to scoop it all out a couple times a year and this way I'm not in pain all the time.

I wouldn't mind putting a deep layer of sand in the run though. But that probably won't happen. Our run is 10 x 24 and would take a lot of sand.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

On the 2 or 3 times a year each coop gets a thorough cleaning, the deep litter and manure is perfect for the compost pile. Sand wouldn't add any brown carbon material.

 

[Garden Betty]

Quote:
Mine is called washed plaster sand, and looks and feels like medium-grain beach sand. There have been a few rainstorms in the last month, and the sand would dry out in just a day or two (I also live on the coast which gets pretty humid at night). I rake it every week and have never found the sand to be dusty or hard.

 

[WestfarthingHomestead]

Both. Here in Alaska, we need the insulation of deep litter inside the coop. Right now, I have straw outside too, under the tarp-covered run. In the summer, it's a different story.