Sorry for another sand thread...

[thewisteron]

...but I haven't been able to find an acceptable answer to these questions:

1) Is it common practice to dig down a few inches when you put sand in your run, or do you put it right on top of the soil? I will have a roof over my run, so it shouldn't get too much rain.

2) I also want to put sand in my coop over a plywood floor. Will it make it too cold in the winter if I use sand instead of straw or wood shavings? I live in Utah where it is fairly hot in the summers (80-90 avg.) and fairly cold in the winter (20-25 degrees on average nights, but can dip to single digits on very cold nights).

3) Do you ever have to completely replace the sand, or do you just add more as necessary?

 

[Nava]

Quote:
just add as necessary, I usually add more when it starts to look dirty * mixed with dirt * and when I rake the poop it gets dusty and I know is time to add more.

 

[Roadstump]

I agree, right on top of the dirt. Unless you put sand in that's 6" deep they are going to dig down anyway. Mine love slightly wet sand in the summer. they wallow in it.

 

[darncat]

More great information!

I am new to the forum and reading and reading and reading all these posts. Just got to love you guys!! Well here I was planning on digging out dirt to put in sand that i got yesterday for my new coop/pen. Contractor is coming out today to install electric in the coop. So figured I would have the coop COMPLETED today..YAY!! Amazing how friends and neighbors have to come by and look at it. Guess they were a tad surprised to see the work put into it. Like a doll house it is!! Finished staining yesterday and want to plant some grass seed around the coop for the construction has made it a muddy mess. Then to straw it. Also added a flowerbed in front of the coop and was thinking about a little leaf lettuce. On one of the steps to the coop I was planning to accent with a flower pot..LOL Just having too much fun. The hens should be here tomorrow...YAY!!

If i could figure out how to post a pic I will share with you all if you like to see it. Sure you have seen many a coop pics.

 

[thewisteron]

How do you keep it from spilling out of your run?

 

[dnowa1975]

If I could add a sand related question......does anyone ever have issues with mites/bugs with sand? I tried sand in my duck run and had a ton of bugs so I removed it....but the moisture from the messy ducks could have had something to do with it. Just curious if anyone ever had similar issues with sand.
Thanks

 

[Junkmanme]

Quote:
You can forget about the grass, flowers and lettuce IF the chickens have access to it. They will eat it ALL up.

-Junkmanme-

 

[Chick named Lola]

I mix some DE into my sand, it dries the poo up and keeps bugs to a minimum by drying them up as well!

 

[elmo]

Quote:
Baseboards.

 

[elmo]

Quote:
I just waited for the chickens to finish off the grass inside the run, then I put down the sand. I just topped off the sand in two of our runs today with two more bags each. We're going to be on the local coop tour here this spring, and I wanted the runs to look their best. But other than that, it's been two years with the original sand I put down.

I use sand in my coop too and love it. However, we don't get very cold winters here in North Texas. As I understand it, the idea of shavings in a winter coop is so that the chickens can nestle into the shavings and help retain even more body warmth that way. You can't nestle in sand! But most chickens will stay on the roost anyway, even in winter, so I'm not really sure how often this comes into play.

Our coop is raised up on those concrete blocks so there's air space under the coop, and you really can feel the coldness from under the coop through the sand on the floor. That was perhaps my only goof. Everything else in the coop is insulated, except for the floor.