Stinky sand!

[sbergstrom09]

Hi everyone! I switched to sand last fall for my coop due to the cost of shavings being too much. The sand just stinks like ammonia! We do a thorough cleaning of poop but have to buy/diy poop boards under their roosts. There are two small open vents and a small window that’s open to help with ventilation. Over the weekend I even went through and cleaned the sand plus mixed it to allow any wet sand to dry. Why does it stink?! Help!

 

[Debbie292d]

You could try mixing horse bedding pellets in it. We just use those on the coop floor and it absorbs poop, moisture, and odors, no smell, no maintenance.

 

[Happy hen lover]

I've heard sand sticks and stays wet. I use deep bedding method and my bales of pine bedding are 6.00 a piece. It takes 1 and 1/2 to fill my coop floor . I stir and toss it only once a year. Are you familiar with this method? There's a great article about deep bedding on here if you need to read more about it. No smell low maintenance.
I also have poop boards filled with coop refresh or pdz to a few inches. Scoop once a week some scoop daily like a cat box. Hope this helps .

 

[Jimmy W]

I have construction sand in my run, even though the run is covered, when it rains, the sand grabs the moisture. (my mistake for putting part of the run in a swale) I do get a slight odor at times and remove droppings daily from sand in run and poop boards in the coop.

I assume you do not have a raised coop, and use sand as the floor in the coop. If that is the case, I suspect the ground moisture is not draining and the sand is holding the moisture.

Other than removing the sand and going back to shavings or something cheaper, not sure on a quick and easy solution.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I don't have experience with sand but photos of your set up would help, like Jimmy W mentioned it makes a difference if the coop is raised or on the ground. It's a little concerning that the vents are described as small and that there's an ammonia smell.

 

[FrostRanger]

If you don't mind getting a ton of woodchips, chipdrop will give you a dumptruck of them for free. You'll just have to go on their website and see if it's available in your area

 

[Carters Chick House]

Hi everyone! I switched to sand last fall for my coop due to the cost of shavings being too much. The sand just stinks like ammonia! We do a thorough cleaning of poop but have to buy/diy poop boards under their roosts. There are two small open vents and a small window that’s open to help with ventilation. Over the weekend I even went through and cleaned the sand plus mixed it to allow any wet sand to dry. Why does it stink?! Help!

I switched to the sand used for horse stables. It locks in odors and dries up chicken droppings fast. I set it up like a cat box.

 

[aart]

I switched to the sand used for horse stables

So Sweet PDZ Stall Freshener?

 

[Carters Chick House]

So Sweet PDZ Stall Freshener?

Yes. It is working great for me. There are different brands to choose from. All are good and won't harm animals.

 

[sbergstrom09]

You could try mixing horse bedding pellets in it. We just use those on the coop floor and it absorbs poop, moisture, and odors, no smell, no maintenance.

How often do you have to change it all out?