stinky sand

[zoelovesmom]

I am not loving sand as much as a lot of people here, so I think I'm doing something wrong. I don't have time to clean it out every day, because it takes me 15-20 minutes to scoop the whole coop and run, and it isn't a lot of space. So I clean it every 2-3 days, and it gets stinky. I would love to do the DLM method, and I do that in the upper levels of the coop, but not in the run and on the ground level of the coop. I have tried mixing DE in with the sand, but basically it HAS to get scooped every day or it gets stinky, and scooping means getting on hands and knees with gloves and spending quite a bit of time. What am I doing wrong?

TIA for any tips.

 

[ivan3]

How many chickens in what sized run? What grade of sand (extremely fine/coarse)? Any slope to the run at all? What is composition of ground (clay/topsoil/etc)?

 

[SteveBaz]

Need drop down some AG Lime on the sand and mix it around or even better turn in some DE diatomaceous earth and thats good for lice sand baths worming. You can mix DE in the food sparingly and its a very effective wormer I have been told.

 

[Jferlisi]

First off how many birds use this run and how big is it? If its to small thats the problem. I dont use sand in my run but i think in any run if you have to many birds for to small of a run that would be the case in any of them. I just use the what is already there in the run but i use the deep litter method in my coop and i love it.

 

[gale65]

Quote:
She mentioned that she used DE.

 

[gale65]

btw she has 4 chickens, according to her signature, and THIS is the coop she has.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

You can mix DE in the food sparingly and its a very effective wormer I have been told.

DE has no effect on internal parasites​

 

[chfite]

The run area is quite cramped, according to the photograph of the coop and run. It seems that it would be difficult to stand and rake in this run.

I made mine so that I could stand and work in the run and reach into the coop with ease. Nevertheless, deep sand and a fork with mesh might help.

Chris

 

[Ole rooster]

Looks to me like it's pretty small and confined. It will get smelly with four hens and not cleaning for 3 days. That's a lot of poop to pile up. The trick to odor is cleaning. You can mask odor just like using deoderant, but nothing works like cleaning. Just think if you didn't flush your toilet but ever 2 days. No, come to really think of it, just flush it. That's not a pleasant thought at all.

I would find time early in the moring. Just 10 minutes will do wonders.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

The more you crowd chickens, the more often you have to clean. Unfortunately, that's just the way it works. Coop manufacturers' recommendations are to pack them in like sardines. They don't have to deal with the management issues later. They just want to make their coop look good and sell it.

That must be miserable crawling on your hands and knees to scoop.

Have you thought about either buying or making a long handled tool for the scooping? That's the first thing I'd do. Some people buy the little forks sold for cleaning up after mini horses. You could also duct tape a long dowel or replacement handle for a garden tool to whatever you scoop with now. Your local hardware store should have both of those. You can also use a little garden rake to rake it up. Pet stores sell a little rake and pan for cleaning up after dogs, as well as scoops. They have long handles, as well.