Using sand in chicken run.......yes or no?

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Sand is easy to clean if it is dry - just use a kitty litter scoop, reptile sand sifter (much better than a kitty litter scoop), scoop and sieve, special sand sifting shovel/tool (expensive), homemade shifting shovel, etc. to clean. You can also buy a sand rake (expensive) or just use a plastic leaf rake to rake the top layer towards you in harder to reach areas. When sand is wet, it clumps and doesn't sift and is just a pain.

I have it in my covered run and coop in a dry climate (~16" rain a year) and like it. It is cleaner, than my chicken yard area (uncovered, deep litter method). It must be cleaned every day though, otherwise the poop just gets pulverized into little pieces that cannot be sifted out and you end up with dried granulated chicken poop + sand as your bedding.

Reptile sand sifter/scoop:

Scoop and Sieve:
Use any convenient feed scoop + a sieve
Sand Sifting Tool/Shovel:

Sand Rake:
 
EggSighted4Life said:
I would leave the sand as is and start a semi deep litter method on top. I added all the organic stuff... leaves, pine needles, old shaving or hay, grass clippings... I remove the poos still to the best of my ability every day. But there is no more stink when it rains and it doesn't get muddy.

I am in the PNW, we ONLY got 43 inches of rain so far this season! I have sand in my coop (washed river) and put some in my run. When it rained the edges of the run got soooo stinky so fast. When you remove the poo... the liquid still melted into your bedding and does not get removed. :sick

Since I use droppings boards under my roosts, I still have the sand in my coop which does stay dry and my eggs are usually clean even when it's pouring. The dust that develops with sand is a major draw back and I feel the need to wear a mask if I am scooping it with the kitty litter thing as suggested by so many. I never change it out but I do add some fresh on occasion. Please note if you use sand on your droppings board, moisture soaks right through to the bottom.

I have had it more than a year... I would NOT choose sand as the only permanent base in my run... now I know it gets NASTY fast. And no microbes wanna live in it.

Again I am not doing full on deep litter... but the idea, invite the good microbes to live there and they balance the bad ones! :thumbsup

My aim is to be like the forest floor... lots of debris to look for bugs in. :)
Click to expand...
Great info! Thank you for your suggestions. I worked this morning on removing some sand from the run and using it elsewhere in my yard, so now I have about a 3" base of sand. I also have a large leftover pile of garden soil I got delivered last year that I'm not using. I think I'll haul some over to the run and put some on top of the sand. Eventually it will all mix in nicely. Then I'll just keep adding additional organic material over time. - I like that suggestion.

In my coop I'll be using straw in the nesting boxes and on the floor of the coop. The sand is only out in the attached run, which is mostly covered with a roof or netting where the roof is not.

Work in progress, as usual. :)
 
X_and_Z said:
Sand is easy to clean if it is dry - just use a kitty litter scoop, reptile sand sifter (much better than a kitty litter scoop), scoop and sieve, special sand sifting shovel/tool (expensive), homemade shifting shovel, etc. to clean. You can also buy a sand rake (expensive) or just use a plastic leaf rake to rake the top layer towards you in harder to reach areas. When sand is wet, it clumps and doesn't sift and is just a pain.

I have it in my covered run and coop in a dry climate (~16" rain a year) and like it. It is cleaner, than my chicken yard area (uncovered, deep litter method). It must be cleaned every day though, otherwise the poop just gets pulverized into little pieces that cannot be sifted out and you end up with dried granulated chicken poop + sand as your bedding.

Reptile sand sifter/scoop:

Scoop and Sieve:
Use any convenient feed scoop + a sieve
Sand Sifting Tool/Shovel:

Sand Rake:
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for the links. I'll check them out. I guess the real issue with sand is to keep up on the cleaning and scooping of poop. You are right, its great when its dry.
 
I use sand in my nesting boxes I love it , nice and soft they hollow it out for a nest . Eggs are nice and clean .. I hated straw they threw it out , scratched at it all day and couldn’t get it right . My run is deep litter but my coop floor is also sand .
 
I use sand in the little tray under my roosting bars in the coop. I clean it every day and replace the sand when needed. In the run, I have a dirt floor, and add dried leaves, twigs, pine needles, grass clippings, and other organic matter. We had major flooding this week and it was the first time I had standing water in the run, but it drained and the chickens love digging in it. It really helps control the odor and break down the chicken poop.
 
Ruby's Mom said:
Thank you so much for the links. I'll check them out. I guess the real issue with sand is to keep up on the cleaning and scooping of poop. You are right, its great when its dry.
Click to expand...
I contend that no matter how much you scoop, the moisture that was there stays and dries into some nasty poo dust that invades the air space every time you scoop and shake a little to leave behind the excess sand. I just hate breathing it.

I spent bank to have it trucked in. Love it as a base... hate it on my droppings boards and in my tiny prefab coop. Rice hulls or wood pellets work great in that location.

Hay makes for poopy eggs... never thought about sand in the nest box. Interesting idea!
 

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