Using sand in the coop

[cukooformarans]

I think I read on this forum somewhere that sand is a good alternative for a coop floor cover. I'm really interested in this cover for fly control and cleaning ease. However, the coop that we have is a converted storage building with a plywood floor. My husband says that it should be more than strong enough to hold up the sand but is concerned that it will not be absorbant enough to trap water (spilled waterers or we have a couple of goats which like to climb in the coop and sometimes urinate) for removal and may cause the floor to rot. Any suggestions????

 

[GiddyMoon]

Buy a couple of tarps, the big blue ones, etc..they are really cheap..lay them down then put about 3" of sand on top.

 

[dbounds10]

I use sand in my coop and I love it. I mix in DE and Sweet PDZ (Stall Dry). That seems to make the sand "clump" almost like kitty litter. I spilled some water in there today and it clumped up. I picked it up with my super long kitty litter scoop and it was all gone just like that. However, my coop is not a walk in so I dont have goat pee possibility

I would also think it depends on what type of sand you use. Some are more coarse than others. I am using play sand from lowes in mine.

I clean my coop every day and it literally takes me 10 minutes.

I like the tarp idea to put under the sand if you are worried about rot.

 

[elmo]

I painted the floor in our coop with a couple of coats of latex paint (Kilz, which I had leftover) to seal it.

 

[cukooformarans]

Wow! Thanks for the responses. They all sound like good ideas. We could probably paint the floor and put tarps down, that wouldn't be too expensive. How much sand do you think I would need? My husband said the coop is about 12 x 8. It sounds like a finer sand is better than a more coarse sand.
Dbounds10, Who sells Sweet PDZ, I have never heard of it. How do you mix the sand, DE and PDZ, or do you just sprinkle the sand and PDZ on top after the sand is in place? By the way, your birds are gorgeous

Is that barred rocks and Buff Orps? They look so happy and healthy!

 

[bullington]

You will probably want to add metal flashing around the walls up about 3"or so. It will help preserve the walls etc. Or use a larger tarp to go up each wall where you can anchor it etc.