What base to use for sand in covered run

[Darrininohio]

Hey aart
I’m in southern Ohio. My experience has been that it doesn’t freeze unless you keep it really dirty. I have a manure fork (like a pitch fork but with more forks) with a piece of 1/2” hardware cloth wired to it, that’s what I use to clean the sand and remove the manure. I don’t clean it a lot, about every 2-3 months. The manure catches just a little bit of sand in it. I put that in my garden which really enriches the soil and helps keep it loose too. Ok back to the sand. I have noticed if I wait more than 2 months to clean it, the deepest 2/3 of the sand does get hard and compacted winter time and summer time as well! I’ve never seen it frozen as a rock. I think the sand is awesome. If you clean it more often it will not pack down and stay loose for you. If you clean less often you will probably have to loosen it with a garden hoe or rake before sifting the sand. The girls do a pretty good job of keeping the surface portion loose. It is daily scratched in and they love to take a dust bath in it too.

 

[aart]

I’m in southern Ohio. My experience has been that it doesn’t freeze unless you keep it really dirty.

Thanks for the details, it helps to know from what climate the info is given.
Southern Ohio climate is much different than even here in SW Michigan let alone in @jessabender 's NE Wisconsin.


Oh, and.... Welcome to BYC! @Darrininohio
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[jessabender]

I have about the same size coop and run. I made a raised bed (6” like a garden) but made it larger than my coop and run. I filled it with pee gravel For fast drainage, Then built my coop on top of it. In the bottom of the coop and run I put fencing for predators landscaping cloth to keep the sand from working down into the gravel. At that point I put about 4” of river sand in it. It has worked beautifully for us the last 3 years. I’m in Ohio so we get a fare amount of snow, rain, wind and freezing temps.

Pretty coop you have! I wish we would have done what you did with your land around and under the coop/run...we ended up just working up the land directly under where the coop/run would be placed and put concrete blocks down for the coop/run to sit on...darn! Anywho, so did you just staple your hardware cloth to the bottom/inside boards? Did you use 1/4” to keep the sand in better? Also, is the sand fairly firm to walk on (for the humans )? I would imagine so with the pea gravel base you have. Thanks so much for the photo and your time...this helps!

 

[Darrininohio]

Pretty coop you have! I wish we would have done what you did with your land around and under the coop/run...we ended up just working up the land directly under where the coop/run would be placed and put concrete blocks down for the coop/run to sit on...darn! Anywho, so did you just staple your hardware cloth to the bottom/inside boards? Did you use 1/4” to keep the sand in better? Also, is the sand fairly firm to walk on (for the humans )? I would imagine so with the pea gravel base you have. Thanks so much for the photo and your time...this helps!

 

[Darrininohio]

I didn’t use hardware cloth in the bottom of the coop, I put 1/2” hardware cloth on my manure fork and use it to sift the sand and separate the manure. The bottom of the coop and run is actually open. I wanted max moisture drainage. That’s why I attached wire farm fence to the bottom of the coop and run. Just in case predators try to dig under the frame to get in. I used the wire fence that has 2”x4” rectangles. If you see the pic I added at the bottom, you can see what it looked like before I put the cloth and sand in. On top of that, in the run, I put down landscaping cloth. It’s the black stuff that is usually put under flower beds or mulch. It drains moisture really good and for my purposes also keeps the sand in place. I have between 4-6” of sand on top of that. Walking on it feels solid actually. It doesn’t feel like you walking on a beach, I guess it’s the difference in sand? Hope that helps. Thanks welcoming me here and for your advice about adding my personal info

 

[jessabender]

I didn’t use hardware cloth in the bottom of the coop, I put 1/2” hardware cloth on my manure fork and use it to sift the sand and separate the manure. The bottom of the coop and run is actually open. I wanted max moisture drainage. That’s why I attached wire farm fence to the bottom of the coop and run. Just in case predators try to dig under the frame to get in. I used the wire fence that has 2”x4” rectangles. If you see the pic I added at the bottom, you can see what it looked like before I put the cloth and sand in. On top of that, in the run, I put down landscaping cloth. It’s the black stuff that is usually put under flower beds or mulch. It drains moisture really good and for my purposes also keeps the sand in place. I have between 4-6” of sand on top of that. Walking on it feels solid actually. It doesn’t feel like you walking on a beach, I guess it’s the difference in sand? Hope that helps. Thanks welcoming me here and for your advice about adding my personal info
View attachment 2145343

Ahh, that photo helps me understand. Thank you!

 

[Grey Gables]

Hi! We dug about 7-8” down, added a layer of gravel (1-2”ish pieces?), then put our sand down. You need to compact the sand as you go to help settle it in and make it feel stable to walk on. If your run is covered and the overhang comes out enough, you’ll only get occasional rain inside the run when it storms hard/is super windy. As long as you use sand with varying particle size, I don’t think you’re at risk of it freezing? Cleaning a sand run (especially with 5 chickens) is super easy. The sand dries the poop up and you’ll have little to no smell. At least in my experience!

 

[jessabender]

Hi! We dug about 7-8” down, added a layer of gravel (1-2”ish pieces?), then put our sand down. You need to compact the sand as you go to help settle it in and make it feel stable to walk on. If your run is covered and the overhang comes out enough, you’ll only get occasional rain inside the run when it storms hard/is super windy. As long as you use sand with varying particle size, I don’t think you’re at risk of it freezing? Cleaning a sand run (especially with 5 chickens) is super easy. The sand dries the poop up and you’ll have little to no smell. At least in my experience!

Thank you!!