Why I LOVE sand in my brooder!

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Hmmm...you guys might have convinced me. I'm trying to decide what I'll use in my brooder and this sounds pretty good. FlossyandPrissy--where in Utah are you? I'm in Riverton!
 
MandiB said:
I did it! I built them a bigger box yesterday and got sand (paver sand..it had bigger pieces no silica) at Lowes. It took an entire 40 lb bag and some "desert sand" I put on top (this was larger pieces, too and I thought I'd try it).

I put the first one in and then the second and suddenly the cheeping got super loud. Put them all in and it was like a chick party! They were scratching and pecking at it and hopping up and down, running and flapping. It was so cute. They were really pleased and seemed to enjoy kicking it.

I put down food on a paper towel so they'd get it, tough I saw a bit of sand tasting. When I checked on them later they had spilled their water. thank goodness I'd put a folded puppy pad under it which absorbed most of the water. The sand was a bit damp, but I turned it and put done paper towels down and refilled the water. They must have knocked it over while hopping around.

All was well before bed. Eating from the feeders and a bit of scratching. I'm buying more sand today so I get it a. It deeper in there. Scooping was a breeze with a reptile scoop (made of mesh).
Click to expand...


My chicks did the same thing! They got loud and happy and dust bathed for several minutes. Was fun to watch! For others reading this, I saw what was going on and took the food and water out til they calmed down. Since then they take occasional dust baths fora few seconds, but havent gone crazy enough toknock things down.
 
Another sand lover here. I've tried everything and it'll be sand from now on. For those worried about the cold temps, the sand heats up from the lamp and the babies love it. Honestly, my biggest reason that I like it is for fire safety. Shavings and straw can catch fire if your lamp is too close or somehow falls down. I've never seen sand burn, so I'd say it's a lot safer. My chicks have been on it since day 4 or 5 and they don't mistake sand for food. I have my feeder (small round plastic "normal" feeder) sitting in a clear plastic 16 inch flower pot base so the feed doesn't get mixed into the sand.
 
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We live in a part of FL known as the "sand hills" so my run (like most of the yards around here) is almost totally sand. I've grown rye seed on burlap mats to give the chickens something more "yard-like" plus they love to eat it (the grass...not the burlap mat, lol). So more by nature than by design, our run is sand and you're right, it is easy to clean. Their coop is covered with deep straw over a linoleum floor and that's pretty easy too using the deep-litter method.
 

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