The outside run is covered because it rains here alot. That may be the case. Because newly hatched chicks have not had exposure to outside pathogens yet, too much exposure too early can cause them to get sick and die. I will point out that sand is not so great when it is soaking wet, I would not recommend it for runs exposed to rain and use it in dry areas only. Do chickens need grit if they have sand? Here is a list of the supplies that I use (includes Amazon links): Flamethrower (most people dont use this). A few articles have mentionedsmall chicks eating the sandand dying from an impacted crop. And when I used pine shavings or straw in my coops, the coops always had a little bit of a poop smell to them no matter what I didexcept when I first removed all the old bedding and put the new stuff in. The girls love to take dust baths. For a summary of the latest research on this, see my article, Pine shavings in the coop: The secret chicken killer? That fresh bedding smell doesnt last for long though. Because my chickens are free range, I have not bothered putting bedding in their run (and their runs are not covered). When the temp dropped to 35 BELOW we did add some dry straw to the floor for extra comfort since we dont heat our coops. The price cant be beat either, 1 yard of beach play sand costs $34 dollars and is enough to cover my 88 coop all year, plus fill a 66 sandbox for kiddos in the summer. While such soils would be a mixture of soil and sand, some plant growth stages do well with one or the other, or well-mixed small quantities of each. 56 2800 lb. Liquids drain into sand. GO BACK; Energy; Propane. Another concern has to do with heating a sand-filled brooder. About Us Become a Dealer About Home Hardware Careers Store Locator Supplier Guide Media Releases Legal Safety Data Sheets Privacy Policy Terms and Conditions Sitemap Accessibility Help & Support Return Policy Product Recalls Still, I havent met too many fastidious hens in my time. The nesting boxes have plenty of straw. Its particularly awful in the winter when theyre mostly confined to the coop. Its up to you to look carefully at each one and decide if it is valid. Also I read that straw can get ingested and tangled in the crop so to avoid straw with chickens:). If you havent sited your coop, nows a good time to reconsider placement and move it to a drier location. My girls love it, easy to dig in & easy for dusting. For the same reasons, sand coops have markedly fewer flies. As a side note, I still refer to chicken litter as bedding, rather than litter, just because people dont really know what Im talking about otherwise. Please DO NOT use sticky fly paper in coops as flying birds will fly into it at some point. Some sources stated that sand was a good medium for hiding and growing E. coli and coccidiosis. Chickens dont bedthey roost, preferably on wood of some kind. These sands may have high levels of bacteria, Coccidiosis, or who knows what else, that you dont want your chickens around. It's perfect for what they need for dust bathing and grit. Because chickens do not sleep on the floor, they DO NOT need bedding. I dont think it is worth it because you will have to replace it often. Not everybody does this step, but it gives me peace of mind. The storage of food in a chickens crop means that she can eat a whole bunch of food at once and then go to a safe area to let it digest. For more information on silicosis and chickens, see my article, Will sand bedding kill your chickens? The pros of using sand in the chicken coop, The cons of using sand in the chicken coop, How sand holds up against other bedding types, When not to use sand for chicken coop bedding, Exactly how to find and buy sand for your chicken coop, Lets start by getting this one thing out of the way. Im not sure how they would feel about sand and pebblesI did ask them, and they were non-committal. Buy Now . It does not smell, tends to be clean, is healthy for chickens. Remember, you need to place 4 to 6 inches of sand in your coop. Quikrete Play Sand 50lb Share this: Share on Facebook Pin on Pinterest Tweet on Twitter UPC: 039645111352 SKU: 07001611 Unlike many other forms of bedding, like pine shavings, sand is a material that chickens in the wild are likely to see and live on. Although there are some treatments for crop impaction if caught in time, you want to avoid this condition at all costs. Quikrete. Some people say that their chickens eat more of their own feces when its covered in sand. There is no such thing as a maintenance free hen house unless you hire out the daily chores, and what fun would there be in that? I spray it down good every night and rake every morning. But there are also plenty of anecdotes where play sand has caused major problems. I dont know what has pooped in it. Ive seen the opposite. Research backs this up as well see my article here. All Purpose Sand (Quikrete) All-purpose sand is ideal as it has the right texture and size. Chickens broke their legs jumping onto it. The hens did fine, my big Bielfelder roo got a little bit of frostbite on his comb and wattles. People get used to it, which is why you dont hear many people talking about this, but when you first get started with chickens, you really have the yuck factor when it comes to the bedding. Most large poultry houses and the majority of backyard folks use some other substrate such as; hay, straw, shavings, mulch, and leaf litter. Are the pebbles on the bottom going to help with drainage? (construction sand on the floor). But can I compost the poop even with the sand and small pebbles stuck to it? Check out the video below to see just how fast a fire can start in your coop if you use organic bedding, like pine shavings, and a heat lampspoiler: within 45 seconds. Chicken Coops. Apparently, even the experts cant agree! Shop Ice Melters & Sand and a wide variety of other products at your Local Southern States. All-purpose sand is deemed acceptable. Sand In Your Chicken Coop Maintenance and Replacement Intervals Coop Heaters Shop All. I leave the old sand out for the year and let it get rinsed and dried repeatedly through the year by the elements. The reason crop impaction is a much more serious problem with play sand than larger-grained and mixed-grained sand is because play sand is composed of grains that are very fine and of similar size. This important piece of information comes from the Chicken Chick. Thank goodness for husbands who support your chicken addictions! By the way, we use hay in our coop and the girls love scratching around in it! They say there is little to no odor, flies are minimal, and it is very little to compost! Eventually things will settle and gravel will pack in the clay, and the sand base will be more drainable. It didnt dry out until summer the next year. Youll potentially have ammonia problems, mold, bacteria, and lots of frostbite in the winter months. That's two less things you need to worry about. It is ideal for coops in the summertime as long as your coop is enclosed (i.e., four walls and a roof). Your email address will not be published. Always read your NEWS!!! Buy Now . Can be used as a fine aggregate in Concrete Mix Can be used to provide traction on Snow and Ice. I have fashioned a large scoop out of a 5 prong pitch fork using 1/4 in hardware cloth on the fork, it makes a great scoop. You can see that the silica sand contains tiny pebbles that allow this sand to drain really well. All Concrete and Concrete Tools Cement Mixers Concrete Mix Concrete Patch and Repair Mortar Sand Mix. Still, if you do a quick housekeeping every day by removing the fresh deposits and hanging flypapers, flies should be minimal anyway. I worry that the sand may have some pathogens in it from these wild animals and open range livestock. This option is expensive, but the benefits will be better ground to walk on and fewer mosquitoes! Ive been using childrens play beach sand inside the coop for several years and Ive never had another outbreak of coccidiosis since, in fact there has been no viral/bacterial/respitory illnesses or mites/lice/worms in my birds whatsoever. She says that if the sand does get wet, you just need to turn it with a shovel or a rototiller. But to give you an idea of how much sand you might need, I needed about 3.15 cubic yards of sand to fill my 10x10 coop to a 4-5 inch depth. An important point here is that even if you have another type of bedding, like pine shavings or straw, if the bedding is getting wet, your chickens are going to really suffer. Any bedding that gets soaking wet is a huge problem. Ive read about a couple people who have said that their sand froze in the winter and it was so hard that when their chickens jumped off the roosts, some broke their legs. . Although sand may save you money in the long run, it may be expensive in the short run. The dust from fine-grained sands may even eventually cause silicosis in your chickens. With sand in your coop, you dont have to worry about the increase in moisture leading to a drastic increase in ammonia. I ended up using this and mixing it with some dirt. Quikrete is all-purpose sand and is more course than play sand. I have seen some sands with these names that are too fine grained. Find A Store; Energy. I have more than 50 chickens and have had poultry for more than 40 years. You may love itor you may hate it. Sand in the coop is an excellent source and is readily available in the winter months when outside access to grit is limited. When a chicken eats something, it sits in her crop before going through the digestive process. The sand used when building a paver patio or walk is a coarse builder's sand, with pieces ranging in size from 0.5 mm to 2.0 mm. I still use wood shavings in the laying boxes. Claire. Sand, on the other hand, is used by certain individuals as a flooring material. Quikrete All-Purpose Sand Quikrete 50 lb. Play sand may cause crop impaction in the short term, and it may cause serious respiratory illness in the long term. I use this brooder heating plate from Amazon in my brooder (the chicks love it!). For example, play sand (see my section on play sand above) isnt good for coops, and neither is any sand that has been exposed to high bacteria levels, such as from areas of standing water. Otherwise, the area should be raked and turned over at least once a month to prevent compacting. My neighbor still uses wood shavings and still has frequent outbreaks of coccidiosis, lice and mites. All-purpose sand is considered ok. The best sand is construction, bank run, or river sand. It saves me from having to get on my hands and knees to scoop the poop. We have a lot of cedar trees that we use for firewood. I know a lot of city dwellers take this approach, and its a lot cleaner. I noticed a big difference in my coops summer temperature when I put sand inside. Im thinking of trying sand, sounds good. Jacks. The initial setting up of a sand-based coop and/or run is probably the most time-consuming and expensive part of the process not to mention heavy work. If you want to know more about chickens, quail, and goats, The Happy Chicken Coop is the place to be! When I first added sand to my coop in the heat of the summer, I was amazed at the huge reduction of flies. 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