1152) is a washed, properly graded coarse sand with multi-purpose uses. This is simply because your coop will have so much less wet poop in it, and because sand is inorganic and not breaking down. I have a cement floor heated coop with lots of ventilation and a fan. Because chickens do not sleep on the floor, they DO NOT need bedding. I visited the gravel company to see what they had available. If you put DE in the sand they are probably ingesting some, which keeps away worms. So Im not convinced that it would be much more germ-free than regular straw if you look deep enough. And you dont have to have a leaky waterer in your coop for bedding to get dampwatery chicken poops can have the same effect. Never had a problem with ingesting it. This post contains affiliate links for my favorite products from Amazon. 1/2 Yard runs about $25 if you pick up. When I first began keeping chickens I used wood shavings or wood pellets inside the coop. Replace the paper towels as needed. It is only in the coop though. Quikrete All-Purpose Sand Quikrete 50 lb. Some people, however, use sand as a flooring material. If you do not put erosion protection your sand will go through the gravel base absolutely, but you need a thicker layer of sand or your chickens will tear the fabric out as well. Sand doesnt hold moisture the same way organic bedding does, and because of this, you dont need to worry as much about mold and ammonia. 5.7 lb Coarse Sand Stone When to Use Sand for Gardening Most plants require well-drained soils in various stages of their growth. Chicken Toys Shop All. Can I use potting soil for chicken dust bath? It appears to be working fine. Most folks do a daily poop scoop and are done. Therefore, it is suitable for your coop bedding material. If your run area is a muddy mess in the winter and spring, you might consider laying down 3-4 inches of gravel under the sand. - The Happy Chicken Coop - All Rights Reserved. Exactly! Once the hard work of laying the sand is done, maintenance is pretty standard. 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. It was not uncommon for me to find several eggs every day with poop smeared on them. Here it is: Chickens dont actually need beddingwhat they need is litter. Effectively disguising it, young chicks might ingest a lot of poop, leavingthem susceptible to coccidiosis. You remove much of the poop through scooping, and the poop thats still left in the coop is dried out. All-Purpose Sand (421) Questions & Answers (237) Hover Image to Zoom share Share print Print Interested in purchasing a pallet, buy 56 bag Washed and graded coarse sand Use as a paver and flagstone underlayment View More Details Product Weight (lb. Gravel companies have referred to this type of sand as river bank sand, mortar sand, and concrete sand. Conventional types of bedding, like pine shavings and straw, can be purchased from your local farm store. GO BACK; Energy; Propane. Sand likely does not insulate as well as organic bedding if the organic bedding is used in the deep litter method. Buy Quikrete Premium Play Sand for Sandboxes, Tan, 50 lb., 111351 at Tractor Supply Co. Great Customer Service. But they actually prefer their sheltered coop dust baths in those cold, snowy months! Really, you dont know what youre in for until you do it. Have the gravel down. Im loving my chickens more as a result of what I learn here. Two things to remember Christine. Every 1-2 weeks, I use a shovel with holes in it, like this shovel from amazon, to remove the poop on the floor in my large 10x10 coop. 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 This is not a sand problem, but a maintenance problem. So there my chickens were, covering themselves in poopy, decomposing pine bedding, looking so innocent and gross. Notice that as I filled the nursery pot with beach sand, some of it leaked out through the drain holes in the pots. Its so obvious, but somehow, weve all missed it (or at least most of us have). And despite the fact that chickens have wonderful dirt outside for dust bathing, when your girls get that itch to dust bathe, some of them dont want to have to go all the way outside. Quikrete All-Purpose Gravel (BOM #105521) is a multi-use product for a variety of decorative and landscaping applications. My ladies take a positive delight in messing up a clean coop and creating a small dust storm! Your friends chickens may not ever eat enough play sand for crop impaction, or perhaps the play sand they are eating is passing through their crops just fine. And, if your chickens sense danger at any time, they can stay hidden for quite a while without eating as long as their crops are full. English Close Contact Saddle Pads Shop All. I have heard a french drainage system works well too. We throw all our grass clippings, leaves, and the straw from the coops in the run. Let us know how it works for you in the comments below any problems and solutions. Also, what sand would be the best to use? Having fewer flies around the coop would be nice. I really enjoy your newsletter and look forward to receiving it. Even though we barely get rain here, the dew that collected overnight was enough to keep it just slightly damp until summertime. Medium- to coarse-grained sands and very fine-grained gravels are safe for chicken coops. Id like a sand that they can easily dust themselves in, but I know not to get too fine of sand. It would seem you either love it or hate it! Quikrete 50 lb. These all have potential problems too, though. Shop Ice Melters & Sand and a wide variety of other products at your Local Southern States. Dry sand will often do that, wet sand normally not. This stuff is great for the birds' grit intake. Please contact your salesperson for product availability in your location** Printable Info Quikrete is all-purpose sand and is more course than play sand. Theyre happy. A few articles have mentionedsmall chicks eating the sandand dying from an impacted crop. Ive used both of these! I live in the Willamette Valley of Oregon and have sandy soil, but the outside runs of all my livestock would be muddy during the rainy seasons so I started using construction sand about three years ago (also called -10) at the suggestion of the rock company to raise the ground level and have been VERY happy with the results! The girls love to take dust baths. Still, I havent met too many fastidious hens in my time. Quikrete. You may love itor you may hate it. It is a coarse sand that has been cleaned and is suitable for use as an underlayment for brick pavers and flagstones. Required fields are marked *. I have to mix it in well or my girls avoid the DE. I described how gross this is with moister types of bedding that break down, like pine shavings, and how sand makes a world of difference. Heres a good tip for you: purchase and move your sand into your coop when the weather is super dry. Claire. For example, an area of 8ft x 12ft covered to a depth of 6 inches would require approximately 2 tons of river sand. Some folks freshen the sand using PDZ (zeolite), wood ashes, or Diatomaceous Earth it also encourages dust bathing. Claire. It really is multipurpose. Check landscaping places also. I had to stop by and look at all their piles of different sands. Packaging: Available in 50 lb (22.7 Kg) and 100 lb (45.4 Kg) bags. Your email address will not be published. The good news, though, is that once you buy it, you dont have to keep getting more as you do with other types of bedding. not enough? So why risk it? My coop never smells like chicken poop, my chickens feet and eggs are cleaner. document.write(CurrentYear) All-Purpose Sand Quikrete (421) Questions & Answers (237) Interested in purchasing a pallet, buy 56 bag Washed and graded coarse sand My neighbor still uses wood shavings and still has frequent outbreaks of coccidiosis, lice and mites. My girls (Hens) and I are so much happier for your knowledge. A giant pile of sand in front of one of my chicken coops, waiting for use in the coop next year. Its the same thing they use under patio pavers. Buy Now . No more ant & flies, no more stinky mess & a cleanup job in 5-7 minutes daily. Hi all, We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock. The sand in my coop is about 4-5 inches in depth. It just felt noticeably cooler and the sand was cooler to the touch. You cant see or feel the crop when its empty, but the more food and water it has in it, the bigger it gets. Cuts down on odor. I would appreciate any answers thank you, Hi Tony, on top of the pavers i was thinking 6 of sand. I used sand in my coop before my girls were old enough to safely free range all day. Sand is being delivered tomorrow. This meant I couldnt put the sand in the coop. A regular, enclosed coop wont have that exposure to the sun inside and will actually be much cooler. That is what is in my run now. I guessed the grain size was around 0.5 mm long and up. If you want to know more about chickens, quail, and goats, The Happy Chicken Coop is the place to be! This option is expensive, but the benefits will be better ground to walk on and fewer mosquitoes! Ive seen the opposite. Sand, which is purchased from the gravel company, has been sitting outside for years, maybe decades. However, your chickens will do best with sand if the run is covered. It is so easy to clean. What about insulation in the cold winter months? It is more course than play sand. Can be used as a fine aggregate in Concrete Mix Can be used to provide traction on Snow and Ice. But there are also plenty of anecdotes where play sand has caused major problems. Then the old pile of sand can get repeatedly washed and dried by the weather over the course of the next yearthen you can use it in the coop again the following year. Is it good to use sand in commercial poultry houses? Let's stay updated! These kinds of conditions are not humane conditions for chickens. Available in: 50 lb. Sand in the coop is also great for summer dust bathing because, despite the hot weather outside, the coop sand is relatively cool. 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. Theyd cluck a bunch, scratch around in it excitedly, lay eggs in it, and nest in it. The first time I felt a chickens full crop was unnerving. All-purpose sand is considered 'ok.' The best sand is construction, bank run, or river sand. Some people say that their chickens eat more of their own feces when its covered in sand. They should also have less exposure to parasites, like worms. The gravel company dumped my sand right next to my coop for me. The nesting boxes have plenty of straw. I also make DE dusting boxes inside the chicken houses. Depending on where you live, sand may be low cost in the short run as well. We have a creek and a river on our propertyis that sand good to use? I purchased my sand in the early fall and the day the gravel company delivered it, it rained. For anywhere from $10-$20 you can get an entire truckload of sand from a quarry. Every time you see this, youll wish you had sand. For another example, the Happy Chicken Coop blog estimates that sand costs between $25-$40/ton. I dont recommend using sand bedding in coops if they dont have floors. Actually if you read on the bags of play sand it does have a warning that it can cause cancer. Ill first test that the heating plate doesnt make the sand too hot, and if it doesnt, Ill use the flamethrower on the sand to kill any pathogens. The short of it: your chicken may die a horrible death if she gets crop impaction. Youll need to look at gravel companies to source your sand. Hey there where did you purchase your construction sand? Does sand make good chicken coop bedding? . bag 50 lb. 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. Its a range of different sizes. Any stone yard will have it. Use for underlayment for brick pavers and traction on snow and ice. Quikrete is all-purpose sand and is more course than play sand. I would avoid cedar because it can cause issues with their respiratory system. You can alternate sand each year. They will deliver. Have small coop. feel free share . Not everybody does this step, but it gives me peace of mind. I ordered a large amount of sand so I could use it for several coops and runs, including some we hadnt even built yet. My chickens seem to be much less interested in eating sand bedding than they are in eating organic bedding. Crop impaction from sand is most common in chicks, but some chicken owners have said this has happened with their adult chickens as well. See my article here for more info and sources. This is the first year we havent had even one chicken with respiratory issues. Theres very little in the way of pathogens that can survive those high of temperatures. Sand Commercial Medium #30 . Another issue is that fresh poop would adhere to the sand. If you decide to use sand, make sure it is the right type. Farm Repair. Are the pebbles on the bottom going to help with drainage? The main reason I havent used sand is because Im worried about pathogens. Dust bathing in the coop sand gives the chickens a good way to cool down if they need it. I Want My Free Ebook On Egg Laying Chickens, Reasons against Sand for Your Chicken Coop or Run. My Store 19938 My Coupons (0) Contact; Create Account; Login; Search. And, once again, the research also backs this upsand bedding keeps a coop cooler. English All Purpose Saddle Pads Shop All. Coop De Chickenville~My Favorite Chickens and Life, Current Social Media Chicken Feed Craze - posted testing results. I worried something was wrong with her. Coop & Run - Design, Construction, & Maintenance. The bantams do fine too. . Many people rely on the deep bedding method to keep their coops a few degrees warmer in the winter. Quickrete general purpose sand is a washed, properly graded coarse sand with multi-purpose uses. Cat litter scoop cleans out solids in coop, rake in run . Sand may be used in the run. That fresh bedding smell doesnt last for long though. I used play box sand for my chicks because it was safe for children. They showed no sign of illness! If they didnt have their coop sand, Id have to make special arrangements to make sure they were able to continue dust bathing outside. Quikrete All-Purpose Sand bookafterbook Jun 1, 2020 1 2 Sort by date Sort by reaction score Jun 1, 2020 #1 bookafterbook Chirping 7 Years Apr 18, 2013 3 0 60 Southern California I have looked everywhere for commercial grade sand. If you still feel uncertain about what to order, print off this picture and take it to your local gravel company. I live in Iowa, to Long tubes of sand here are the ones that are used for putting in your car or the back of your truck to give more traction during the winter months in the snow driving. The leaky waterer resulted in a high amount of ammonia being produced very quickly. This may cause long-term respiratory problems in your chickens, who are very sensitive to poor air quality. The ideal kind of sand to utilize is construction, river, or bank flow sand. Buy Now . I am so grateful someone put me on to bug zappers! Obviously gravel companies measure sand in different waysthe company I used measured the sand in cubic yards, whereas the estimate referenced by the Happy Chicken Coop measured the sand in tons. The dust from fine-grained sands may even eventually cause silicosis in your chickens. When I first added sand to my coop in the heat of the summer, I was amazed at the huge reduction of flies. It is ideal for coops in the summertime as long as your coop is enclosed (i.e., four walls and a roof). Your sand should never have enough water in it to freeze, not even close. Sand in your chicken coop is a good question. Good litter has these characteristics: This is sand! Pallet **Product production varies by plant. ): 50 Commercial grade medium Commercial grade fine Patio paver Sort & Filter Sort & Filter Sort By Featured Best Sellers Highest Rated New Arrivals Sand Type All-purpose (16) Commercial grade medium (4) Patio paver (3) Play sand (3) Commercial grade fine (2) Dry mason (2) Traction (2) Washed sand (2) This year, I plan to cover one of my runs completely and try sand in it. What can we add to make this right? 60-Pound All-Purpose Sand Mfg.# 115260 Sku# 1920545. Should I lay landscaping fabric to keep the sand from washing in the ares exposed to rain? Medium- to coarse-grained sand makes excellent chicken coop bedding in coops that do not have drainage problems and do not get wet inside. This stuff is great for the birds grit intake. inexpensive Eco-friendly natural grit no risk of crop impaction as with straw and hay easy daily maintenance infrequent deep cleaning required keeps feet clean and nails manicured cleaner feet= cleaner eggs any dropped feed gets eaten, not lost in the litter dust-bath Mecca! Pine shavings have not been sitting fully exposed in the great outdoors. I do hope for a vocabulary change as more and more people make the switch in thinking. In my research, I found several different types of sand who knew? Its particularly awful in the winter when theyre mostly confined to the coop. Wait, you might be thinking, havent you been saying this whole time that sand has fewer pathogens? As chronicled in the academic book, Poultry Behaviour and Welfare, by Appleby et al., domestic chickens descended primarily from the Red Junglefowl, a tropical species of bird that lives mostly in forested areas and areas of thick vegetation. The second reason you dont want to use play sand, or any fine-grained sands, is because fine-grained sands are really dusty. 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. Claire, After reading all the pros and cons, decided to give sand a Go and it has been life changing! Sand, on the other hand, well, youll most likely have to find it at your local gravel companysee more on this topic below, in my section, Where do you find sand for chicken coops? Still, if you do a quick housekeeping every day by removing the fresh deposits and hanging flypapers, flies should be minimal anyway. Chicken Coop & Pen Care Shop All. You will need to remove all the sand from your coop and use the flamethrower to thoroughly flush your sand. Silica sand is the perfect coarse sand for rooting cuttings. As an associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Construction sand has been a life saver. I worry that the sand may have some pathogens in it from these wild animals and open range livestock. If you have a waterer in your coop that ever leaks or spills a little bit, you run the risk of ammonia building up and of course, the risk of mold growing. If you decide to use sand, as always, do your homework and choose the correct item(s) for the project you have in mind. Ill report back with how well it works. Perhaps buy a little extra sand to err on the side of caution. 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. Many chicken owners use sand bedding in the brooder, but I do have some reservations about this. Below are suggestions on when and why to use sand for gardening: I live in south Florida, all Ive got is sandy soil in my run. Yes. At the time few people paid attention because traditionally chickens have always been a farm animal and as such were mostly found in barns and areas where hay was kept. This means your chickens arent protected from the elements, and your coop needs to be enclosed. But can I compost the poop even with the sand and small pebbles stuck to it? 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. The pictures below show just exactly what medium- to coarse-grained sand looks like. A: QUIKRETE Premium Play Sand (No. Hot in summer, possible to burn the chickens feet, No bugs or worms for the birds to search for, Reasons to Use Sand in Your Chicken Coop and Run, Effectively disguising it, young chicks might ingest a lot of poop, leaving, Bantam Chickens: Breeds, Egg Laying, Size and Care Guide. During COLD weather hay is perfect! You can find data on how to do it on line. It is not expensive (once you find where it is available), is easy to bring in, is light, mixes nicely with the manure, will become great garden soil once the manure composts in it. These sands may have high levels of bacteria, Coccidiosis, or who knows what else, that you dont want your chickens around. Silicosis is a painful and basically downright awful lung disease caused by breathing in small silica (quartz) particles that cause scarring in the lungs. Quikrete. Available in 50 lb. Research backs this up as well see my article here. My chickens feet are clean and because of the Diatomaceous Earth, free of bugs. Just dirt everywhere else. Chicken breedsCoops and runsChicken careChicken behavior, BlogTerms and conditionsPrivacy policyContact me, Mama hen's guide to raising spoiled-rotten chicks. All Purpose Sand (Quikrete) All-purpose sand is ideal as it has the right texture and size. Available in: 50 lb. BOM UNIT SIZE UNIT WEIGHT PACK QUANTITY PACK WEIGHT PACK TYPE 105521 50 lb. Play sand may cause crop impaction in the short term, and it may cause serious respiratory illness in the long term. I have an entire article that goes over this topic in great detailif you want to see sources for all the studies showing that sand does not harbor bacteria the way other bedding types do, check out my other article, The best chicken coop bedding: Sand vs. straw vs. pine shavings. Additionally, if you use sand in a chicken tractor, the tractor may be difficult to move. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. I am not worried about the run i just want a nice place for them in the coop. Sand, on the other hand, is used by certain individuals as a flooring material. Drainage is the issue here, best option is first to put gravel base to irrigate and drain, and sand on top of that. The exception to this is when people have small coops with only a few chickens, and they change the bedding weekly. The first time I saw that I couldnt believe it that it was being sold for children to play in . If your coop has a floor and is elevated off the ground at least 6 inches, you shouldnt have drainage problems. I have never had a problem with any of my chicks or chickens. I wouldnt want it much shallower than that in a large coop. Quikrete is all-purpose sand and is more course than play sand. The sand you are using is fine. Some chicken keepers have said sand was really cheap for them, but my sand cost more. Youll also want to prepare the ground under your coop and run, so that its higher than the area around it. Sand has little in the way of insulating properties, unlike hay, straw, etc. Quikrete all purpose sand This is a type of sand that is washed and used as an underlayment for flagstones and brick pavers. 50 lb. It saves me from having to get on my hands and knees to scoop the poop. Im not worried about the pathogens harming my adult chickenstheyve already been exposed to these same pathogens while free rangingbut I dont know if the pathogen level is high enough to harm newly hatched chicks. Hemp has similar benefits to wood shavings and straw but is less expensive. 1113) is a specially graded washed sand that has been screened for children's sand boxes. I have no idea if this is the case, but its a concern. This doesnt mean that your coop cant still catch on fire, but the chances are much lower with sand compared with anything else. That did the trick. I mentioned above that if some of my chickens dont feel like going outside, they will dust bathe in the bedding. Will this work for my run? It also can be hazardous to humans over the long term. Because play sands are made through crushing quartz grains into very fine-grained pieces, this type of sand clumps together a lot. It's perfect for what they need for dust I actually use this sand for my chicken coop and run. I didnt realize one of the drinkers was leaking the tiniest bit. If you read my section below on yearly sand cleaning, youll see that I like to swap out my coop sand for a new pile of sand after a year or so. First, you need to make sure your flooring can hold the sand in the first place. Coop Heaters Shop All. Additionally, in humans, long-term exposure to play sand can cause cancer. Does your chicken coop need to be off the ground? bags Use For: Underlayment for Brick Pavers Mixing with portland cement and gravel to make concrete Traction on Snow and Ice Mixing with potting soil Data Sheet Safety Data Sheet You dont get the smells with sand that you do with straw, pine shavings, and the like, because the sand isnt breaking down. Chooks can use it as grit. You dont want to scoop out the poopbecause sand bedding doesnt decompose with the poop, you dont want to just put sand in your coop and leave it there untouched forever. Medium- to coarse-grained sand is the best . Consider using straw instead, and either use the deep litter method or replace the bedding frequently. It is more course than play sand. Looking to get our first chicks in a couple of weeks. The tip of my roosters comb has been blue on and off for close to two weeks and now he and two out of five hens have been sneezing so Im looking to re-floor the run to see if its a respiratory issue. This means that, if youre not using sand, you may need to change bedding, or add more bedding (if youre doing the deep litter method), fairly frequently to keep the ammonia levels low. Meets ASTM C 33 specifications Product Features: Washed, dried and sanitized Use for sandbox, garden, litter box, traction and weight sand Great as base mate . The outside run is covered because it rains here alot. Most of the sand you buy from big box stores is going to be too fine-grained. Were in SC and have very wet winters. I have a question as far as bedding for the coop. I take the top layer of straw off every week and turn the rest.