# Sand flooring in coop?



## Deaconbart

This winter i have decided to build my first coop and try my hand at raising a few hens. As i have been reading and viewing many great ideas i am trying to decide if I should use sand to cover the floor of my coop. Can anybody give me the pros or cons to this?

As this is my first post, it might not be in the correct area. Please advise if it is.

Thanks


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## nannypattyrn

Hi and welcome Deaconbart! You are exactly in the right place ,but would have gotten an answer anywhere. This is a great forum with lots of great chicken loving folk.
I use sand in my coop because it's easy to rake out the manure and keep clean. Some here use pine shaving and yet others use hay or dried grass. I think it's a matter of personal choice. The only con I can think of is that it's dusty so when the chickens dust bathe, it goes everywhere!
It's a little slow on the weekends, so check back often.


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## robin416

I used sand in my Silkie coop before I built the new coop. What I found is that mites were never an issue on my birds but what Patsy said about dust is the biggest issue.

You will also need to use things like Stall Dri to keep the ammonia odor in check. 

It's hard to get in large amounts but play sad does not pack down the way builders sand does.


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## Deaconbart

Thanks for the info. If i use sand for the floor of the coop, should i still use straw in the nesting boxes? If so, how would you recommend keeping the straw in the boxes and prevent the hens from mixing the 2 together?


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## nannypattyrn

This is what my nest boxes look like. I made them from the plastic totes. The opening is 2/3 the size of a regular sized print paper. The lip at the bottom keeps the pine chips in place. I don't use straw because of the sharpness of the stems in it.


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## seminole wind

Welcome Deaconbart!

The only down side I can think of is that it's heavy.


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## zamora

Welcome! We use pine shavings in our nest boxes and throw a little on the floor of the coop which is dirt, it's fairly easy to rake up clean and the pine helps with the odor and keeping the ammonia smell in check. We have a lip at the bottom of our wooden nesting boxes that we unscrew for cleaning that keeps the shavings in.










We are updating the coop as we speak and redoing the nesting boxes (painting them too!) but will still use the same basic idea with the removable lip across the front.


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## 8hensalaying

I have an enclosed elevated coop with an attached run. I have sand in the run, and use pine shavings in the coop part. I started with straw but didn't like that so switched to the pine shavings. So far so good with that. My only problem with the sand in the run is I ended up with the wrong kind. Hubby and Daddy did not understand what I wanted, and one day thinking he was helping, my Daddy brought up sand from the river by his house, Not good. What he brought was from river bottom that floods each year repeatedly. I wanted river sand, but wanted to purchase from a place up the road that dredges and washes it. What I have now, is half silt and half sand, translate that to packed muddy mess. I will switch it out this spring, but it will be a pain in the butt. So yeah, don't use just any sand. I have heard that play sand isn't good because it is too fine and is higher in silicates.


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## Deaconbart

Great info! Thanks so for your help.


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## Pbchicken65

Hello I am new to the chicken world and the more I read the more confused I am getting! I just got my coopAnd run up And running I have 3 hens right now! My pen is made from recycled 2x6 deck boards built over a frame made with 2x6 boards with wire mesh stapled to the bottom of them to
Keep preditors from Digging under my coop! Currently I am using pine shavings and hay because of the weather! So would sand be good in the pen and pine shavings in the coop? I heard to use pine and straw in the nesting boxes is this ok?


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## robin416

Welcome to the forum, Pb. 

We all have our ways of doing things that work best for us. When I moved the Silkies to the new coop with the wood floor I used pine shavings. The appreciated having that to bed down in. It was just the danged mites became such an issue. But that's Silkies, they seem to be a target for mites.


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## seminole wind

My coop floor is wood with shavings. I think it would be too much work to drag sand in there.


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## dawg53

Pbchicken65 said:


> So would sand be good in the pen and pine shavings in the coop? I heard to use pine and straw in the nesting boxes is this ok?


That is exactly what I use; sand in the pens, pine shavings inside the hen houses and in the nest boxes.


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## chickenqueen

My coop has a wood floor and I use shavings and in the winter I also use a bale of straw for added insulation.


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## chickencoopbook

*Chicken Coop Book*

I found a great book on Kindle about how to build chicken coops. It could be helpful if you need any help/ideas when building a coop. Here's the link:

http://www.amazon.com/Chicken-Coops-Essential-Step-By-Step-Beginners-ebook/dp/B01EBLTQNA

Might be worth checking out


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## dawg53

chickencoopbook said:


> I found a great book on Kindle about how to build chicken coops. It could be helpful if you need any help/ideas when building a coop. Here's the link:
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/Chicken-Coops-Essential-Step-By-Step-Beginners-ebook/dp/B01EBLTQNA
> 
> Might be worth checking out


You must be the author since this is your third post with the same info.


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