8 tips for using sand in your chicken run
I recently received an email from one of my blog readers, Jaime. She wrote:
“…I live in a sandy area. Do you suggest added sand in the run? Or something else? Many thanks.”
In this blog post, I’ll answer Jaime’s questions and also give you some tips on using sand in your run—specifically, what type of sand you need, where to get it, and how much to use.
Or, just watch the video below to see the sand in my newest chicken run and to learn everything you need to know!
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Tip #1: Choose a medium- to coarse-grained sand for your run.
It’s simple. Fine-grained sands can wreak havoc on the lungs. All fine-grained particles can cause lung irritation when inhaled, but some particles can actually lodge in the lungs and cause disease.
Fine-grained quartz, for example, can cause silicosis, and some other fine-grained silicate minerals, like illite, for example, can cause silicate pneumoconiosis. Both of these diseases develop over the long term and cause scarring in the lungs. They can be quite painful and even fatal.
That’s why you want a medium- to coarse-grained sand. These grains are too large for you or your chickens to inhale and you won’t need to worry so much about lung damage.
For more on this topic, see my article, Will all sand bedding kill your chickens? Silica and silicosis explained.
Tip #2: Use washed sand in your run.
Washed sand has gone through a large-scale washing process, where it’s sprayed with vast amounts of water at the same time it’s being sieved. This helps to remove the finer grains that are bad for your chickens’ lungs.
You can see what the washing process looks like below:
Tip #3: If possible, use a sand that’s not made entirely of quartz.
Even if your sand has been washed, you’ll still find some fine-grained particles in your sand. Because of this, it’s best to use a sand that’s lower in quartz if you’re able to find one.
I use granitic sand in my coops and runs. This is a sand made mainly of quartz and feldspars. Feldspar minerals don’t cause the same damage to the lungs that fine-grained quartz does.
You could also use limestone sand in your run. Just be careful about raising chicks on limestone sand—you don’t want them eating it because it’s high in calcium, and too much calcium can cause kidney damage in your chicks.
Limestone is, however, excellent for laying hens and fine-grained limestone particles are safer on the lungs.
Tip #4: Fill your run with at least 6 inches of sand.
You may actually be able to get away with as little as 3 inches of sand in your run.
The only problem is that over the long term, your sand layer may thin out. You may not be able to maintain that 3-inch thickness. Chickens may scratch much of the sand out of the run, or you may get some sand leaving the run through run-off.
If your sand layer gets too thin, you’re not going to be able to easily remove the poop. That’s why I recommend at least 6 inches of sand, and 1-2 feet is even better.
Tip #5: If you don’t have a good source of sand in your yard, buy sand from a gravel company.
I bought my sand from my local gravel company. I wasn’t able to adequately describe what I needed over the phone, so I had to stop by their gravel pits to see what they had.
You really do want to see the sand in person rather than just describe what you want or give a name you’ve heard over the internet. Gravel companies give the same names to many different types of sands.
Tip #6: Bring a kitty litter scooper with you when you examine your gravel company’s sand.
You want to buy the largest grain size you can find that will still sieve through the kitty litter scooper. If the sand is too coarse to sieve through, you’ll have an incredibly hard time cleaning the poop out of your sand run.
Tip #7: Make sure at least some of your run’s sand is always in the shade during the summer.
As long as your sand is shaded, it’ll stay nice and cool, which is wonderful for your chickens during the hot summer months. However, if your sand is always sitting out in the sun, it’ll heat up and be unbearable.
In the summertime, I attach a shade cloth to one side of my run with bungee cords. My run has a roof on it, but if it didn’t I’d cover the top with shade cloth too.
Tip #8: Clean your sand regularly.
For you, “regularly” could mean daily, weekly, monthly, or every few months. It all depends on how big your run is, how many chickens are using it, and how much time they spend in it.
For smaller runs, you can clean the poop out with a kitty litter scooper. For larger runs, you may want to use a rake instead.
Regardless of what tools you use, make sure to always wear a mask during cleaning to protect your lungs from the dust.
So, can you use sandy soil from your yard in your chicken run?
Back to Jaime’s original question...
Hopefully, you’ve learned from this article what kind of qualities you need in your chicken run’s sand.
If the sand in your yard has these 3 characteristics, then go ahead and use it in your run:
Medium- to coarse-grained (low in fines)
Mixed mineralogy (e.g., granite sand) or low in quartz (e.g., limestone sand)
Abundant enough you can fill your run with at least 3 inches of sand, but preferably 6 inches or more
Does your yard sand meet those qualifications? Great! Shovel it into your run!
If not, contact your local gravel company for a better source.
You may also be interested in:
Sand for chicken coop bedding: Pros, cons, and how to do it right
The BEST chicken coop bedding: Sand vs. straw vs. pine shavings
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