[Pudding cloth]

I'm trying sand in the chicken run. The run is made from aviary panels and the floor is block paving. The roof is covered with corrugated plastic. Rain seeps in where it runs down the mesh and seeps in a little at the bottom.
I bought sharp sand and it was wet! I put it down anyway. Chickens like it, but poo just seems to dissolve in the sand and poo picking isn't as productive as I'd hoped for.
Is the problem that the sand is wet? Will it dry out?
Hope you can help. I'm a bit obsessive about cleanliness (I'm a nurse) and I don't want to upset the neighbours with smells from the chicken run.

[andreadon]

It's useful to have sand as an addition to dust for sudt-bathing, but I don't know that it serves as a useful run material.

If you want something that makes poo picking easier, then the best thing would be concrete slabs.
I know lots of peopel on here use aubiose, and i'm sure someone will be along to tell you about it.

We use soil, and then any cuttings from the garden (usual don't-dos excluded, of course) get thrown on for scrabbling.

I think, though, if the poo is dissolving in the sand, it shouldn't cause a smell.
maybe put the sand in a bowl for now (a sandpit?) and just let the block paving be the main floor.

[Skywise]

I'm using play bark.  The chooks love it for scratching around in and it's really easy to poo pick from it.

I *have* given them sand in a litter tray for a dust bath - but they seem to prefer eating it to bathing in it!

[grumpydad]

we have used sand, and bark, but have now settled for easibed, a horse bedding, small clean wood chippings, absorbant and easily raked and poo picked.
you can try stanoslan f, a powder disinfectant to keep the smells down in the run, or virkon s, a liquid viral disinfectant, both will help to keep the run, and coop clean, especially the virkon s sprayed in the coop every couple of months when you do a good clean out.

[Pudding cloth]

Thanks for your suggestions. I might carry on with the soggy sand for a bit longer and if not happy go back to what I previously used...easi-bed. Just found that the poo used to sink in the easi-bed and stick to the paving.

[Lindeggs]

I began with sand in my coop (on a compacted soil base).  I found the wet part of the droppings would get absorbed into the sand, leaving only the dry part to be collected and disposed of. 

Since then I have changed my husbandry methods and built up deep litter on top of the sand.  It works very well for my situation.  I would suggest if you do go back to easibed that you keep the sand as a substrate as I have found it a good, dry base.