Do you need sand for a chicken coop?
There are many alternatives to bedding in a poultry coop, one of which is chicken sand. At present, many breeders are starting to use it, especially the type of times. This replaces the role of husks and straws that are often used by farmers. Husk and straw are no longer used because they have various kinds of shortcomings. One of them is a bad smell and is so pungent. No wonder many breeders feel uncomfortable because it is quite disturbing.
Therefore, the best solution that breeders can use is to use sand. In terms of benefits, sand has more advantages and some people have proven it themselves. One of them is the smell that has been stinging almost no smell at all.
Does the Cage Need Chicken Sand?
When viewed from the needs and benefits, using the media is indeed necessary. Chicken sand can be the best solution for now. The breeders themselves began to feel that there was a big difference. For those who have replaced it with sand, the situation that is most felt is in terms of cost. The costs incurred are much lower because the chicken sand does not need to be replaced with new ones. In contrast to the use of husks that must be replaced. The bad smell that arises makes the media have to be replaced regularly, this automatically costs money.
When you use sand, there is no need to replace it every month. When viewed from the price, the two are also different. The price of chicken sand is cheap and durable. The sand will not turn rotten or lose its quality. Is this the only advantage? The following will convey the benefits and why you should use them.
Cage Maintenance made Easy
One of the reasons why turning it into this medium is the convenience it provides when performing maintenance. When there is dirt that falls it will usually stick, you just need a shovel to clean it. Take the dirty part with a shovel and throw it away. Sand is advantageous because the feet of the bird can be cleaned by itself, thus avoiding various dirt and diseases on the feet.
When you release them out of the cage, the dirt will usually stick to them. This medium can be a good cleaner. Especially on the sidelines that are difficult to reach because those gaps can be the main trigger for the emergence of vines.
Chicken Sand is Safe and Environmentally Friendly
It must be admitted that this medium is able to protect poultry from various fungal-related diseases. Although it can provide warmth, in fact, the sand is also able to neutralize the heat. This situation occurs when the summer occurs. The temperature rises sharply to make this birdless like it. In addition, this media itself is environmentally friendly because there are no harmful substances contained in it.
In this way, the chickens become healthier and can breed as expected. The use of mats like this also minimizes wasted food because they look for it themselves to the bottom. However, there are a few drawbacks that can be generated from the media. One of them is to produce dust during the dry season. You can just splash it with water to get rid of the dust. But you need to be careful because these birds don't like wet bottoms. Therefore, the solution is to just spray using a sprayer, at least this can reduce the dust content.
Health Effects of using Chicken Sand
For the chickens themselves, using sand is not good. This is due to the deposition of dirt into one in the sand. In this way, poultry, especially children, will eat it, triggering coccidiosis. Coccidiosis is a digestive disease in poultry. In addition, the dust that spreads also causes their respiratory tract to be disturbed, as well as humans and especially for asthmatics.
Some sources state that sand is a good medium for hiding and growing E.coli and coccidiosis, but there are also those who state that sand is a good medium for inhibiting bacteria such as E.coli and coccidiosis. If you're thinking about adding sand to your coop out of curiosity, maybe try putting some sand in the part of the coop for your chickens to sleep in.