Putting sand in the barn

[midhilldexters]

Ok, have tried different bases in the barn, and now was thinking of sand. My question is though, I live where it freezes for long periods of time so wondering how it will be through a long hard winter. Obviously there will be bedding on top, but if all that urine freezes it will be like the cows laying on ice cubes.

So who beds on sand, what do you like or hate about it? If you don 't bed on sand I'm still interested to hear your good and bad points or what bases you like in your barn.

Carol K

[legendrockranch]

We have sand in our barn stalls and under the outside barn cover. The only time animals are in parts of it are for vet visits. Holding animals for transport but most importantly we bring in our cows for calving.
We put fresh hay on top of the sand inside for calving, they can be in there up to two weeks or so.
We clean out the stalls twice a day but it seems as if the urine after a couple of days does not dissipate as fast as I would like, which means I'm putting fresh hay on damp urine. If I do not put the hay on top within a day or two the sun will dry the spot out.
The sand intermingles with the hay unless you use quite a bit of hay. Meaning sometimes a newly born wet calf could have lots of sand on it which the mother ingests trying to clean the calf off.
If for some reason you need to keep an animal in there any length of time (thankfully we haven't had to do this in some time) their hoofs might need to be trimmed.
Hopefully they all get along because if one decides to paw the ground the sand will be a flying

Barb

[cddexter]

You could try sawdust if it's available.

PS: time for the rest of you to laugh at us here in the Pacific Northwest. HUGE heatwave breaking all records, in the 90s, YETCH. We aren't used to it. Don't know how the rest of you survive hot weather. and no rain to speak of, we are already on water restrictions, and no open fires. Carol K I'll trade you some heat for your rain. cheers, c.

[wagradexters]

Wood mulch is good. Bigger than sawdust, smaller than wood chip. It probably makes heat because it breaks down over time. Easy to rake and clean, top it up when necessary. It helps to live near the mill. I will send some snow!

[midhilldexters]

I've done the wood mulch when we've chipped our own. I have an Amish family opposite me now and they have a saw mill so sawdust would be readily available. I always thought that it heated up and could combust, it's not dry stuff so not sure. If anyone has knowledge on the sawdust would be happy to hear.
Anyone ever try bagged peat? Not sure expense wise how it is but just crossed my mind about it. Seems like it would absorb well.

CD I've got standing water on my lawn so happy to trade some rain. They are saying we may have a stretch of no rain, but Saturday is iffy for some showers. Not even sure if I could get the tractor on the fields to cut anyway.

Carol K

[cddexter]

I've used sawdust for years. Had it on concrete tho, so easy to pick up later. Never had a heat problem. Used to put it down at about 12 inches, it compacts down to 4 or 5. Breaks down quickly, great for the fields. whynot try a few different things and see how they work out? bring on the rain!, cheers, me.

[triplec]

I grew up with sand everywhere. It can become as mush as a soggy mess as any other. The base layer in my opinion needs to be solid. You will not get a solid base with sand. I am planning on making my base using ag lime. I have done this before and it can be as tough as concrete but drains better and is fixable. I would spread ag lime, level, water and roll. This makes a base that is sough enough to drive a tractor on and scoop the bedding out. I bedded with bales of straw or cornstalks. if you ever have to dig into this base you can without much trouble and able to patch it if needed with low cast and minimal equipment.

[dexterbovinefan]

My barns all have concrete floors with the exception of the horse stable which has hard packed earth. I don't raise horses, but I'm told they don't do well with concrete floors. I've heard of people using sand for horses but they are, as they say, a different animal. Anyhow, if you are trying to put something between the earth and the cattle, and you don't feel concrete is a good option, then you may add loose stone to your considerations. We used to use loose stone in calf kennels on a farm I worked on as a boy. Straw or corn fodder was used as bedding on top of it. The stone allowed urine, spilled milk or water and any other liquid to drain away from the calves and I think it is a nice medium for cattle to walk and/or lay on compared to concrete. When I forked out the pens it was pretty easy to clean things up nicely and we would dust with ground limestone each time we cleaned the pens. These kennels were small (not horrifically small but small enough I didn't care for the system) so the urine and manure burden was pretty heavy. Raising calves, especially through the winter in the north east, in this sort of system requires their environment never get damp. Otherwise, calves will die. But between the stone and the bedding this wasn't an issue. You can probably imagine that this isn't the ideal medium if you're trying to clean out with a tractor or skid loader. But, neither is sand. Anyhow, good luck. Let us know what you choose and how well it works.

[midhilldexters]

Barb, those were the issues I had heard before with sand. Mine also use the barn in summer at the height of fly season and have a tendency to try and kick whatever is below them onto their bellies to move the flies. Ingesting sand and getting it in eyes I could see being a problem. On a positive it seems a lot cheaper than gravel!

I put a base of gravel in there when it was built and then topped it up a few years ago, of course like all gravel it disappears to who knows where?

On thinking more about the sawdust, it's probably not a good idea as I use a manure fork in the Spring to clean the whole barn. Hmmm, So much to ponder over. Thanks for the replies.

Carol K

[kansasdexters]

midhilldexters -

Have you thought about using limestone screenings? Don't know if they are available locally in your area, like they are in our area. We get these directly from a quarry that is about 10 miles away from our place. We use limestone screenings mostly in our corral areas, and they set firmly and compact nicely after they get wet. Super easy to scoop manure off of, and they provide very good drainage. Gritty enough for firm footing too.


Patti

[midhilldexters]

Patti, we get limestone for driveways, the stuff is a black/grey color. I'm not sure if its called screenings or not? I will call the dealer and ask them next week. Thanks.

Carol

[kansasdexters]

midhilldexters - The screenings are a mixture of limestone dust (very fine)and small chips of limestone rock, the stuff that comes off the screener when the quarry crushes rock and then segregrates it into specific sizes of crushed rock. We put it down, rake it into place, wet it, then compact it. It's almost like clumping cat litter and it hardens in place after it gets wet and has been compacted.


Patti

[cddexter]

you lucky guys. We are not a limestone-base area, but granite and gneiss. Limestone would be great for the fields, too, as it is the standard go-to choice for increasing pH in the soil. c.

[midhilldexters]

I think we get the segregated stuff over here, but I will call and ask them. Thanks.

Carol K