Use of Sand for In-Barn Bedding

[dfarms]

Does anyone use sand for bedding inside the barn over a concrete floor? We were going to use wood shavings but my son has been in Georgia over Spring Break and mentioned that he'd seen sand used. Cooler in the summer, easier to keep clean than wood shavings, and when you're done with it just shovel it outside into the corral area to incorporate into the mud and muck to help increase drainage. Would this work in the midwest?

Your thought on pros and cons of this idea would be appreciated.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

Does anyone use sand for bedding inside the barn over a concrete floor? We were going to use wood shavings but my son has been in Georgia over Spring Break and mentioned that he'd seen sand used. Cooler in the summer, easier to keep clean than wood shavings, and when you're done with it just shovel it outside into the corral area to incorporate into the mud and muck to help increase drainage. Would this work in the midwest?

Your thought on pros and cons of this idea would be appreciated.

sand has its place and works great in areas.. but it gets every where . but if i had a concrete floor no way would i use it, it wont soak up like shavings. and will filter through the sand and stay on the concrete.

 

[dfarms]

Thanks for your comments. What would be good alternatives for concrete floors. We are of course looking for good economical alternatives for bedding.

 

[funky 4-Her]

I've heard of a clay floor with a tile underneath. Im guessing it would work to keep it dry. Are you thinking for a dairy barn or otherwise?

 

[msscamp]

Thanks for your comments. What would be good alternatives for concrete floors. We are of course looking for good economical alternatives for bedding.

Straw would be an alternative, but how effective it will be is going to depend on what your bedding, how long your bedding them, and how often you're changing the bedding. Regardless of what you chose to use, it will need to be cleaned out and replaced on a regular basis if the animals are kept in the barn for any length of time.

 

[dun]

In freestall barns there are 5 things that I've seen used regualrly. Sand, shavings, a mioxture of sand an shavings, water mattresses and nothing, just the bare concrete. The 2 that aren;t a mess to deal with are the mattresses and the bare concrete. Those 2 are used in the barns that don;t have a hollowed out bedding area. The sand. shavings, sand/shavings sre used in the hollowed out area type of freestalls, they need to be added to periodically. The cows don;t usually crap in them very often.

 

[Grippie]

Sand is very distructive on manure spreaders, bucket loaders, barn cleaner chains etc. Seems like if you didnt have lots of places to spread manure on, that your land would become a little sandy after a while. Seems like it would soak up stuff well though and keep cows comfortable...

 

[dfarms]

We a getting a start with beef shorthorns. We have an old barn that's divided up into three sections. The concrete floor is on the side that our bull calf can come inside. He also has a section of the corral that he can go out into, so he's not confined 100% in the barn. I'd just heard that being on the concrete can be hard on their legs and would be really cold in the winter. Since our plan is to try and show him, we wanted to make the barn as good of an environment for him as our budget will allow.

Thanks. :tiphat:

 

[CKC1586]

As long as he isn't confined 24/7 on concrete you should be okay. My run in pens are concrete, I use straw bedding , it works fine.

 

[Weaver]

Sand is used quite often in dairy operations around here. The reasoning behind sand is that it conforms to the shape of a cow when they lie down and therefore keeps them more comfortable. Also you don't want the sand to soak up and hold urine and water, you want it to flow through tha sand so the top dries quickly and the cow isn't lying on a damp surface which is more prone to hold bacteria and cause problems. On the other hand, sand causes much more wear and tear on equipment. In dairy operations, where comfort, keeping udders free from infection, and cattle are on concrete more, I think sand is very beneficial. However in most beef operations it's not worth it.

 

[msscamp]

I'd just heard that being on the concrete can be hard on their legs and would be really cold in the winter.
Thanks. :tiphat:

Both of those things are true. Since you've only got one calf you're looking to show, you might want to look into rubber stall mats - they will cushion his legs and feet, and provide a barrier to the cold. Pine wood chips would also be a good bedding choice, in combo with the rubber mats, because of the ease of picking the stall each day. Just a suggestion.

 

[Hippie Rancher]

Wet sand is heavy to shovel, if you have to do it by hand.

 

[Aero]

sand wont serve to absorb the smell like carbon based materials will.

 

[TheBullLady]

Part of my barn is concrete (the part with overhead doors so I can drive the truck in) and the bigger part under the overhang is soil, covered with a few loads of sand. We have blackland here, so we need something on top to help drain the water off the surface or it will make mud holes. I like the sand.. it's easy to clean with the small dozer when the hay gets all yucky on top. When I have anything in the closed in part, I bed with shavings or straw. You don't necessary have to bed the entire floor, but have a pile available for the bull to bed in so he's not laying on concrete. As long as he can go outside also, he shouldn't have any problems on the concrete.

 

[icebug]

This is what I am trying to do in my bedroom and this way of bedding will help me a lot, I am sure. But I am going to do this in Australia. Will be Fine, What you say?

 

[pdfangus]

I don't know what you are bedding and how....

only thing I will say is do not use sand on concrete....It will polish the concrete as slick as ice....

Got sent one time to install a pipeline washer in an older small dairy parlor....
A new producer had rented the farm and they did not call us until the day they wanted to start milking....I was not quite done at milking time.....I could not even test and adjust the washer until they milked....

it was a small Jersey herd and so I figured I would just hang out and wait.....

didn't know the cows had been in a flat barn and had no idea how to handle a parlor....

add to that the previous farmer had put down sand daily to improve the footing on the concrete....the floor on the intake lot was like a sheet of ice....cows were slipping and falling....I went out to help and we were having to try to hold cows up and push them into the parlor....saw at least three cows with broken legs....then the farmer went down in the middle of the herd and I heard his head hit the concrete....I figured he was dead or about to be since he was lying on the concrete in the middle of a bunch of cows trying to stay on their feet...I got to him and he had come to and was trying to get up....I stayed until he finished milking and then washed and adjusted the system....

it was a brutal night for the farmer and I never heard from him again....

 

[farmerjan]

My suggestion is wood chips. Find a tree company and get the wood chips from when they are trimming trees. They will be a little more coarse and will last longer than shavings and be cheaper or free. And all you have to do is keep adding them so that the bedding is like a pack barn. The manure that is mixed in will heat a little and actually make a warmer place for the bull to lay on but if you use enough, it won't be wet or dirty. Concrete is a killer on feet and legs, and yes can be really slick. Sand is popular in some dairy operations and they make an extractor to salvage some of the sand and reuse it, but I am not a big fan of it. After the winter, clean the barn, compost it in a pile, or spread it with the manure spreader and add the organic material back onto the pastures or crop fields and it will improve the soil as it breaks down.

 

[Nesikep]

In your bedroom???? WTF?

 

[M-5]

In your bedroom???? WTF?

I saw that too. But I just figured "don't ask don't tell" was appropriate

 

[Nesikep]

In your bedroom???? WTF?

I saw that too. But I just figured "don't ask don't tell" was appropriate

And that worked so well, right?