I use the construction-grade sand that you can get from a place where they pull it out of the ground and sell it by the truckload. Check to see if you have a place like this in your area. Contractors get their supplies of soil and gravel from places like this.
I use sand in my coop so that it is easy to scoop with a kitty litter scooper. I have straw everywhere else as the chickens like it. When I cut the straps on a bale of straw, they spend the next week spreading it all around the run. I pull out any straw that is soiled from the nest boxes and add...