A few duck questions...

[CHlCKEN]

When I start with ducks again this spring, I will be setting up the run differently from the chicken’s in order to better accommodate waterfowl. I’m curious as to what the best flooring for their run might be. My hens have a mulch mix in theirs, but I’m not sure this would be great for ducks. Also, I have been using shavings in my chicken coop. I assume that this wouldn’t work well for ducks, and in the last I’ve used straw. I wanted to make sure there wasn’t a better alternativel because If not, I think that’s what I plan to use.

 

[Callender Girl]

I use pine shavings in my duck shelter because I think they are much easier to remove at cleaning time than straw. Of course, right now, EVERYTHING is frozen solid so nothing is easy to remove.

And, yay for getting ducks!

 

[3bird]

Yay for ducks x2!

We use a combination of shavings and straw in the duckhouse. We also use the deep litter method. Our run is covered (highly recommended if you are somewhere that it rains with some frequency), and we use shavings and straw there as well (except for the area around the water bucket, where we have cobbles instead).

Regarding combining shavings and straw in the duckhouse, we start with a couple bags of shavings to cover the whole floor. We do a quick spot clean/stir 2x/day (awesome in the winter because you are just grabbing the frozen poop bombs!) and then add more straw and shavings as needed. When it's really cold or when they are nesting, we go heavier on the straw. If it begins to smell at all, a good layer of shavings is the ticket. We clean out once or twice a year.

 

[3xhhheather]

In our coop I do a layer of barn lime, then horse stall pellets topped with pine shavings, it keeps everything nice and dry. In their run, it's a thick layer of mulch topped with straw for their feet. I'm going to either add rocks or pallets under their water buckets, hoping it'll slow down the process of them turning water into sludge.

What kind of ducks are you getting?!