Baking soda for odor control! It works!

[veronicasmom]

Would there be a concern about them breathing it in if it is sprinkled down heavily? Just wondering...........................................

 

[FenDruadin]

I thought about the breathing thing when I cleaned the brooder this morning--with my face down in there right after I poured baking soda in the bottom, it made me cough a little. In the future, I think I will apply it only when the ducks are not in the brooder, and wait for it to settle before putting them back in.

Thanks for all the tips & ideas. Walduck Astoria!!

 

[Denninmi]

I would be concerned long-term (like after a week or two) that the constant exposure to baking soda, which is a salt, would cause chemical burns on their feet? Kind of like what happens to dogs that get into a lot of rock salt on sidewalks in the winter.

 

[FenDruadin]

Good question... maybe I should put it under a thin layer of straw? Would that make a difference? It does seem like it would be abrasive at minimum...

 

[Amiga]

Depending on how much you use, I would be on the lookout about the salt content for a couple of reasons. One is that if you put it in the compost, you have now put sodium in the compost. A little is no big deal, but sodium has a tendency to break down the structure of the soil, and cause plants to dehydrate.

I love the idea, by the way. Simple. Elegant. It just is a matter of watching that you use the least amount that works, and check to make sure there are no repercussions as Denninmi pointed out with the ducks, and with any plants that may receive baking soda in their soil amendments.

For similar reasons, I am thinking hard about anything I add to their water and bedding. I am avoiding ACV in their swim water and it is working out fine - I just scrub the pans every few days, and once every couple of weeks I dry them in the sun. That is because the water gets dumped into a mini canal that carries the fertilized water into my grape arbor. The grapes just adore the fertigation! But vinegar is something I have used to kill weeds, so I don't want vinegar in that water.

For their bedding (which doesn't get really wet because I don't give them water in their house) I add peat moss. Lowering the pH reduces the production of ammonia in compost, and I use a variation of the deep litter method so ammonia is a concern. But not when I use peat moss! That is working out well, and is just fine for the plants when I replace the bedding, which I do not expect to be needed often.

 

[GrumpyOldMan]

Quote:
I’d put it under the straw. Alkali can burn as badly as acid. The farther you go in either direction, acid or alkali, the more corrosive it gets. I don’t believe Baking soda will cause burns, (doesn’t on human skin) but better safe than sorry.

 

[ScaredOfShadows]

I have used baking soda mixed in - like shavings, baking soda, a thin layer of straw/fescue (its whatever that grows in the field thats ours - guys come and cut it 2 times a year and buy the bales from my dad and uncle (this year I kept 3 bales in winter and 3 last month, for the critters since I'm living here

) Anyway it works wonderfully for ducks and chicks and the chicken coop.

I sprinkle it out on the 'food area' where all the chickens and ducks come up and poo and spread out food *sigh* and I mix DE and baking soda and toss it out in that area to help cut the smell or else my dad might kill me. lol.

Baking soda if used minimally - not in a thick layer (and if anything when you want to add more baking soda, just add some fresh shavings and then some baking soda and DE with the shavings on top - should still last 16-24 hours between cleanings)

 

[FenDruadin]

Okay, great tips--thanks for all the feedback! I now have the baking soda UNDER the bedding rather than on top, and we'll see how it goes. After this feedback and further thought, I had begun to worry about it burning their little feet over time, so I'm glad that was mentioned. Let's see how it does under the bedding today...

 

[GrumpyOldMan]

Quote:
After sleeping on it I’m convinced Baking soda won’t harm your birds. Here’s why. When I was a kid my mom would make a past of BS and water and put it on my bee stings. Didn’t / doesn’t burn or irritate skin. As I got older I drank it mixed with water for heartburn. My wife sprinkles it on the concrete floor of the greenhouse. She walks in it barefooted and the chickens, ducks and geese walk on it too. So after careful deliberation I’ve come to the conclusion it perfectly safe for your / our critters.

 

[Baybrio]

Baking soda is in some tooth paste!