Bedding for ducklings

[SED]

Can you use pea gravel or smooth rounded river rock in a brooder for ducklings? I am using pine shavings now but they are keeping it wet and I am having to change it often. I thought that a smooth pea gravel would help water drain or would it be bad for their feet and legs? Thanks!

 

[Duck_feeder]

I've been using wood pellets that expand to saw dust for my ducklings (5 weeks old now). I wet the pellets and let them expand to saw dust before I put it in the brooders. I also mix in some Sweet PDZ (absorbs moisture and ammonia to reduce smell) after the saw dust expands. Then I put down a thick layer between 1-2" deep. Every day I scrape the top 1/2" of the surface to remove any poop and replace anything that is wet (usually everything within a 6-8" of the waterer). The trick here is that I'm using very absorbent material and I'm using a lot of it so nothing ever saturates to the point where there is standing water.

I use large plastic storage bins for brooders so all the dust and moisture doesn't leak out anywhere. I also use waterers that they can't get into and splash water around. I keep the food and water in opposite corners (they were next to each other when they were still a couple weeks old to ensure they didn't choke). This keeps the food nice and dry.

So far this has been working really well for me (other than my 5 week old ducklings being too big for their brooders - I'm building them a larger one tonight).

 

[SED]

I am thinking about building a raised pen with 1/2" hardware cloth and spearding about an inch or more of pea gravel or some kind of smooth rocks that would be bigger than the hardware cloth holes. This way, I can hose it out when it get dirty and the water will drain thru the rocks and hardare cloth and keep their water cleaner. Any thoughts?