Bedding for Goslings

[028Jacy]

Tomorrow I will be getting a pair of day old Embden goslings. I'm really excited but have a question about bedding. Would it be ok to keep them on timothy hay? Also If I can, will it be ok if they eat/peck at a few pieces?

Thanks Again

 

[scratch'n'peck]

I might be concerned that goslings would ingest too much of the hay and get an impaction. Goslings are such nibblers. They are also splash their water much more than chickens do. We used pine shavings because they are more absorbent and covered then with paper towels the first few days.

 

[Iain Utah]

Personally, I think towels made the best brooder bedding. Towels give goslings good traction, which they really need at first, they cannot eat it, and you can easily shake towels out, throw them in washer, and re-use.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

We don't brood in the house.......

So with that said, our brooder house has floor level brooder boxes each gets bedded with pelleted horse stall bedding. It rakes easy each morning after everyone is out in their yards for the day, and by that evening is dry and ready for another night. We shovel it all out every 2-3 weeks (or as needed) add to the compost pile and rebed.

Newly hatched not ready to walk outside we use the same pellets and cute sheets of rubber rub backer (the stuff from lowes and HD to keep runners and rugs in place) and lay them over the pellets. No slipping, easy clean up. We keep them in the house 24/36 hours before sending out to the brooder house. They live inside the brooder house day and night until day 5-7 then they are outside all day every day on grass with water and similar age/size goslings. We use hoop houses and playpens made of latice panels so we can shuffle various age groups around. Juveniles with feathers get to free range with the adults.

 

[Jenifer Kraus]

Personally, I think towels made the best brooder bedding. Towels give goslings good traction, which they really need at first, they cannot eat it, and you can easily shake towels out, throw them in washer, and re-use.

That is what I use for new babies as it does have good traction and don't have much problem with slayed legs.