best bedding for ducklings?

[Countrypunk92]

As we know, ducklings arw very very messy.

So what bedding is best in your opinion?

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

I just use shavings, right from day 1. They can soak up a lot of water!

 

[duckyfromoz]

I raise hundreds of ducking each year- and shavings are the only realistic option I have. Puppy pads and towels just wouldnt be realisitic because of cost of the amount of washing I would have to do. Also some puppy pads contain a polymer that could be dangerous if eaten by the ducklings. Shavings are a natural product- that are biodegradable- and make a wonderful mulch after being used. I have tried a few different products but shavings remain the best I have found. Some people worry about ducklings eating them- but I have never encountered a shaving related illness in any of my ducklings.

 

[DurhamDuck]

I tried paper towels first, but they had to be changed continually. Then I tried shavings but wasn't happy with them because the ducklings kept trying to eat it and I was afraid they'd get sick. Now I use straw and I love it. It kepts them elevated while the water filters down under the hay. During the day, as they mess up the straw I add a small layer on top to keep them away from the mess. At the end of the day, I completely empty out the brooder while the ducklings take a warm bath. I refill the brooder with fresh straw every night.
All the old straw I dump in our compost pile. For us, straw works the best.

 

[mandelyn]

For my small number of 6, I use towels bought used from Goodwill. I was going through shavings like there was an unlimited supply of them, and with shavings for the house bunnies, shavings for the outside birds, it was too much shavings! So the babies now get the towels and I wash a load once a day and change them twice a day.

The bonus, no more shavings in the waterer soaking it up, so I'm changing the water out twice a day instead of 4 times a day.

 

[DuckiesAndBees]

My 4 week olds are in a plastic pool brooder. There is a thrift store near my house that sells big bags of fabric remnants for $2 a bag. I usually totally clean it out each evening, throwing out the old fabric and hosing down the pool. In the mornings I do a quick clean by putting down fresh farbic on top of the old. I know it's wasteful, but it's the only easy solution I can think of for now, and I'd rather throw out old fabric than do a load of duck poo laundry everyday. Next weekend they'll be going out into the big pen and they will get straw out there... to be used as compost when the duckies are done with it

 

[Katy]

I don't raise that many a year so I use the puppy pee pads till they go out to an outside wire brooder at about 2 weeks.

 

[Coffeemama7]

We use a combo of corn cob bedding as a base (great drainage) and a soft layer of shavings on top. After scooping out the nasty shavings, we add another layer. On day 4 we dump the whole trough into the compost pile and start over.

 

[yoie]

I use puppy pee pads, got the idea on here. They work great on keeping the brooder dry, they can really hold alot of water! And the brooder doesn't turn into a mucky mess

I make sure I put the waterer right in the middle of one so I only have to change that one daily, the rest stay fairly dry and only have to be changed every other day. Since I've been using the puppy pads my DH says the house doesn't smell like a duck fart any more

 

[Sore Thumb Suburbanite]

Quote:
I second the mulch idea, I have been gardening with nice stinky moist duck poo shavings since march and my plants LOOOOOVE it! it really fluffs up the soil and helps retain moisture too, I actually amended my raised planting beds with the shaving/poo mix. I think my potatoes this year will be huge!
I would also agree that shavings are the way to go, My ducks ate some, but figured out fast that its not great food. Try using something you can re-use ultimately, its better to cut down on waste and saves you money. FYI: If you put the waterer on top of a 2x4 square with hardware cloth nailed over it, you can actually cut down on shaving in the water quite a bit, just put a towel or pan under the hardware cloth to absorb the water.

I wouldn't put duck poo towels in my washer and dryer, at 3 weeks a few ducks can totally anialate (sp?) the bedding and I wouldn't be able to touch the towel, let alone put it in the same washer as I do things that touch my family's bodies. To me it falls in with washing a cat litter box in your sink before you cook dinner.