best bedding for ducklings?

[lunyre]

I have 3 pekin ducklings. one is 1.8 weeks old, the other two are 1 week.


Ive been using paper towels and straw pellets so far and im getting tired of it quickly. they prove to be very messy when they get wet...



ive heard pine shavings are okay, if so what about these..? http://tinyurl.com/owcpe3u
or any of these? http://tinyurl.com/kkc8ony
which would be the best kind to get? if any? and if not these, then what kind of bedding do you guys recommend i try? I'd rather get one that is safe when ingested.. because they eat loads of their papertowels and straw bedding.

 

[ducklover87]

I have 3 pekin ducklings. one is 1.8 weeks old, the other two are 1 week.


Ive been using paper towels and straw pellets so far and im getting tired of it quickly. they prove to be very messy when they get wet...



ive heard pine shavings are okay, if so what about these..? http://tinyurl.com/owcpe3u
or any of these? http://tinyurl.com/kkc8ony
which would be the best kind to get? if any? and if not these, then what kind of bedding do you guys recommend i try? I'd rather get one that is safe when ingested.. because they eat loads of their papertowels and straw bedding.

Hi something that not everyone can do but I find is better for my situation is I use old towels and blankets. That way you don't have to worry about it they eat them or running to the store to get more bedding every few days. Straw really isn't the best since it doesn't hold moisture very well. The best things to use is pine shavings or even horse bedding since they are both really absorbent. The pine shavings work well as long as you can get the water under control. And the horse bedding works just as well if not better than the pine shavings. I'm not sure what your watering system is like for your ducklings but to help cut down on water messes take a look at these links https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/52173/less-mess-duckling-water/10. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/426909/non-spill-duckling-waterer. These are two very informative links that will help you get your watering system under control. That will help a lot when it comes to the cleanliness of your brooder.

 

[Amiga]

One of the nicest setups I have seen - actually, two of the nicest setups I remember right now were from tweetysvoice and 70%cocoa.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/641902/created-a-water-saver-for-my-duck-brooder

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/679433/water-water-everywhere/10

I used towels and though it was work, the ducklings tried to eat shavings, so I chose healthy ducklings over impacted ducklings. Not all of them do that.

 

[lunyre]

i may try creating my own water bin... that seems to be effective. I know that when i design their permanent home as adults that i will DEFINITELY employ the mesh feeding area design, that was always a great idea. its just im always moving them around into different bins or boxes as they grow.. so quickly, and their needs grow daily lol!

Its a bit frustrating and irritating.. but at the end of the day its a huge learning experience and a bit of sunshine to my life. Ive never raised ducks before, ive raised black star chickens with my father but never these little mess pots.. its very interesting to experience, and my first poultry ive taken on all by myself. I do have a question though, once they all hit the 3-6 week spot in their growth, and start getting closer to full sized, what kind of enclosure would work to keep them indoors? I dont think i have a box big enough laying around.. ha!

 

[Amiga]

i may try creating my own water bin... that seems to be effective. I know that when i design their permanent home as adults that i will DEFINITELY employ the mesh feeding area design, that was always a great idea. its just im always moving them around into different bins or boxes as they grow.. so quickly, and their needs grow daily lol!

Its a bit frustrating and irritating.. but at the end of the day its a huge learning experience and a bit of sunshine to my life. Ive never raised ducks before, ive raised black star chickens with my father but never these little mess pots.. its very interesting to experience, and my first poultry ive taken on all by myself. I do have a question though, once they all hit the 3-6 week spot in their growth, and start getting closer to full sized, what kind of enclosure would work to keep them indoors? I dont think i have a box big enough laying around.. ha!

I went to puppy playpens at two to three weeks, then added another a few weeks later. I know what you mean about constantly catching their enclosure up to their rapid growth. We had Brooder I, Brooder II, and Brooder III!

The puppy playpens are several two-foot wide sections of coated wire pen joined together, but open at each end so you can either put the ends of one pen together, or add a second (or more) section and enlarge the area. That is what we did. I used 6 mil plastic underneath and up the sides several inches due to splashing. I placed a few absorbent puppy pads under the 6 mil plastic, since we were on hardwood floor

My life was turned into something entirely different when I got the ducks. I am so happy I did. It was intense, very intense.