How many ducklings and how big is the tote? Can you post pics? Usually when wet bedding is this big of a problem they are in too small of a space. Ducklings grow very very fast and need their areas upgraded often. At 3 weeks old they shouldn't be in a tote anymore, they need a bigger pen so the food and water can be on one side and they can lay down and sleep on another dry side far away.
Also, what are you using for water? Maybe they need a different waterer that doesn't allow so much to spill on the shavings. I use shavings for my ducks and they work great, so long as they have a big enough space and the proper waterers. For water I use plastic food containers with lids. I just cut a hole in the lids the proper size for them to fit their heads into to clear out nares and eyes, but not big enough for the ducklings to get into and get themselves and their bedding wet.
Hope that all made sense.
Also, it's very important that ducks can clear out their nares and clean their eyes at all times. The type of waterer you had there does not allow them to do this. They can get food stuck in their nares and eyes can get dirty and lead to infections.
thank you thank youOk, yeah the problem is the tote is too small. But you are building them a pen already, so that's great! In the meantime, you'll just need to clean out their tote more often to keep them from getting too wet and gross. Not fun, but necessary.
Is the bigger waterer you have now the same type as in the pic? Those are incredibly messy with ducks because they splash alot of water out of them from the sides of their mouths while they're drinking. Can you find an old plastic food container of some kind with a lid to make a new waterer? Just cut a hole in the top of the lid big enough for their heads to get in. That will help alot with the water mess, trust me.
Anyway, so I think you have the best bedding (wood shavings), you just need to fix the water situation and size of their pen. ^-^
