Best bedding for ducks?

[Bleenie]

I saw a post a long time ago on here where someone had to cut open their chicken because it ate a whole buynch of straw and almost died.

what you said just reminded me of that

Mine never really eat the bedding, they dig around in the hay for the 'grain-like' stuff in it but never caught them munching down pieces thankfully!

 

[TK Poultry]

i havnt either but i would feel better if they did that then wood chips or something sented!

 

[eggybritches]

For those of you who use shavings, how do you clean up? Is it like a big litter box and you only take out the icky parts? What about around the waterer?

 

[Bleenie]

The shavings in my pen get retty well smashed down and compost really well because of all the moisture.

I don't do it constantly but when i do need to clean it out i use a metal rake & then shovel it out and put new stuff in.


Anyone ever used Saw Dust??
There's a mill by me that gives it away free but they only let you pick up in a 10yd dump truck... I'm still looking for someone with a big dump truck

. I imagine it'll compost faster than shavings and be much more absorbent in the run.

 

[rainplace]

Quote:
I do not feed or water my fowl in their house. Outside I put pea gravel around most of their waterers. I also do not keep their food and water near each other.

I have not had to clean the house since late summer or early fall. About once a week I lay down some DE and add a little shavings on top. I'm hoping to get by till spring at which time I'll grab the wheelbarrow, the soil rake, and rake it all into loads that I'll dump down near the garden. I'm hoping by next fall those shavings will be ready for the garden...

I also use shaving right outside the duckhouse where they jump up to the house and down into the yard. That spot was getting really muddy. Since I've added the shavings it's soft but not muddy.

I really don't know how people are able to keep runs clean, I know I would go nuts! I'm lucky to have my backyard open to them.

 

[priss]

My nice neighbour gives me free woodshavings from a carpenter she knows. They are big and soft and really lovely but once she couldn't get to him and I had to buy sawdust from a petshop that had vacumn packed it so you had to break it off this big block. It worked fine but it wasn't soft and didn't feel like it'd be any good at insulating or absorbing much. I don't know what kind of sawdust the mill are offering you Bleenie but if it's anything like the stuff I get free then I like it. I could sleep on it, it's that soft!! Hoooowever, it is quite flyaway, it blows back in your face while you're stuffin it in the hut and the ground round the hut always has some shavings on.

 

[chickensducks&agoose]

my friend gave me a big garbage bag of sawdust from the local high school tech center, and it's been great. It does 'dust' around when you spread it, but it's great to spread over the snow near their food and stuff, so they don't have to stand on straight snow. Gives them a little bit of traction too! Try to get it free though, the shavings work a lot better, but for free, you can't beat sawdust... unless you can get something else free...

 

[Duck_feeder]

we use wood pellets that expand and break up into sawdust when they get wet (meant for horse stables). We mix it with Sweet PDZ (similar to Dry Stall) to make it even more absorbent and reduce smells.

 

[jmc]

Quote:
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but OP is asking about bedding used outside, where it will be exposed--at least in part, if not in full--to the elements.

I bought some hay to put outside for winter, but to my chagrin, there are plenty of THORNS in it

, I've wondered about using pine wood shaving, but thought they might just blow away, etc.

It seems that it would be cheaper to use hay.

But finally, let me get this straight. There are alot of you folks who really do use pine wood shavings OUTSIDE? I'm bummed about the 10 bales of thorny hay I got and I want the babies to have something to sit on outside if they want--besides snow and ice!

 

[rainplace]

Quote:
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but OP is asking about bedding used outside, where it will be exposed--at least in part, if not in full--to the elements.

I bought some hay to put outside for winter, but to my chagrin, there are plenty of THORNS in it

, I've wondered about using pine wood shaving, but thought they might just blow away, etc.

It seems that it would be cheaper to use hay.

But finally, let me get this straight. There are alot of you folks who really do use pine wood shavings OUTSIDE? I'm bummed about the 10 bales of thorny hay I got and I want the babies to have something to sit on outside if they want--besides snow and ice!

I use pine shavings just outside their duckhouse where they jump in and out. It's doing a great job keeping area unmuddy.

For other muddy areas, like around the pond, I use pea gravel.

The places I've kept straw outside start scaring me with a mold type smell... maybe I'm just paranoid.