This is going to sound ridiculous... but where would I acquire large amounts of Pine Shavings for litter? Or is chopped up hay just fine? I have access to lots of hay but I cannot find large enough bags of pine shavings and if I can, they don't ship to Canada. If anyone has any suggestions that would be VERY helpful... I get my 6 Rouen ducks in 1 week, I have 8 4 week old chickies (2 Easter Eggers, 2 Silver Lace Wyndotte, 2 Barred Rock, and 2 Blue Orpintons). I also have 2 3 week old turkeys. They will be housed in a converted garage (all separate). I would ideally like to use hay, what is the verdict.. is hay okay??
It depends on who you ask.
Hay is a bit more difficult to deal with, it tends to get matted up.
I use grass clippings and pine shavings together to keep a "looser" bedding mixture.
I do have a very open coop so my litter gets wet when it rains, the looser mixture drys much better.
I can tell you this, the ducks will make 5 times the mess those chicks do!
Duckies are Yucky!
AS well, they don't scratch or dig like chickens, helping you turn the litter.
With the small amount of birds you have, you should not be needing "large" amounts of pine shavings?