do i need bedding?

[Deleon98]

Thanks for all the information. I dont leave food or water in the coop at night for the ducks (I hope that'd not a problem) so I don't have a problem with much mess or mud. I let let them out early in the morning around 6 during weekdays and 7 weekends. And I love how you use coffee grounds btw that's very interesting XD

 

[Deleon98]

Watering the poop is an excellent idea too. At first it sounds counter productive but if they are running around all day then it should dry on time

 

[Deleon98]

The dirt that that is in their coop isn't very rich at all I mixed in some sand so it's Alwayd dry but I'll try watering it in the mornings to get the poop to drain.

 

[MaureenD]

@aminga- Hi there, I do the same thing with straw in the day pen. I have river rock over very dry soil under the deck. Once a week I will rake out the poopy wet straw in front of their water/food area. The rest stays pretty dry and poop can be scooped like in wood shavings. I put this compost out on farm field behind us right now (it is too much straw for my beds in growing season). When I clean the coop, I pick out poopy wood shavings, save a barrel of them, then spread those on beds like woodchips.
If I see a couple of flies in the a.m. when I let them out, I know it is time to clean. Not bad so far, not smelly either.

Amiga- question unrelated to bedding... will a broody runner stop laying? and if I have been successful in getting her "unbroody", can she start laying again? I got nothing for a week, then a soft shell, then a large egg, and today an itty bitty egg. Hormonal?

 

[MaureenD]

We have such healthy soil without pesticides that our worm population takes care of our poop as long as it is liquified enough for them to eat it. If there is too much poop and not enough dirt and worms you may not have healthy soil. You can always add worms to do the work. Once the liquified poop has soaked into the ground, and duck poop is already pretty much liquid already, there is no mess and the clean topsoil dries quickly. If the soil gets too saturated with poop it takes more water to wash it into the soil. We get alot of rain so the process happens naturally all winter, I just help it along during dry weather.

It could take time to get your soil loaded with worms but the moist dirt should attract them. If the dirt is too dry they may not be as active because they need to stay moist so they will seek out moisture. We have so many worms now that I can see their dirt plugs where they have been actively feeding. We also have 3 Worm Factory bins to feed worms our coffee grounds and food scraps (that don't go to the chickens) since my husband drinks a pot of coffee a day to medicate his ADHD.

A pot of coffee for ADHD...works for me too. : ) thanks for worm development in soil info.

 

[Amiga]

@aminga- Hi there, I do the same thing with straw in the day pen. I have river rock over very dry soil under the deck. Once a week I will rake out the poopy wet straw in front of their water/food area. The rest stays pretty dry and poop can be scooped like in wood shavings. I put this compost out on farm field behind us right now (it is too much straw for my beds in growing season). When I clean the coop, I pick out poopy wood shavings, save a barrel of them, then spread those on beds like woodchips.
If I see a couple of flies in the a.m. when I let them out, I know it is time to clean. Not bad so far, not smelly either.

Amiga- question unrelated to bedding... will a broody runner stop laying? and if I have been successful in getting her "unbroody", can she start laying again? I got nothing for a week, then a soft shell, then a large egg, and today an itty bitty egg. Hormonal?

When we do get a broody Runner sometimes, she'll stop laying, then after the broody business is over, it takes several weeks and sometimes a molt before she'll start to lay again, and we might see a soft shell, itty bitty eggs, etc., before her system smoothes out. Make sure she's getting plenty of calcium (consider a 50 mg daily boost for a couple of weeks via calcium citrate) and a tablespoon or two of dry cat kibble or other safe protein treat to rebuild her system.