Does anyone use those wood pellets as bedding for their barn/coop

[Going Quackers]

I use them in my barn for the horses in combination with shavings.. thinking of doing the same for the ducks as winter is starting to arrive... i guess i wanted to know are they ok for ducks? would they try and eat them since they are a pellet?

Your experiences? TIA!

 

[cbohn80]

isnt straw or pineshavings cheaper? i would just stick with those. i'll even use dry leaves, its what they use in the wild

 

[Amiga]

I use sawdust pellets around the edge of the pen and in the water bucket area in the basement pen and in the Veranda outside.

They absorb moisture so well, it keeps the straw drier in the basement pen.

Same with the Veranda - it's their outdoor night pen attached to their outdoor house. I fluff it with the cultivator every day or two because between moisture and the pitter patter of webbed feet, it gets packed down and goes anaerobic and begins to emit an odor. But if I fluff it, the air keeps the aroma much more pleasant.

Same with the water bucket area. This is what I mean:

I find that shavings and/or straw make for a more lofty bed that provides better insulation. The sawdust packs down so much.

 

[Going Quackers]

Thanks for the replies... I added straw today.. it cost 4$ per square but i am unsure how easy it'll be to keep clean? i scrape and remove most of the droppings daily with the shavings as a base.. the floor is rubber stall mats... and then wood, the whole barn is raised off the ground.

The pellets are not cheap, true but they absorb really well... i know this from the horses, but you raise a good point about the flattening.. 8 pairs of duck feet will probably tramp it down rather quickly. You've both given me some things to think on, wish they could just litter train

 

[TinyChickenLady]

I've used the pellets in my brooder boxes and love them! Easier to clean up the mess. I've never used them with ducks though. I used pine shavings out in the coop.

 

[Amiga]

In the basement, for some reason (I may need to rethink this. Hmmmm*) I just put the straw on the flooring which is not concrete and therefore doesn't absorb organic material, which in turn can cause odor to linger for quite a while.

I put in a few inches first, then each day add 2 or 3 of what I call flakes of straw on top of that, sometimes taking the time to pick up bigger deposits first. After about a week, the straw starts to develop an earthy aroma, and so I remove it, wipe down the flooring with vinegar with a few drops of lavender and rosemary oil, and put a fresh layer down.

Now, for their outdoor house, I have a foot or more of pine shavings under a couple of inches of straw. And the straw is optional. But with the shavings, what I do for maintenance is stir them with a thick hoe handle or 1" square oak garden stake (something that won't bend or break). I have kept the shavings in there for months, and as long as it stays dry (aside from the duck poop), it is lovely in there. My standard is to ask myself if I would sleep in there on a blanket.

I started building up shavings in the outdoor house for insulation. They do not have to be changed out frequently. Why I have not tried this in the basement is a mystery. Hmmmmm. I think because I don't have to insulate the basement. It stays above 40F.

*Now I remember. DH and I are mildly allergic to pine shavings, and also work in the basement frequently.

 

[featherfinder]

I put a layer of them under my top bedding. Ususally use grass clipping for that so i dont have to buy straw. Seems to work really well and keeps the smell in the duck house way down!

 

[sourland]

I use wood pellets as deep bedding in my pigeon lofts. They work very well for me.

 

[duckluck]

Me, I'd worry about them eating them as they are a lot like duck pellets. Personally, I hate them for the horses and would never use them...my trainer used them and I tried them once, and I think they stink, literally. They absorb but then they let the smell right on through. I tried them for about five minutes in a trailer and found them to be slick footing on a surface that needed traction help to begin with.

 

[Amiga]

duckluck,

as a duck person whose ducklings ate anything, including shavings for the couple of days we had them, I see your concern.

Once mine grew up, they had figured out (mostly) about food. And if I don't fluff the sawdust in the Veranda, it gets quite unpleasantly aromatic.

And wow, it's like walking on marbles if you spread them dry on a hard surface! I speak from experience!

So, I use them around the edges of the basement pen, under the straw, to absorb dampness, and at the entrance to the watering station for the same reason. I also put them under the watering station.

(In fact, I place them under things other than duck areas that may get wet accidentally and it seems to work out for me.)

A little off topic, but something I appreciate about the forum (which means, about the people on the forum) is that I can see a whole range of experience, and see that what works for one does not necessarily work for another, and that's just how it seems to be. But I have lifted so many great ideas from y'all. Thanks!