Duck House Bedding?

[willowbirdks]

So we've recently moved our ducks out to their permanent duck house... Just the indoor portion at this point, with carefully supervised time outside during the warmer parts of the day.

Wondering what everyone uses as bedding for the indoor portions of your duck house? We have shavings down near the food and water, since that is going to be messy until we're able to just move it outside. I've been putting straw down on the other end of the duck house, but just recently read some potential concerns with how that could affect their respiratory systems. Is this something I should be worried about? What are other people successfully using as bedding inside the duck house?

 

[BamaDucker8811]

I'm glad you asked that as I'm wondering the same thing. My SIL bales hay so I have an endless supply of it & I wish I could use it. Where do you get the wood shavings?

 

[TracyLovesDucks]

I'm still very new to ducks (and any kind of poultry in general). But just wanted to share my thoughts.

I've heard of lots of people that use straw and I've seen pictures too. I bet, as long as you don't replace the bedding and/or lay down new bedding while the ducks are in there, it'll be alright. That way, you can let the dust settle so they are not inhaling it. Also, it's probably really important to never use moldy straw and never let it become moldy. That would really cause respiratory problems.

Interested to see what the experts have to say!

 

[willowbirdks]

I'm glad you asked that as I'm wondering the same thing. My SIL bales hay so I have an endless supply of it & I wish I could use it. Where do you get the wood shavings?

We get them from a local lumber store, and they are very inexpensive. I also have pet rabbits, and we use pine shavings for their little box. I have also seen shavings of all kinds of wood for sale at places like Tractor Supply.

 

[Going Quackers]

Shavings are good, you can also try wood pellets they make it for horses.. lately i've been trying my flax bedding i use for my chickens, it's not working to bad either. I don't use straw -period- i personally dislike the mess and it can harbor pests. I am familiar with straw, so this is not based upon lack of it's use.. i do use it for my sheep.

 

[TracyLovesDucks]

Shavings are good, you can also try wood pellets they make it for horses.. lately i've been trying my flax bedding i use for my chickens, it's not working to bad either. I don't use straw -period- i personally dislike the mess and it can harbor pests. I am familiar with straw, so this is not based upon lack of it's use.. i do use it for my sheep.

Yeah I don't use straw myself. I just know other folks use it.

In fact, it seems my runners will eat any kind of bedding. I fear straw would cause intestinal blockage were they to eat it. So I have my ducks on dirt. The dirt is sandy in my area, so it has pretty good drainage and absorbs the non solids of their poop really well. When I first put the ducks in there when they were younger, it did make them dusty and literally dirty, but with access to water for cleaning and and now with full grown feathers, it's no longer a problem. But the floor gets a little hard, which might not be that comfy for the ducks.

Does anyone else use dirt? Does anyone have opinions about using a dirt floor?