Duck Poop Piling Up?

[10 Baby Ducklings]

Hello, I’m hoping someone has an idea of something I can do. I have ducks and I keep having trouble cleaning poop out of their run. Originally it was dirt, but then I did some research and put pea gravel on it. That worked well for a few months and I would just spray the pea gravel down. Then it started going between the stones and kind of cementing the stones together. So I put a layer of bigger rocks on it and that helped for several months. Now it’s not draining anymore and it’s creating a big muck pile. When I try to spray it, it dissolves and forms a puddle and then just goes back to muck. I had previously put some liquid on it that was safe for ducks and supposed to help the poop dissolve, and it helped, but it is not a cost effective solution. With the days getting shorter and with it getting colder outside, I’m hoping to get this taken care of quickly. Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[BoundlessLove]

I use a thick layer of hay,
but our ducks free range daily.
So it takes a while to get bad.
When it does get bad, I just rake it out and put fresh hay in place.

 

[CherishedFowlGuardian]

I use pine shavings.

 

[Papaye]

Hi.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Is your run big?

Personally, I just put plastic gratings and stepping stones in my runs, so it is easy to clean the poop.
It even has the advantage to prevent my ducks from digging holes in the ground, and so, from getting their runs muddy...

...In winter, even though it is not really necessary for my ducks : I put straw - that I clean/change regularly of course - on top of these gratting and stones, so my ducks can stay warm and dry enough during the colder months.

(For what it's worth : I would NEVER recommend to use hay as bedding for waterfowl - especially in WINTER!
I am, indeed, not counting the number of people who contact me out of season to ask me for ducks, because they accidentally killed theirs by using hay as bedding...)

...Good luck!

 

[BoundlessLove]

We’ve used hay for years with no issues. This is my personal experience.
Everyone’s setup is not the same.

 

[10 Baby Ducklings]

Hi.



Is your run big?

Personally, I just put plastic gratings and stepping stones in my runs, so it is easy to clean the poop.
It even has the advantage to prevent my ducks from digging holes in the ground, and so, from getting their runs muddy...

...In winter, even though it is not really necessary for my ducks : I put straw - that I clean/change regularly of course - on top of these gratting and stones, so my ducks can stay warm and dry enough during the colder months.

(For what it's worth : I would NEVER recommend to use hay as bedding for waterfowl - especially in WINTER!
I am, indeed, not counting the number of people who contact me out of season to ask me for ducks, because they accidentally killed theirs by using hay as bedding...)

...Good luck!

Thank you, I will try straw. My run is not very big, but they have an indoor option and they free range during the day. I put straw over the stones in the run last winter (I read that otherwise their feet can freeze to the stones) and it was a pain to clean the straw out for a couple of reasons (mainly my pitchfork kept snagging in the netting/wire and I wanted to get every single piece of straw out), but I already use straw in their building and it’s simple enough to clean out. Which keeping straw down at all times will help with the perfectionist tendencies to get it all out.

Thank you again!

 

[Papaye]

Hi.

We’ve used hay for years with no issues. This is my personal experience.
Everyone’s setup is not the same.

Not trying to start a debate here...
...nevertheless, even though you are right by stating that "everyone's setup is not the same", I have to insist that : hay is (supposed to be) food, and - for a number of reasons - should never be used as bedding. (Especially in winter!)

I am not criticizing you for using it, nor I am trying to sound condescending : you do what you want, and good for you if it works.

But I prefer to be prudent, and thus not put lives at risk by recommending the use of hay instead of suggesting another product - such as straw, which looks similar, but is at least actually safer...

(...Could I ask you why you use hay, and not straw instead?
Is it because straw is harder to find? Or is there another reason...?)

Thank you, I will try straw. My run is not very big, but they have an indoor option and they free range during the day. I put straw over the stones in the run last winter (I read that otherwise their feet can freeze to the stones) and it was a pain to clean the straw out for a couple of reasons (mainly my pitchfork kept snagging in the netting/wire and I wanted to get every single piece of straw out), but I already use straw in their building and it’s simple enough to clean out. Which keeping straw down at all times will help with the perfectionist tendencies to get it all out.

Thank you again!

You are, of course, welcome!

But where do you live, for you to be afraid by the fact your ducks' feet could "freeze to the stones"?

I live in Auvergne (France), so temperatures can be very cold - though not as extreme as, for example, in Wisconsin...

For the last days, I think I have had -5 C° to -8 C° (meaning : 23 °F to 17,6 °F) some nights and mornings - perharps even colder, I don't actually know?
...BUT : my ducks' feet have NOT frozen to the ground, or even to my stepping stones, once I let them get out of their runs in the mornings...!

► Last year... I think I had -10 °C (so : 14 °F) in my area... probably colder, honestly?

I don't really remember how cold it had got at the time, but still : during the nights, I had then ducks that slept on non-covered stepping stones...
...and I don't know why they didn't go into their shelter or (at least) onto the straw I had put on the ground for the season, but - what I can say is : they didn't look particularly bothered by the cold, and I assure you I did NOT find them frozen to the stones...!

(Ducks were Indian Runners, Khaki Campbell, and French Duclair...
So : cold-hardy breeds!)

⚠ EDIT ⚠ :
Just to know : what "liquid that was safe for ducks and supposed to help the poop dissolve" were you talking about, in your first post?