I am hoping to get some input on how old ducklings are when they realize that shavings are bedding, not food. A friend of a friend poo-pooed my use of old towels for bedding for the first few weeks. Pine shavings are much preferable for that person.
I had read that very young ducklings may eat pine shavings and that can hurt them. But here was a purported duck expert saying that is not so. I decided to try a closely monitored experiment.
Today I set up an indoor exercise area a few feet long by a few feet wide, and put down about an inch of shavings, just to see what would happen. Right away, most of the ducklings started eating the shavings. They were quickly removed from the area, the shavings collected, and an old sheet put down for their outing. Water was available, and everybody dabbled in that for a bit, with a few pieces of pine shaving coming out in the water (I grabbed the shavings and tossed them as they turned up). They weren't just tossing them around - they were swallowing them, or trying. Some pieces were too wide for their bills, so they gave up. Others were small enough to appear to go down the hatch.
The ducklings have plenty of food and water at all times. They are Indian runners.
They seem fine, and I doubt that one or two little slips of shavings will do any long term harm. But they were quickly removed from the shavings - I did not want to sit there and watch them fill up on the stuff.
Is this something that some birds do and others don't? Eventually the birds will be on shavings - certainly once they are grown and in their own shelter outdoors (the brooder is indoors). Is there a rule of thumb for how old they are when they get past the eating stage? Are there different grades of shavings, or just one?
I had read that very young ducklings may eat pine shavings and that can hurt them. But here was a purported duck expert saying that is not so. I decided to try a closely monitored experiment.
Today I set up an indoor exercise area a few feet long by a few feet wide, and put down about an inch of shavings, just to see what would happen. Right away, most of the ducklings started eating the shavings. They were quickly removed from the area, the shavings collected, and an old sheet put down for their outing. Water was available, and everybody dabbled in that for a bit, with a few pieces of pine shaving coming out in the water (I grabbed the shavings and tossed them as they turned up). They weren't just tossing them around - they were swallowing them, or trying. Some pieces were too wide for their bills, so they gave up. Others were small enough to appear to go down the hatch.
The ducklings have plenty of food and water at all times. They are Indian runners.
They seem fine, and I doubt that one or two little slips of shavings will do any long term harm. But they were quickly removed from the shavings - I did not want to sit there and watch them fill up on the stuff.
Is this something that some birds do and others don't? Eventually the birds will be on shavings - certainly once they are grown and in their own shelter outdoors (the brooder is indoors). Is there a rule of thumb for how old they are when they get past the eating stage? Are there different grades of shavings, or just one?
