Ducklings eating shavings?

[carey34]

I have 2 pekin and 2 mallard ducklings about 1-2 weeks old. I have had them for a few days. They seem to be eating a lot of pine shavings? I always see then laying in the brooder scooping some up. They always have chick starter (unmedicated) in their feed dish. Is this normal? should I switch to something else in the brooder? Thanks to much

 

[DawnSuiter]

I've "heard" that shavings aren't a good idea for several weeks because they will eat them. If you put a no slip shelf liner ontop of them that should help yet still make the chips effective.

Sorry I don't know for sure, but I'm not planning on using any shavings at all because of that when I get my little duckies.

 

[xfilesnumber1fan]

I use puppy training pads for my brooder because of that problem...Dont want them eating the wood and at that age they dont know what food is...Well even my adults try to eat crazy things....

 

[xke4]

Put paper towel down over the shavings and reduce the area covered by the paper towel every few days. They will soon realize that there are other yummier things to eat. Try putting a small stuffed animal (without any small bits that can be chewed off) so they have something else to occupy their time. Make sure it is one that can be discarded after cuz it will be quite stinky.

 

[nettie]

i use shavings, from day old... they pick at it and sometimes eat it, but as long as it's not toxic it shouldn't be a problem. My ducks never had an issue with it. A shelf liner is good for the first couple days to a week, but they get awfully messy. If you're worried about it, go ahead and use the shelf liner. But i personally never have a problem with them eating it. (My ducks have eaten things a LOT more worrisome than shavings, lol, like cigarette butts and thread. lol, they were fine.)

 

[Webfoot]

Are they picking the shavings up, tasting them, and spitting them out again? If so, that's normal. They do that with everything.

I use shavings after the first 24 hours or so, and haven't had any problems.

Webfoot

 

[cici_p]

I just picked up shavings from the store to switch over to (from towels) because the mess with my two week and a half old ducks is getting out of control! However after getting home I realized that the shavings are much smaller than I wanted. Is it okay to use the small shavings or should I try to find a bigger kind. They are just sitting in the bag right now because I am too nervous to put them in the brooder.

 

[nettie]

i prefer smaller shavings because they are easier to scoop and spread out. I would not worry... at two and half weeks you should have no problem at all... By then they know what and where the food is. They might investigate it, and maybe even swallow a little piece but it'll just come out the back end.... They won't eat tons of it or anything... nothing to worry about.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Baby ducks like to nibble on everything. I put mine on shavings/pellets directly out of the brooder. I haven't had one die yet. In my (limited) experience, it doesn't matter how old they are when you put them on shavings, they are still going to try it!

 

[carey34]

Do you like the pellets better? I am off to the feed store tomorrow and was pondering getting a bag of wood pellets to try. I tried the dog pad thing today and the mess is just so outta control. Thanks!