ducks on paving slabs?

[kingpincray]

Quote:
Hi Nettie,
COuld you post a picture of the special shoes for your ducks? I am interested. I have my first duck eggs hatching today and thinking of talking them for walks too sometime as I don't have a lot of grounds for them to run around.

 

[DuckMamaorBust]

688peterl - Maybe there are products around you that we aren't familiar with that could work? We've mentioned stall dry, straw, sand, etc. Are there other materials native to England that we aren't thinking of?

What do folks with horses use in their stalls?
What about folks in the area with sheep or goats?

You may have a resource we aren't suggesting because we aren't familiar with what's available around you.

Also, have you engaged your parents in the process of planning the house? I thought you said in an earlier post that you guys were going to build something together. Have them get involved. They may have some ideas too. This could be a fun family project.

 

[688peterl]

i could use sand that would probably be the best... they are on shavings now in the brooder and they seem to like them, they do keep eating them but i can tell they are getting bored of that now thay are doing it less than when i put them in this morning

 

[688peterl]

what about play sand.. the stuff thats in sandpits for kids? if its safe for children i imagine its safe for ducks too? i found this

http://www.gardencentre.co.uk/product.asp?id=770&sr=gbase&ad=770

 

[19hhbelgian]

If the ducks eat the sand, can it hurt them in any way? They are always putting their beaks in the ground and slopping...

I think you need to post a pic of your duckies - that would help us help you WAY more

When you get that pic of your duck area, you need to slip in a picof the actual ducks (it's mandatory on this forum

)

I like some body else's idea of removing the pavers from the duck area... Unless that just isn't feasible.

 

[DuckMamaorBust]

Quote:
I think the play sand will work. In fact, I asked that very question in another thread (https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=268828) because I think I may go that route for my own duck pen. I still have a few un-answered questions regarding sand but it seems like it would be a safe surface, readily available, and easy to maintain.

See if you can find a few sources of sand. Also, keep an eye out for people who have kids that are too old for their sand boxes. They may get rid of everything and you can get free sand. Looking at what you sent, 20kg of play sand at 3.99 lbs and if you scroll down there is 1 cubic meter of beach sand for 95 lbs. I can't tell how many cubic meters are in the pre-packaged sand.

There is a good chance if you can find the volume and do a comparison it may be cheaper to buy a bulk load.

 

[688peterl]

ok the run is nearly finished it just need the door on, but other than that its done, il take pics 2moz when its light... and i dont know if the the sand would hurt them if they ate it, because they would eat whatever i used anyway, i started them on shavings in the brooder today and they ate them for a while but seem to have stopped now i think they know it isnt food, and even if they did eat the sand, i cant see it causing problems because some people give sand as a substitute for grit dont they? any other ideas instead of sand???

 

[688peterl]

ps i cant move the paving slabs, the run has a wooden floor though so thay are not on the slabs anyway (when they are in the run) but i still need something to cover the wooden floor with...

 

[LoreenH]

Sand will be fine, though if you use ocean beach sand it needs to be well washed to get rid of the salt. A number of people here use sand. We are going to use pea gravel topped with coarse sand, we live in the rainy Pacific Northwest (Portland, Oregon, USA) so needed something with good drainage.

 

[nettie]

sand is fine, then you won't need grit. lol. They eat it in the wild, so it's just fine.... ducks are smart and usually don't eat natural things they shouldn't. now man made objects are a whole other story... lol