Excellent bedding for baby ducks/geese!!!

[shelleyd2008]

I have been keeping my babies on puppy pads to help soak up the water they spill. The smell has been unbelievable!!

I clean their box twice a day, and it still stinks!!

A friend of mine said that she used the horse bedding pellets. These are only $8 for 40#, much cheaper than the puppy pads (I think), so I thought I would try it out.

No smell, no wetness, nothing!! Just happy peeping baby ducks!!

So if you are as crazy as I am, and decided to hatch ducks this winter, this is a wonderful idea!! They are made from pine, so they are not toxic. They crumble up when they are wet, but they still stay dry!! These seem to work wonderfully, just thought I would let everyone in on it!!

 

[nivtup]

We have 15 in the bator now, so we will keep this in mind. I do remember how messy they are.

Come on spring!!

 

[lilchick]

Are they more absorbent than pine shavings?
Maybe they should invent something just for ducks

My pair of call ducks are sleeping on shavings in corner of their outside pen. The snow is on the ground and they will stay out all day once I open their little duck house in a.m. I even have to run them in at night! I felt sorry for them and put the shavings in corner where they sleep in the sun and they love it!
To keep the pen from getting muddy in summer I have down pine bark and it keeps them high and dry... Love my call ducks!
The hen was a rescue and she lived awhile in with a pen of silkies who were also rescued. She quacked at me for food and attention. Never had a friendly duck before either. She actually would fly up towards me whenever I leaned over the pen.. I held her and she would nibble on my clothes and stretch out her neck onto my arm and seemed so happy.... A friend said she was probably grateful to be rescued!
She has been laying all winter and after I got her a male she has been hiding the eggs in her duck house..

 

[shelleyd2008]

I haven't tried pine shavings with these guys. I know with the quail that I have had, and the chicks for that matter, the shavings get real stinky pretty fast! The ducks are stinky anyway, and these control the stink pretty good!

These are equine stall bedding, so they should be pretty absorbent! I haven't needed to clean their box this morning, which is usually a twice a day thing. Plus they are still nice and dry!!

 

[ChanceRider]

I used the pellets for my chicks and ducklings in their brooders and loved them! I still use them in the coop when I need to add to the litter. They breakdown into a powdery texture that the chickens love to dust bathe in.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
Plus the best part about them?? They DRY ON THEIR OWN!!

I didn't even need to change it tonight!! It was just barely wet, and I fluffed it up a little. I'm only going to need to change it when it looks like it's mostly poo!

The more I fluffed, the more it smelled like pine!

I'm seriously considering using it for ALL my bedding!!

 

[ozark hen]

they sound like they are better than the shavings as I have shavings in my chicken coop and when we happen to be working in the coop and leave the door open...here come all the ducks and they make quite a mess in there. Sometimes I will have one or two hide in the coop over night.

Come morning I have quite the mess in there, waterer is completely empty and the place smells.

So if yours dries that quickly it must be good stuff!

 

[lilshadow]

Quote:
I used pine, and let me tell ya it is horrible. It is messy and stinks very bad. Glad to know about the horse bedding, I will try that next.

 

[Toast n Jelly]

You might want to check Wood Stove Pellets I believe that they're the same as the horse stall ones but lots cheaper like $4 dollars.
That's what I use in the rabbit litter boxes with a screen over top and I also use them for kitty litter.

 

[shelleyd2008]

I kid you not people, this stuff is AMAZING!! I'll most likely use it when I change all my bedding! It is a bit more expensive, but it seems to work very well! It was about $8 for a 40lb. bag, but it is totally worth every penny!