Flax bedding: Poppy is eating it!

[kr33cher]

So, Poppy (indian runner duck), almost 4 weeks old, is still indoors (for more info on why, it is all in my lengthy introduction of our duckies ).

We recently changed from towels to flax bedding in her cage, because at this age her poops were hard to manage with just towels (changed them two times a day).

But...she is eating the bedding; Should I be worried? Or is it ok for her to snack on this bedding?

(she still eats regular food and drinks - i'm just worried she might get constipated or something)

 

[cyriuskee]

I'm not familiar with flax bedding, but flax itself isn't harmful to ducks. Young ducks will eat anything which is why I avoid wood chips. Flax seeds have alot of protein though. I feed them to my peafowl. Maybe @Miss Lydia or @chickens really have experience with it.

 

[chickens really]

No, sorry.....I have never heard of it....I use pine shavings...Only in my coops...I have never had an issue with my Ducks getting sick from the shavings...Straw rots too quickly... ducklings till 3 days are on piddle pads then shavings...

 

[Miss Lydia]

Maybe this will help.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-tale-of-the-flax-bedding.786616/

 

[kr33cher]

Thanks for the responses!

@cyriuskee - if it's not harmful, I guess I'll just let her be with the flax for now.

We've been using this stuff for three years for our adult ducks with no issues. But they don't really eat it and I honestly had no clue what it would do to the digestive tract of a three, going on four weeks old duck.

@Miss Lydia - that is the thread I had read, but it wasn't clear enough for me, which is why, after three years of just using this forum as a library, I finally joined to ask the question to get some clarity and certainty. It is what Going Quackers said in his follow up that didn't quite tell me what I needed to know, being: I find the bills of the ducks covered with flax lol while completely harmless to be eaten that is not really suitable, it absorbs so well it sucks dry the small waterers too.

So on the one hand it was harmless, but then the whole "not suitable" and "dries out" stuff made me wonder. I'm a bit overprotective when it comes to ducklings in my care I guess.

I will for now just accept that it will be fine and keep an eye on her food-intake to make sure she is still getting enough decent food next to her flax-munching.

I really wanted to share a picture of Poppy as a thank you, and I thought it didn't work, but it turns out it did, lol, three times, sorry for the overkill

 

[cyriuskee]

Poppy is a beautiful girl! I'd like to hear how it all works out for you. Especially interested in how her diet works out, whether or not she is eating enough of her feed etc. Also I'd like to hear how many times per week you end up changing the bedding as she grows.

 

[kr33cher]

@cyriuskee - I will let you know!

`

 

[kr33cher]

@cyriuskee - A little update: So far the flax bedding for Poppy is not working as we are hoping. It is fantastic for the smell, it is ok to clean (her poops clump up, which is nice) but she keeps on eating the stuff... And not just a little either. First few days she ate a lot of her good food, but the further along we go, the less she eats of that and the more she is eating of her bedding.

I have now stopped wetting her baby food, and mixed in the pellets for little waterfowl with pellets for big duckies. That went ok for a minute and then she went back to flax. Now I mixed in some mealworms too, see what that'll do. I have started to get her used to a diaper-harness now (which is a little too big, will sow the head-hole up so it's a bit smaller, hope it'll fit her then). That way I can keep her out of her cage when I'm home and I'll only put the good food out so she HAS to eat that.

Here is a picture of Poppy being all disgruntled in her new blue harness.

 

[chickens really]

Does she have access to an outdoor run so she can forage?...Its natural for Ducks to forage and eat grass and bugs....Is she an only Duck?...Ducks do better with other Ducks...That's how they learn....

 

[cyriuskee]

If I had to guess, I'd say maybe the difference is that she is alone. I'd try a wee wee pad large enough to cover the flax until you run out of it or just change the bedding. She can't be getting enough nutrients if she's not eating her real food. Its a shame to hear how it worked out, I had read on a UK forum that alot of people were using it for their hatchlings and was going to consider it for my hatches. She does not look happy with her new harness haha. Thanks for the update!