Hay and safety

[duckophile1998]

i'm the only member of my immediate family not allergic to hay (or anything else in the world, except penicillin and the wet insides of a pumpkin).

i have been putting hay in the newly completed shed in the backyard. my ducks are scheduled to ship on the 25th (excited!). unfortunately i cut my finger on some hay and bled a bit. i didn't know it could do that. is hay safe for ducks?

 

[chickens really]

Yes hay is safe although not good bedding because it rots quickly. Pine shavings are better plus it cuts back on the stink. Good luck with the new Ducks.

 

[Duckworth]

I use straw for adult ducks, but used pine (not cedar) shavings for mine when they were ducklings. Hay and straw are not the same thing. Hay rots a lot faster than straw in my climate. Straw is coarser, drains better, and dries out faster. It is typically cheaper, too.

 

[Shadrach]

i'm the only member of my immediate family not allergic to hay (or anything else in the world, except penicillin and the wet insides of a pumpkin).

i have been putting hay in the newly completed shed in the backyard. my ducks are scheduled to ship on the 25th (excited!). unfortunately i cut my finger on some hay and bled a bit. i didn't know it could do that. is hay safe for ducks?

No, not really, at least the hay we get here isn't. The hay here produces a lot of dust with spores that can effect the respiratory organs of fowl.
Hay here also tend to carry mites.
Straw is a much better option.
I prefer only to use hay in the nest boxes or sleeping areas. I leave the coop floors bare.
Apart from reducing the use of bedding in my set up bare floors allow me to check the poop more easily and when cleaning I can just scrape the poop off the floor without having to deal with barrow loads of straw.
A lot will depend on the way you keep the ducks and how your coop is built.

 

[DuckyDonna]

Straw is probably better but I use hay because it's free! I make sure to clean up the big poop spots every morning so it doesn't stay wet.