Help with brooding ducklings???

[Amy1444]

I picked up 3 ducklings at my local agway 3wks ago. The girl told me to use pine pellets as bedding... i have them in a plastic dog crate and the pine pellets are so gross they turn to mush in minutes. I can't seem to keep the crate dry, I have had to take it apart and hose it out daily. Can anyone suggest a better bedding to use or share pics of your set-up. I was contemplating a large rubbermaid tote and hay???? Their outdoor pen will not be ready until the weekend, unless I could put them in the chicken coop until then, I am scared they will get pecked...poor duckies are making such a mess with the water they are wet too

 

[Birdcrazy]

When i had my duckies i just used a hay bedding with newspaper underneath so i could just lift the whole thing out and bin it. Good bedding, but i still cleaned them out daily, if not twice a day. I dont think you can avoid that with your average messy duckling.

And i always had to change their water since they'd sit in it all the time and splash it everywhere lol.

I've seen some nice little water set ups, like a little hand made water feeder using a bottle and lid, only being big enough to stick a beak in, not the whole duckling and mess. That'd help

Oh and the ducklings my duck had with the chooks... the duckies treated the chooks as second-mothers, running under their feet ect. But the chooks never gave them a second glance. They were born with the chooks in the same pen, so I'm not sure if its a normal reaction to ducklings or not.

Anyway, good luck

 

[ChickenToes]

I use a thick layer of wood shavings. But the reality with ducklings is that they are incredibly messy, and you'll end up cleaning up after them a couple times a day no matter what bedding you choose.

 

[percyj]

I just used 3 thick towels it worked gr8 just shake the poops off wash the towel and put it back!