New duckling mom, deep fill method?

[Duckduckgoosie]

I am raising a group of 13 ducklings and a gosling and just transitioned outside to a pen. I’m using hay for the deep bedding method and have been using pine shavings in the water corner and trying to change out the wet shavings daily. The rest of the pen I add more dry hay daily.

flies got bad immediately, using a fly trap and that’s helped. I know wet corner is not ideal but the ducklings still spend part of day in the pen, and of course nights, and I don’t want them to be without drinking water or their food. I have two small buckets for them to dip into.
Any suggestions?

 

[CrazyChicken Lady]

Well I have had a pretty bad experience with hay, it smells bad fast, molds easier, ( which is dangerous for the ducks ) and it personally doesn’t work the best. I find grass clippings actually very nice, although some newer mowers spew it farther so you can’t rake it up) mine is old so it deposits it in neat little rows of grass that can be raked up and put in the run. Straw actually can be a less moldy option for the deep litter method. Tip: ducks are MESSY. Dirty, poopy, moldy shavings should be removed but simply damp ones are ok for a while, if you are always trying to keep them dry you’ll buy a whole TON of shavings and wear your self silly. Also having water during the night is a good thing, if ducks don’t have water they can get stressed easily. Good luck with being a duck mama, they are just the best little friends!

 

[Duckduckgoosie]

Thank you for this- actually straw is what I’m using, I keep saying hay but it is straw, and some pine shavings.

Will either of those go bad, damp? Would you instead of removing add more dry on top I guess, same as rest of coop?

I’m in Texas, so often humid here and right now rain rain rain. The flies are awful but a fly trap is helping, and the ducks are learning to catch the flies.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Coarse sand works for my duck area to keep everything relatively dry. I added an area with straw, but I keep it in a dry sunny location. Straw will break down and mold as well, but turning it, raking it, and removing wet and soiled areas helps.

 

[CrazyChicken Lady]

Pretty much everything but sand will mold eventually. I don’t use sand because one of my ducks is a idiot and eats it....... so I use pine shavings. They personally work best for me, and they seem to stay good longer then hay/straw. If the shavings look really gross and are emitting a bad oder thrown them out, but if thy are simply damp because of of the ducks drinking then putting a new layer on top is ok. Then on a sunny day, flip it with a rake and the wet bottom will dry out and the damp top will get pushed to the bottom. A beautiful cycle

 

[HollowOfWisps]

I started using these puppy litter boxes and love them! They still occasionally throw water outside, but it still contains most of it. the front has a lower lip that makes it easy for them to walk it, but it's high enough to keep spilt water in I throw a puppy pad in the bottom that I change out 2x a day and set their water buckets on top.
https://www.chewy.com/puppy-pan-dog-cat-small-animal-litter/dp/167816