what does everyone use for duckling bedding?

[DuckerLover]

well, Many people i know use Sand, or gravel, i think Sand is a GREAT choice, because if it gets wet, it drys really quickly and it doesn't get moldy super quick, and if you give them gravel or even tiny stones, they eat it. so i think sand is good!

 

[Duck Drover]

I use a food dehydrator with adjustable temperature as my brooder so I use the food trays with shelf liner over them. To clean up, I remove a tray and replace it with a clean one. I take the dirty tray to the bathtub and I use the handheld showerhead to spray them off. I soak the shelf liners in antibacterial dish soap before reusing them. Under the dehydrator trays I have ice cube trays to contain what goes through the shelf liner and the mesh of the trays. I feed wet food so any that spills gets squished down below along with the duck poop and ends up drying out. I rinse out the dried deposits in the ice cube trays with water and wash them with antibacterial dish soap.

While I clean the trays, the ducklings take a bath. I use a plastic paint tray ($1.50 at Goodwill) as a duckling pond because it has a ramp that prevents any ducklings from drowning. The paint tray is in a plastic tub with a shelf liner so when the ducklings are done with their swim they can dry out on the shelf liner. I get a roll of the shelf liners for $1 at the Dollar Tree but I am able to keep using the same pieces by rinsing and washing them.

I stopped using the food dehydrator for babies and invested in plastic tubs with lids (I vent them open by sliding them more opened or closed in order to hold in heat and let in fresh air) because the dehydrator does not hold the temp as constant as I need. I still use the plastic trays from the dehydrator and the shelf liner but I use Victor Ultimate Flea Traps as my warmers now and they allow the babies to regulate their own temp better than trying to control the temp with a dimmer knob. I do not use anything absorbant that will stink when it gets wet or kill the babies if they eat it. If you want to have ducks you have to embrace their love of water.