Wood chips or hay?

[Sarsa72]

Which is better for my ducks the square papery wood chips or hay? I just want something easyou to clean too..they are in a pen insisee still for right now. Boyfriend and I are building a coop but are on night schedule so make do. Plus I like knowing they are safe with me and away from hawks outside and stray cats I have seen. Making sure their pen is super safe before I keep them outside all day and night. They seem to eat the wood chips more than lay in it and I want her to be comfortable enough to start laying.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Hay will mold quickly when gotten wet, as well as mat down and make a mess, we use it in winter because all moisture on it freezes, but we don't use it for bedding when temperatures are about freezing, shaving take longer to start to mold, so I would use shavings.

 

[Sarsa72]

Hay will mold quickly when gotten wet, as well as mat down and make a mess, we use it in winter because all moisture on it freezes, but we don't use it for bedding when temperatures are about freezing, shaving take longer to start to mold, so I would use shavings.

 

[Sarsa72]

Thank you

 

[Tinkey71]

I recently started using hay for the ducks and We love it. The ducks enjoy picking at it a bit (it is coastal hay which is used to feed horses) and bed down in it when it is cooler. I find that shavings just get soaked and matted down quick and not much can be done to "save it" it just gets thrown out. The hay I can rake every other day and the poo mostly falls to the bottom and it becomes all "fluffy" again and they go nuts for it. It also keeps my coop from getting super muddy and messy. I don't put any near the water area though. I saw a picture of someone on here that did river rocks around the water area and I might try that! I guess something different works for everyone.