The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: lord flynn on January 13, 2015, 12:23:01 pm
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As my ducks have taken over a corner of the workshop/stables, we've decided to let them keep it and make a secure area in there for them-rather than their duckhouse. Its concrete floored and I was wondering if say, straw would be any good? They;ll have an egg nesting bit (which they're already using), a raised bed on a pallet and a roosting bar-plus dunking water and food.
So far I've tried straw pellets (awful for ducks, great for horses and cats!), aubiose which I quite like but is expensive, chopped miscanthus and chopped straw-which I like but is difficult to get hold of and a mix of auboise for the base and chopped straw on top. Having them in the barn will make it easier for me to clean them out so I could do it much more often. I am trying to avoid wood products.
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Straw if you are able to clear out every day but it does get very messy very quickly. I bedded my ducks on shavings which worked well.
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I haven't yet found anything better than Aubiose / Hemcore TBH.
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hmm, I like the auboise but its £11 a bale here, can't get hemcore for love nor money. I can imagine shavings work well, maybe will have to have a separate midden.
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There is also a product called Rapport which is chopped rape straw which I have used for the hens.
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I think Rapport is made by the same people as Hemcore? In which case I would have supply troubles. None of the ag/feed stores carry it anymore as there's not enough demand for it.
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Ours are on concrete floor (think its got some kind of sealant paint on it) on straw, I clear it out once every 7-14 days (straw is just in one corner of the room) they generally toilet by their water/door so the bedding is generally pretty clean. I give them the odd cardboard box filled with straw to mess about with too.
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I use sawdust for mine, as long as the water is kept far enough away and its kept fairly dry it seems to work a lot better than shavings which always seemed to go damp on the surface with me yet be clean and dry underneath.
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There is also a product called Rapport which is chopped rape straw which I have used for the hens.
I had a bale of Rapport recently, when Aubiose was out of stock. Personally I didn't find it nearly as easy to use, nor as absorbent.
If it's going to be a permanent feature, could you put a bit more concrete down so that it has a decent slope on it? That would help to keep everything as dry as possible?
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How about a thick layer of sand? You could scoop the poo off the top. I know some people in the states use it for hens, not sure if it would work with the different consistency of duck poo.
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Some of the dog people I know use various horse bedding types and bulk buy from ebay - that may be an option?
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I use sand, it brilliant. I use a cat litter scoop and scoop the poop every day, it works really well, even duck poo clumps easily. They have access to a straw filled nest if they want to use it but the never do, they are happy on the sand.
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I would rather not Womble for various reasons-its an odd layout. They'll only have drinking water in there.
funnily enough, the hen that started laying ripped open a sandbag that was there and is using the sand (sharp) as a nest atm (she only came into lay last week and I was naively thinking she'd use the duckhouse!). So I think its worth thinking about :) I could use wood products but gardeners not keen and I give all my manure away.
I currently have a pallets worth of straw pellets I am using for the horses. I am not massively keen on it and might switch over to something like auboise/chopped straw later on in the year and then everyone can have the same bedding. I was hoping the straw pellets would do for the poultry originally but I am not keen on it for them at all.
eta just read Clarebelle's answer and will try it. I've always thought sand would be great for poultry too!
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If its practical for your set up the sand can also be disinfected and reused. We have saved a fortune on bedding materials since getting our chooks and ducks. I'm even about to do a trial with my rabbits using sand instead of woodchip.
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how do you disinfect it, powder or liquid? I always thought if I put up a big shed for the poultry, that I would use sand. From my limited experience of it (in small pens), it really keeps their feet/legs clean-and therefore the eggs too when needed. I haven't yet built a permanent pen here or I would use it in one of those as well-chickens love it.
So I will put sand on the floor and offer them a chopped straw/straw area. I think one of the ducks at least will want to roost (muscovies).
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I hate straw for bedding - it just doesn't seem to absorb. Since losing Hemcore last year (they went out of business so no idea who's making Rapport now because it was from the same supplier), I get a chopped flax straw product by the pallet load: http://horsebedding.co.uk/equisorb-flax-horse-bedding.html. (http://horsebedding.co.uk/equisorb-flax-horse-bedding.html.) It's very similar to Auboise/Hemcore so it's absorbent and it doesn't blow all over the place which I've had with some of the lighter bedding. It also composts quickly unlike wood products. But I don't know where you can get it by the bale - I have the advantage of being able to stock up with 36 bales and gradually working my way through it. Does work out cheaper though - I pay £6.15 +VAT per bale, delivered (and they're really big bales - bigger than I remember Hemcore being).
I don't think sand would work for me in wooden sheds because it would be a pain to clean out which you'd have to do every so often and then I'm not sure what you'd do with dirty sand. But it does sound attractive on concrete (not cosy though! - not sure whether ducks care).
H
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By poo picking with a cat litter scoop we don't tend to get loads of sand in amongst the daily clean out so it goes in the compost with the rest.
I use Milton to disinfect, I think it comes in all forms! I would think any water soluble disinfectant which is safe for animals would be fine. I get a huge bucket and shovel the sand in, add water and the disinfectant and stir with a big stick. Secure a muslin over the end and tip out the water. I put the sand straight back down and find it dries pretty quick in a weather proof building. I only do this every 6 months
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The sand option is interesting. Our land is clay on shale and goose/duck/chickeny s##t sand would go well on the root beds.
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Yes, I'm going to give that a go too :thumbsup: . Is it any particular sand? Also where can you buy dry sand from? The stuff I've bought for building work has always arrived pretty damp.
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I think you are meant to avoid play sand, not sure about builders sand. We use beach sand but obviously not everyone has access to it!
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When I first looked into it I found this site helpful, http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/09/chicken-coop-bedding-sand-litter.html (http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/09/chicken-coop-bedding-sand-litter.html)
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I've used sharp sand-it dries out quick enough if it gets the chance.
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so-an update. I've been using chopped rape straw for ducks and poultry and love it, both in their houses and nestboxes/nesting places. I can't get it easily up here but can order it in (am using Alto bedding) and seems cost effective. If I could be convinced the ponies wouldn't eat it, I'd get in pallet loads!