[lord flynn]

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.

[twizzel]

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.

[Womble]

I haven't yet found anything better than Aubiose / Hemcore TBH.

[lord flynn]

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.

[clydesdaleclopper]

There is also a product called Rapport which is chopped rape straw which I have used for the hens.

[lord flynn]

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.

[NicandChic]

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.

[Clansman]

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.

[Womble]

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?

[clydesdaleclopper]

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.

[nutterly_uts]

Some of the dog people I know use various horse bedding types and bulk buy from ebay - that may be an option?

[Clarebelle]

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.

[lord flynn]

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!

[Clarebelle]

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.

[lord flynn]

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).