Straw for ducks.........

[DuckLover179]

I bought a book from Metzer farms "The Ultimate Pet Duck Guidebook". In the bedding section it says ducklings can trip over straw??? We decided to go with that for duckling bedding, so have any of you had your ducklings trip over straw??? Our feed store is "All seasons feed CO." in Cherry Valley, so they might have stall pellets, would those work better?

Thanks so much!

(2 more days till they hatch!)

 

[Katy]

I use puppy pee pads for my ducklings.....I use straw in the winter for my adult ducks.

 

[DuckLover179]

I already have puppy pads laid out, but in a few days I might be switching to a different bedding (I only have 12 puppy pads, thanks to my dogs who didn't even use them......... Just tore them apart!) So, I don't know how straw will be for ducklings... When they are adults, our feed store sells stall mats, so we will be using those...

 

[Bleenie]

I have used hay & straw for my ducklings before but I cannot recall how young the youngest were that I used it for. they never seemed to have a problem with it, no leg injuries or anything like that.

 

[treldib]

We brooded ours from day 1 on straw, then switched to puppy pads at 2 weeks for ease of maintenance.

 

[duckyfromoz]

Ducklings will trip over even their own feet. If they were outside being raised by a mother duck- they would be walking over twigs and under bushes. I use shavings most of the time- but have on occasions used straw with no problems.

 

[AdamD77]

I have always used straw for the past two years that I've had ducks. We have chopped Wheat straw, so the longest pieces must only be 4 inches long. There are other types, for example Barley straw, which is much longer pieces (maybe 7-8 inches?) which I would think they may be more likely to trip over (though I have used it before with no problems), but from experience I would say there's no problem with using straw as bedding for ducklings or adult ducks.

 

[dumb_cluck]

The horse stall pellets have to be moistened to be effective. They are like walking on marbles!

I used straw from day one with no problems. Baby ducks are normally very clumsy, so I wouldn't blame it on straw.

 

[HamandLily]

I always use straw - I think that risk of tripping is slightly over exaggerated!

 

[FenDruadin]

Straw is fine. I always put a towel down for the first couple days when I hatch my own, but it's not necessary for ducklings when they're shipped (because they're a little older when you get them). There are risks with ANYTHING you do. Life is like that. But straw is a good option, and highly affordable. It's what I always use.