Does straw mold?

[JNC]

It’s been cold and snowy lately and my yard is completely destroyed by by ducks. Mostly by their kiddie pool being dumped out every day and causing muddy ground. I feel like my ducks want to lay down outside but can’t because it’s all wet and uncomfortable. They end up going inside their house. My question is: can I make a small pile of hay that they can lay on? Or will it mold? How often should I change it?

Something like thatbut with straw and probably smaller (not that deep)

this is how my yard looks like

 

[azygous]

Straw will mold and hay will mold. Mold spores are less likely to attach to these materials if they're regularly stirred and moved around and allowed to dry out. Straw would be the safer of the two for bedding. If it does get moldy, the ducks are far less likely to consume it as they almost surely would hay.

 

[Percheron chick]

Put the kiddy pool away until spring. Causes too many issues this time of year. A 3 gallon bucket is all the water they need.

 

[aart]

this is how my yard looks like

The straw you have is in the big pile showing in upper right of second pic?

 

[JNC]

The straw you have is in the big pile showing in upper right of second pic?

No that’s my compost pile. That’s full of poop I won’t be using that.

 

[3KillerBs]

Anything *might* mold in wet conditions, but if you keep it well-stirred-up and aerated it will probably be better than mud.

Can you get pine straw? I've never noticed mold growing on pine straw, which is both natural here in the sandhills region and used extensively in landscaping.

 

[JNC]

Anything *might* mold in wet conditions, but if you keep it well-stirred-up and aerated it will probably be better than mud.

Can you get pine straw? I've never noticed mold growing on pine straw, which is both natural here in the sandhills region and used extensively in landscaping.

this one is mold resistant for $4.99

This one doesn’t specify if it’s mold resistant. It’s also $4.99 and covers 35-45 square feet.

Are any of these good?

 

[3KillerBs]

The second one is what I'm talking about. Pine straw is the fallen needles of longleaf and loblolly pines. I just rake mine up from around the yard and don't have to buy it though.

The needles aren't as absorbent as other bedding, but that's a plus on not molding. I find that the surface layer dries very quickly after even the heaviest rains.

I will admit that they don't compost well and need lime to counteract acidity if you want to put the used bedding into your garden.