Is it possible for ducklings to lay sawdust: what bedding is better at home

Table Of Contents

Which litter is best for ducklings
Place bedding
What to do if ducks eat sawdust

Growing ducklings is a profitable business. But in order to profit from birds, you will have to work hard. This bird is very delicate, therefore it requires appropriate care. Even if the breeder has an idea about the content, not everyone knows that hypothermia leads to the death of young animals. Consider which bedding is better to choose, and is it possible to lay sawdust on ducklings?

Which litter is best for ducklings

In recent years, breeders have preferred a deep non-replaceable litter. Its benefits:

Generates heat, helps maintain indoor microclimate;
suitable for raising adult ducks and young ducks;
vitamin B12 is formed in the flooring;
breeder doesn't have to clean the litter out of the barn every day.

Duck bed should absorb water well. At home, it is best to use as flooring:

peat - perfectly absorbs moisture: 4 times better than straw. It also absorbs harmful gases from the air. The disadvantages of peat bedding include: plumage is smeared in wet weather, a lot of dust forms in the barn in the heat. It is allowed to use peat together with other materials;
Sawdust absorbs moisture better than straw, while emitting much less heat. An ideal option for ducks is a large sawing of spruce and pine. For chicks, sawdust of the maximum size should also be chosen so that the young are not tempted to swallow them;
straw - bedding should have a bright yellow tint, without black blotches that signal the appearance of mold. Rot and fungus will cause disease in poultry.

In addition, sunflower husks, dry fallen leaves, crushed corn stalks are suitable. The thickness of the flooring in winter should be at least 20-30 cm, in summer - 5-10 cm less.

Place bedding

Laying the litter is carried out in dry weather. Before this, the floor covering is cleaned, disinfected, crushed with slaked lime. The next step is to spread the bedding material, the initial layer is 5-7 cm.

Deep litter is laid in layers. So that the flooring is not taken with a crust, the breeder loosens daily, preventing the formation of a litter crust. After the bird has gone for a walk, the manure layer is leveled and dry material is applied on top.

If everything is done correctly, at a depth of 4-5 cm the temperature will be +12… 18 ˚C.

Basic rule - bedding should always be dry. Therefore, the drinker and feeder must be periodically rearranged from place to place. You should also ventilate the room so that gases do not stagnate in it, moisture does not accumulate.

If the flooring is damp, it is treated with slaked lime per 1 m2 300-500 g.

What to do if ducks eat sawdust

An unbalanced diet of ducks causes ducks to eat sawdust. Birds are deficient in B vitamins and sulfur. Another option is a large crowding of birds, a small area for walking.

Hard corners and edges of sawdust can injure the bird's throat and crop. To cope with the problem, you need to introduce food rich in B vitamins into the diet (milk waste, milk powder, meat or fish meal) or give a synthetic preparation with vitamin B12.It is also necessary to properly organize a place for walking the bird.

Sawdust is an inexpensive, commonly available raw material for creating deep permanent bedding. They not only protect the bird from hypothermia - thanks to the bacteria that eat organic material, they generate heat. This is extremely important for newly hatched chicks who are unable to regulate their own body temperature.