Raising ducklings is a profitable business. But to make a profit from birds, you will have to work hard. This bird is very delicate, so it requires proper care. Even if the breeder has an idea about the content, not everyone knows that hypothermia leads to the death of young animals. Let's consider which bedding is best to choose, and is it possible to lay sawdust for ducklings?
What is the best bedding for ducklings?
In recent years, breeders have given preference to deep, permanent bedding. Its advantages:
- generates heat, helps maintain a microclimate in the room;
- suitable for raising adult ducks and young animals;
- vitamin B12 is formed in the flooring;
- the breeder does not have to clean out droppings from the barn every day.
Duck bedding should absorb water well. At home, it is best to use the following 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: in wet weather, the plumage is smeared, and in the heat, a lot of dust forms in the barn. It is allowed to use peat in combination with other materials;
- Sawdust absorbs moisture better than straw, while generating much less heat. The ideal option for ducks is large sawing of spruce and pine. For chicks, you should also choose sawdust of the maximum size so that the young are not tempted to swallow them;
- straw - the litter should have a bright yellow tint, without black spots that signal the appearance of mold. Rot and fungus will cause bird diseases.
In addition, sunflower husks, dry fallen leaves, and 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.
Litter placement
Laying the litter is carried out in dry weather. Before this, the floor covering is cleaned, disinfected, and 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. To prevent the flooring from becoming crusty, the breeder loosens it daily, preventing the formation of a manure crust. After the bird has gone for a walk, the layer of droppings is leveled and dry material is placed on top.
If everything is done correctly, at a depth of 4-5 cm the temperature will be +12...18 ˚С.
The basic rule is that the litter should always be dry. Therefore, the drinking bowl and feeder must be periodically moved from place to place. You should also ventilate the room so that gases do not stagnate and moisture does not accumulate.
If the flooring is damp, it is treated with slaked lime at the rate of 300-500 g per 1 m2. The litter is completely changed after growing the batch.
What to do if ducks eat sawdust
Unbalanced duck diet causes ducks to eat sawdust. Birds are deficient in B vitamins and sulfur. Another option is a large crowd of birds, a small area for walking.
Sawdust is an inexpensive, publicly available raw material for creating deep, permanent litter. They not only protect the bird from hypothermia, but thanks to bacteria that eat organic material, they release heat. This is extremely important for newly hatched chicks who do not know how to regulate their body temperature on their own.
