A person took to Reddit looking for advice on what to use as ground cover for their duck pen.
Posting in the r/Duck subreddit, the user said they were looking for a suitable ground covering for their pen, which currently has gravel between flagstones. The poster said they were concerned whether the gravel was too rough for the ducks' feet and wanted something they could hose off easily, which ruled out hay or wood flakes.
"What do you think about rubber mulch?" they asked. "It's safe enough for children's playgrounds but I'm worried they'll try to eat it!"
The reaction was almost universal: Rubber mulch is a profoundly bad idea.
While rubber mulch, often made from the shredded remains of used car tires, became a popular ground covering for playgrounds in the 1980s and '90s because it was seen as an environmentally friendly way to reuse materials, it carries a number of serious risks associated with its use.
According to the University of Illinois, rubber mulch can leach chemicals into the soil, which can hinder plant growth and pose a real threat to wildlife if ingested. Unlike wood mulch, when rubber mulch breaks down, toxic chemicals are released into the environment. While there haven't been many studies of rubber mulch's impact on humans, the risk of ducks eating it would be high.
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Commenters were quick to dissuade the poster from using rubber mulch.
"I absolutely would not use rubber mulch because of that concern you had right there," one said. "You can use wood mulch, chips or even sawdust if you like, keep in mind though you will be scooping it up and out the run to replace every once in a while otherwise.... the smell."
"Definitely avoid rubber mulch, it's not safe even for children's playgrounds," said another. "You might find bits of metal in it, it releases VOCs, other chemicals, and crumbles with age releasing dust and small particles."
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