First time duck mother

BellaTweety

In the Brooder
May 5, 2016
41
4
29
So I am back again on the topic of ducks and ducklings. Last year I didn't quite know enough about the care of ducks & ducklings to adequately care for them, but I feel a lot more prepared now after spending a large chunk of my time tearing through articles and other blogs here. But still I feel that I am not really educated about what to feed these new ducklings. I have heard multiple views on what to feed them and what not to. I know that they need extra niacin in their diet, and that they will need constant access to water especially when feeding, but as for starter feeds I have no clue. I'm not sure where to find a feed with the right amount of protein and nutrients. All of my local feed stores just sell chick starter feed, and I am afraid that they won't be able to get the correct amounts of protein from that. If anyone has any suggestions or can tell me what they do for their ducklings/ducks it would make me a very happy camper. (And any other advice for keeping these feathered friends is appreciated as well)
 
I used Flock Raiser crumbles, supplemented with Brewers Yeast. My ducklings did just fine. It's very hard to find feed specifically for ducks.. At least it is here. Good luck! :)
 
Ah thank you so much! I didn't know what to think about flock raiser since I've heard a lot of different views on it :) I'll definetly try it out
 
You have a few options for duckling food...
non-medicated chick starter (easy to find)
flock raiser (Purina makes some, I'm sure others do too) - which can be fed their entire life
duck starter (difficult to find for many folks)

If you use chick starter or flock raiser, add Niacin. You might for duck starter too, but I'd think they'd have the correct amount of Niacin in there if it is formulated for ducks. Can't get it here, so no clue.

Once they start laying, or around the time they should start laying, you can swap to a layer food (chicken layer is fine). If you have boys, the extra calcium in the layer can be an issue, so you would want to find a non layer and put out oyster shell or something for the girls to get that extra calcium they'll need.
 
Wow!
Thank you, the variety of choices is very beneficial and I am very grateful, and I'm glad that I'm not the only person who finds that duck feed is in short supply.
 
Hi my friend uses chick starter for his and he has been raising ducks and more for at least 10 years also I raised a pair of mandarins from day olds with just laying crumble
 

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