Couple Questions

WoodsmanA

In the Brooder
Apr 2, 2016
19
2
34
There is so much conflicting information on the web about supplementing ducklings with niacin it's frustrating. And I can't find mention of how often to provide niacin no matter the form that it is administered to the ducklings.

I bought a pack of BVS Poult Start from Metzer farms thinking that I'd give this to my ducks as a good source of vitamins and niacin. But on the package it says it's used for times of stress. Does anyone else use this product? The dosage comes out to about 1/8th of a teaspoon per gallon of water. Essentially a small pinch. If this product is sufficient for their niacin needs, should I provide it daily, once weekly or at some other time interval?

I'm going to look for Brewers yeast on my way home today. With Brewers yeast it seems best to just sprinkle some over their feed. How many times per week should this be added to their feed? I'm not having trouble with my ducks but I want to be sure they are getting enough niacin. I have them on Dumor chick starter/grower. They are now 8 days old. There is some sitting when they are eating and drinking.

If I can't find Brewers yeast but can find the non-flush niacin tablets I'll add it to their water. 100 mg/gallon as far as I understand it. Again, how many times per week should I do this? Or is it once daily?

Moving on...

If I want to provide my ducklings with some chopped leafy greens in a bowl of water do I have to provide grit? Should I just provide grit anyways? Looks like grit is sprinkled over their feed once weekly.

Thanks for the help.
 
I bought start niacin tablets (the kind full of powder, and can pull the tablets apart). I don't really measure, even if I only have one duckling, I just pour what ever amount I think is good. I don't put it in their water because I have to clean it a lot and it doesn't seem very effective to me. I mix their food with water to make a mush that I feed to ducklings and I mix the niacin in with that because all of the mash gets eaten. If you give them greens yes you should provide grit unless your feed says it already has grit in it, some feed does.
 
Thanks for the reply, Virus.

I was able to find some Solgar brand brewers yeast and Solgar Niacin 100 mg tabs on the way home after going to Walmart, CVS and Walgreens. Finally I found what I was looking for at a Vitamin Shop. I'm just going to spread a few pinches of the brewers yeast over their crumbles and the niacin tabs I'll crush up into their water. Figure I'll do both for a couple days to kick start it. Or perhaps I'll grind up one of the tabs and mix it in with some crumbles and water and make a mash as you suggest.

The niacin tabs don't say flush free or time release on them. It's just straight up niacin. There is an "Other Ingredients" list on it. Dicalcium phosphate. Microcrystalline cellulose, Vegetable stearic acid, Vegetable cellulose, Vegetable Stearate. Safe to assume this is all ok for the ducks? This is the only bottle of straight niacin I could find.
 
Sounds about right. I wouldn't put a whole pill in there food maybe half just to be safe. Since their not having leg problems you don't want to give them more than they need.
 
How many mg tab is the niacin you bought?

The capsules, I just break and sprinkle half in a bit of hot water to dissolve and then fill the rest of their gallon waterer with whatever temp water I give them (warmer when little). And I put a new half capsule each time I give them a new thing of water.
 

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