6wks old ducks, and eating

[2txmedics]

Ok, I read in here that when they are babies they eat alot and just feed them non stop with lots of water, and then I read that they would slow down as they got older and not eat as much. Ive noticed that they want to eat everytime Im outside!!!! and they act like they are straving and I never feed them. I was talking to the guy at the feed store and he says his dad got rid of his ducks because they were costing him a fortune in feed, as they always acted like they were straving and just wanted to eat.

Ive never seen a pet eat so much!!! lol, we have parrtos, 7 dogs, 32 in my flocks and the ducklings....oh and a daughter that acts like I starve her also....lol So do they slow down or not? and do they always stay eating the Mash, or do they or can they be moved to pellets like my flocks? I do buy Romaine lettuce and other greens and throw it in the pool for them....Can they eat table scraps with no salt or chocolate?

 

[gofasterstripe]

Are you still giving them wetted down mash!. My ducklings would go thru abot 4 small butter tubs of food a day but around 5 weeks or so they slowed down and during the night hardly ate a thing. When I moved them outside at 8 weeks I stopped giving them food and water of a night like the rest of the ducks.
What do you mean table scraps,,,fruit and veg is ok,, but I have no idea what table scraps are.

 

[TLWR]

Like left over chicken? Um, I'd not try that.
Mine get fruit and veggies (heck, half the garden is for them

)
I stopped leaving food at night and then stopped water in their house at night.
They get out and run to the food in the morning, eat a tiny bit, wash it all down and run into the yard to find their own food. I fill up a quart feeder and bring it outside each morning to dump in their food dish. It is usually gone by nightfall. I have 3 indian runner girls. They spend much of their day foraging or napping in the shade or around the pool, but they head into their food dish several times for a few bites before running back out for bugs and stuff.
I was feeding crumbles until their last bag of food when I swapped them to pellets just to cut down on the mess (and it has). I've never wetted their food. They do that on their own if they want to

 

[2txmedics]

Mine I believe are now 8wks old....and I just bought a bag of MASH feed....they eat alot....I tried to give them a taste of pellets from the chickens and it looked like they couldnt eat it....?? so do they stay on Mash for good? Im scared to let them loose in the yard...they are not huge yet, but bigger than a football. Im scared a hawk will snatch them....

So any ideas?

 

[destinduck]

Put em on layer pellets, they are plenty old enough. And put the water a little ways from the food. Do that and watch what happens. Ducks can be very wasteful with mash It makes em drink more to clear their nose and throat. Then its just back and forth. Hence the waste. They are messy anyway

 

[Baralak]

Yep... ducks eat a lot.. But compare a 4 week old duck to a 4 week old chick and BOY what a size difference.. They grow soooo fast.

 

[StormyMoon]

I just keep feed bowl full of food at all times. When they get as big as yours are they are let out to free range they will eat less when they free range they love bugs and grass.

Not saying you have to let them free range cause not all people do, but just telling you what I do

My Pekin is now 1 yr old and he sleeps with the goats we no longer lock them up at night and they free range when ever they please, but they are fenced in and cant get out any where. I also have a goose who is more of a security alarm than anything. When anything or anyone comes near the fence the Goose will sound off and I can hear it all the way inside the house.

Jelly Bean is now fully hormonal and his soul mission is to mate.......I got 4 more pekin galls but they are too little to be with him just yet I am hoping he will prefer them over our feet lol.

Have fun with them most of all

they are so silly and bring us lots of laughter.

 

[2txmedics]

Im just afraid some hawk or something will get them!!! I mean I can lock them up at night, but during the day, would they be safe? we live in the country, but its getting semi populated...we have neighbors on one side, and across the street like you would on a country/city road....