Can Runner Ducks eat Layers Pellets???

[teresa-78]

Hiya I have 6 runner ducks, and im trying to find the best feed possible for them, all the food suppliers I have spoken to so far
say that the Layers pellets chickens have are fine for them.... is this true????

 

[crj]

Hi teresa-78, I heard that layer pellets for chickens is not good for them. Flock raiser and I think something like game feed is better. I feed mine flock raiser and they seem happy with that. You didn't say how old your ducks are. I have 6 runner ducks and they will be 16 weeks soon. I also toss them lots of veggies and I bought sod for there pen to hang out on. So far so good.

 

[columbiacritter]

All my ducks including my runners eat layer pellets. Since they share a run with the chickens there's no way to keep them separate. The one only thing I make sure ducks have is lots and lots of free feed oyster shell. Their eggs are so much thicker than chicken they just power thru the the oyster shell.

 

[CityChicker]

Once they start laying, layer pellets are fine for them. Flock Raiser is fine too. We don't always feed ours the exact same mix. We vary it quite a lot. We do our own mix that is basically a mix of grains with added kelp, fish meal, a vitamin/mineral, alfalfa meal, and a couple other things. We mix that about half and half with Layena and our Runners are looking beautiful on that. Some days, we will give them just plain Layena. Some days, I also give them Flock Raiser. Ducks are pretty adaptable and there are a number of things that will all work.

 

[teresa-78]

My ducks are nealry 6 weeks old, now I started them with chick crumb, and added brewers yeast to it.... as I could not get any poultry food anywhere
pretty daft considering where I live

I went to the major food retailer and he said layers pellets..... its what everyone feeds there ducks/chickens ect.... I did suggest he order in waterfowl food
but he told me no-one would buy it... I make sure they get lots of greens on top of their grass, i.e peas... which they just adour... dandlion leaves, and anything else
that I can get my hands on..... duck weed seems to be a fav to lol wonder why that is lol Thanks for all your help guys

 

[Violet22]

I am not a duck expert, this is only my first year with them, but I have done tons of research, a lot of which may be bogus! What I have found, is people feed all kinds of things and the ducks do fine. I keep males and females together and free feed, and was told the drakes shouldn't have layer feed because the drakes can't process the higher mineral and calcium content, and it can lead to organ failure in drakes, and shorten their life span. Now, since I am a newbie pretty much, I am not sure what info is right or not, but I feed a waterfowl food, and then have a bowl of crushed calcium for the girls, which they eat up. Again, like anything, you read all sorts of things, but in the end, it seems all kinds of food is fed, and the ducks are fine. I am just over cautious, and if it is reasonable to do, I try to do what I read is best, whether 100% true or not!

 

[columbiacritter]

Mine free range at least 4 hours every day on top of eating layer pellets so maybe that makes the difference in why mine are very healthy on essentially chicken chow.

 

[teresa-78]

Thanks guys thats great, mine have plenty of grass to graze, and bugs to eat, they seem fine, Im so unsure as every site is different.... at the minute they are happy
and content, so maybe I should not worry... thanks for all your responses it is very much appreciated

 

[SDChef]

because of a lack of flock raiser in my area I feed my 9 week old ducks and geese layer crumble and they love it, when their feeder is empty they don't hesitate to let me know. I am curious if the higher calcium is bad for them, but for the last 3 weeks they have grown up healthy and have a TON of energy and personality. Mine do however free range the yard almost all of the time and have no shortage of veggie scraps which I bring home from work.

 

[RedfogsFlock]

We feed layena to our flock and egg maker mash mixed into the layena. Our ducks eat it and do just fine. I've had our feed store say we could feed them egg maker crumble, but we figure why fix it if it ain't broke. Everyone does good on the layena. Our turkeys, ducks, and chickens all eat the same feed. BUT we do supplement our turkeys with turkey food that's meant to put weight on. No ones gotten sick or died yet, lol.

Since we don't have a predator problem our flock free ranges 24/7. We also have an 8 foot fence around our property.