Duck Questions

[EURanch]

I am looking into getting some ducks for eggs.
Do they need specific feed, or can they eat the layer feed my chickens are on?
It's not medicated.
If they are a flight breed, how much will their wings need to be clipped, or at all?
Thanks!

 

[dumb_cluck]

Feed them game bird starter crumbles which contains the NIACIN that ducks need. When they are about 4-5 months old switch to game bird grower pellets (also contains niacin).

As far as clipping.....I don't like to do it because it needs to be done more than once, you can severely injure the duck if you aren't "good" at it and I personally don't want to take away their ability to fly if they are pursued by a predator.

If you free range flyers, make sure they are trained to trust you or they may just take off. I put my Mallards in an enclosure with a cargo net on top to keep the squadron on the ground (and makes them easier to corral to move them indoors at night.)

See my website for details.

 

[duck&chickencrazy]

i feed all my birds the same feed and they seem to be fine...they get layer with bread every other day or so...they also get scratch or corn sometimes...

if its a domestic breed (farmyard duck) it probably wont need its wings clipped....if you decide on a more exotic breed you might have to look into clipping their wings....but you only clip the wings on one wing and its their primary feathers that you clip...i had a mallard for a while that i had and she stayed in the pen without me having to clip her wings...

here is a good website that i found on clipping birds wings...

http://www.cornerstonefarm.net/wingdemo.html

 

[HamandLily]

I recommend Khaki Campbells for eggs - they can lay up to (and sometimes over) 300 eggs a year and are very hardy; you can feed them the same food as chickens as long as the protein content is about 16-18%!

Also, do not feed them bread, it is very bad for them.

 

[duck&chickencrazy]

Quote:
its like a junk food for them, its only bad for wild birds to be given bread (I have posted a website that explains why) but for your pet birds it will probably help keep them around and make them nicer (as long as you feed something other than bread as well and make sure the bread is not moldy)

http://birding.about.com/od/birdfeeders/a/feedingducksbread.htm

 

[ducks_rcool329]

I would never give my ducks chicken food.... You can get Meat Bird grower at just about any Feed Store, and its made specificlly for ducks. As far as clipping goes, unless they are calls, they proably won't fly... I have mallards, and thier wings aren;t cliped,a nd I have never seen them get more than 2 feet off the ground...