Should I still give my ducklings fortified nutritional yeast if I'm giving them Durvet liquid vitamin B complex?

[OneEggToRuleThemAll]

Hello all! I searched the forum first, but couldn't find the info I'm looking for.

I was giving Braggs nutritional yeast (35mg niacin per 2 Tblsp) to my ducklings since I got them at 2 days old. I would sprinkle about a tablespoon over every feed, about 3-4 times per day.

Then my jumbo Pekin, Mae, injured her leg so I bought the liquid Durvet high level vitamin B complex. I administer this ONCE PER DAY by drawing up 2mL/cc and mixing it with about 1 cup of diced salad greens and 1/4 to 1/2 cup peas, which I then cover in filtered water (note: their salad is always given in a bowl of water, probably about 1.5 cups of water).

So up until a few days ago, they were getting Braggs nutritional yeast AND the Durvet high level vitamin B complex.

Then I ran out of Braggs. My question for y'all experienced duckling raisers is...do I need to get more Braggs to give along with the liquid vitamin B complex? Or is the liquid vitamin B complex sufficient to prevent niacin deficiency, even for my Pekin?

I should also mention that they eat Nature's Best Organic Duck Crumbles (18% protein with an added niacin supplement, though I don't know how much niacin is in it because it's not listed on their website). I do plan to switch to a different organic feed when they run out of the Nature's Best because my local TSC doesn't sell the big bag and this stuff is expensive.

Would love to hear y'all's thoughts on this! Thank you.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I probably do over kill becasue mine get Nutritional yeast every day mixed into the feed. when they are tiny they get the B complex in their water one day and nutritional yeast over their feed then the next day they get Poultry cell in their water I switch back and forth with these 2 until 2 weeks old. Because they were shipped I felt they needed it since in 2019 I lost 2 Runner ducklings to shipping stress and did not want that to happen again. Even as adults mine still get Nutritional yeast in their feed. I buy 10lbs at a time with 21 waterfowl and 11 chickens.

 

[Jenbirdee]

the first 2 months i give nutritional yeast all the time ( 1 Tb per cup of feed)
after that i only give it twice a week
the liquid b complex for your pekin hopefully helped her leg? she’s the only one who needs the liquid b complex. did you give it to her for ten days? after that just once, or maybe twice a week for just her to get the liquid b . , depending on how she is doing.
i have a 5 year old pekin who has a little trouble walking so i give her some liquid b once or twice a week.
most of my ducks are 8 years old and i have a few that are almost 1 year old, i add braggs to their feed twice a week.
i feed them nutrena nature wise all flock pellets ( because my chickens eat from it too ) and also twice a day i give them mazuri waterfowl feed on their water buckets and they always run over and gobble it all up

 

[OneEggToRuleThemAll]

the first 2 months i give nutritional yeast all the time ( 1 Tb per cup of feed)
after that i only give it twice a week
the liquid b complex for your pekin hopefully helped her leg? she’s the only one who needs the liquid b complex. did you give it to her for ten days? after that just once, or maybe twice a week for just her to get the liquid b . , depending on how she is doing.
i have a 5 year old pekin who has a little trouble walking so i give her some liquid b once or twice a week.
most of my ducks are 8 years old and i have a few that are almost 1 year old, i add braggs to their feed twice a week.
i feed them nutrena nature wise all flock pellets ( because my chickens eat from it too ) and also twice a day i give them mazuri waterfowl feed on their water buckets and they always run over and gobble it all up

This is helpful--thank you!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I buy off eBay but search the internet you may find a better deal.

 

[OneEggToRuleThemAll]

I buy off eBay but search the internet you may find a better deal.

Thank you!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I buy 10lbs at a time since I have 21 waterfowl I buy off of Ebay NOW is the brand but I am sure there are other brands out there too.
@Honeybunny_3 if you post pictures we'll try our best to tell you what breed of ducks you have

 

[Honeybunny_3]

I buy 10lbs at a time since I have 21 waterfowl I buy off of Ebay NOW is the brand but I am sure there are other brands out there too.
@Honeybunny_3 if you post pictures we'll try our best to tell you what breed of ducks you have

Thank you so much Miss Lydia! I bought 11 lbs, a bag and a container to putl nutritional yeast in of Now off Amazon. Since I didn't know I bought 10 lbs brewer yeast too, but I can give that to my dogs. I also bought Red Mills nutritional yeast because it had a higher niacin content. I'm going to give them that first. I bought 2 4 lb containers I think. It was expensive though. Once it's gone how long do I need to supplement them with nutritional yeast? Is this a life long thing because this stuff, all of it was expensive? I sure hope not as TSC did nit tell me sny of this and just sold me a 50 lb bag of Dumor 20% chick starter grower. That's it! I have gone back and bought grit for them too as I read on here they need it too. I am also giving them fresh carrot, turnip and collard greens from the (organic) garden and float this concoction in their water. They love it.

They are so cute. I bought all 11 of them, lol. I have 3 ponds on my property for them to enjoy themselves in when they are grown up. For now we are keeping them in this temporary coop during sunny days outside. What is the coolest temp they can tolerate outside and do I still need a heat lamp on them at night? They seem to get too hot with it on now, so I'm not using it, but my 22 yo son thinks I should be. I'm in the Hill Country of South Texas but our nights go into the low 40°s right now. Can they be outside in that temp in the morning? I'm guessing no. The coop will come in this week thank goodness! They are NEVER alone in this coop and are usually outside about 2 hours in the sunny afternoons but I would like to put them out in the morning while I'm in my garden. Thank you for your help !

 

[Honeybunny_3]

If you can get a better picture of them looking at them without the cover that would help not sure if they are all Pekin or what they may be, do they stand erect or stand like most ducks? If they are Pekin then giving them Nutritional yeast all their lives would be best since they grow so fast and can come down with niacin deficiency at any age. If another breed then by 12 weeks you can stop if you want.
Most on here recommend a feed for waterfowl but some of us can't get it. I have always used chick starter /grower and kept mine on it until around 18 weeks then switched them to layer. All flock is another good one to use if you have drakes in the mix. My drakes have never had a problem eating layer I do mix in some scratch to cut back on the calcium they are getting and make sure my girls always have oyster shells available in a separate container to their feed.
I'd say they still need heat at 2 weeks if your temps are getting into the 40's at night they should have temps around 80* so best to wait on putting them out on chilly mornings especially if there is a chance they can get wet along with chilly temps. By 3 weeks they can handle 75 and then each week after 5* lower.
It's nice you have 3 ponds but just remember there will be predators flying and lurking on the ground so make sure you put them up at night and I hope you have an LGD for their protection. and plenty of places to run under if there is a threat from the sky.

Thank you again for this very much need info. I need a little bit of clarification please.. what do you mean by "scratch" and "layer"? Is that the name of the type of food? I have them on Dumor 20% chick starter grower. TSC didn't tell me anything else, just told me I needed to feed them this. That was it. My son did go buy this. Do they need it? I'm going to go to TSC today to see exactly what you are explaining to me. I REALLY appreciate your help!!

 

[Miss Lydia]

No she isn't mean to people . She only stays with the flock. It is a myth that geese protect the flock they will protect their goslings and a gander will protect his mate and goslings from a predator but most likely will give his life doing it.
Missy did adopt 2 Runner ducklings after my Muscovy gave them up at 6 weeks .She loves them boys one I rehomed so she just has the one now and he is 9 months old.