Mazuri Waterfowl Maintenance feed? $$$

I am switching my ducks off of an organic grower feed that is produced by the local feed store. Although I really like it, and the ducks love it, I can no longer justify the cost. They're 7-8 months old, and if it was more affordable, I would like to continue feeding it because they seem to do well on this higher protein (20%), higher fat (5.5%) ration.

So, to help me decide what to switch over to, I've been comparing other feeds. Mazuri Waterfowl Maintenance feed was part of my comparison; I'm left wondering how it can be so much more expensive than other non-organic and organic feeds?

I'm no expert, that's for sure. But it seems that nutritionally the main differences are the vitamin and supplement contents (e.g. it has higher Vit A and Vit E than other feeds, and has fish meal and brewer's yeast). And it contains "ash" which I'm not sure what that is, but the other feeds in my comparison don't have "ash." Do these factors justify the difference in cost?

Amazingly, it costs more per pound than the local organic chick grower I've been feeding, the stuff that I can't afford anymore... and Mazuri Waterfowl Maintenance isn't even organic. Am I missing something here? Possibly the cost is in the research and development that Mazuri does... or maybe they're just able to charge higher prices because they don't have much to compete with as far as waterfowl-specific feeds go. Here's a screen capture of the little analysis I did.





P.S. The vitamin contents for Mazuri shouldn't be percentages in my spreadsheet, that's my typo.

I use the Mauzuri and love it. however i am not as familier with the other. Plus, I think it depends on what you plan to do with your ducks. If you plan to eat them, you may not want a "sustainer." If not, your duckd are at an age where they need to switch off of a "grower" feed for healthy balance.
The Mauzui is expensive and I understand your hesitation with that.
I can't tell you what to choose, but I can tell you that the vets I have taken my ducks too have all raved. When they have asked what I feed, their responses have been, for example, "Wow! Good for you! I love to hear that!"
To sum up, sometimes peace of mind is worth the extra dollars. So, find one you trust and can afford.

Also, I haven't had to supliment anything in addition to the food (vitamins), although that may be just specific for my breed.

Ash usually comes from meat and bone meal.The higher the ash = more bone content.Does the Mazuri have meat and bone meal?The higher price could be due freight costs.

Edit. The ash is from the fish meal.

I cannot get the feed here but have seen other feeds by them, wowee it is pricey not happening here lol I also keep more than ducks, mine are on a pullet grower that is 16% and i add grains(whole corn, and a scratch that is almost 12% pro) the ducks almost all free range, my calls being the exception.

My birds are all healthy and breed well, and quite a few are several years old.. not saying anything negative about Mazuri but their are thousand and one ways to feed birds, i think anyone offering their ducks a complete feed are a step up from the majority and most feed stores here think i am nuts for feeding anything of that nature.

DuMOR is the best price I found and they love it.

I also use the Mazuri Waterfowl. No doubt it is more costly but my flock has never done better. I used to buy it local but of course the feed store stopped carrying it. I've tried a few online places (Amazon is crazy expensive!) and the cheapest I found is here: https://www.countrymax.com/mazuri-waterfowl-maintenance-feed-for-ducks-geese-and-swans/

SammyG654 said:

I also use the Mazuri Waterfowl. No doubt it is more costly but my flock has never done better. I used to buy it local but of course the feed store stopped carrying it. I've tried a few online places (Amazon is crazy expensive!) and the cheapest I found is here: https://www.countrymax.com/mazuri-waterfowl-maintenance-feed-for-ducks-geese-and-swans/

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Welcome to BYC! Thanks for the link!