5 day old ducks seem starved to death

[ging3rhoffman]

I have 5 day old ducks and they always come running up to me and they nibble on my fingers and my clothing. I give them chick starter, which is for ducks also. Is there anything else that I can be feeding them? They have fresh water always, i change it a couple of times a day and they have a big plate full of all the baby food they can eat. They act so hungry. I have even ground up their baby food so they can eat it easier....any ideas?

 

[kwack]

I have given and do give my 13 day olds fresh greens and hardboiled eggs. They've tried bok choy, dandelion greens ( from the market and the yard) and they also liked the carrot tops from the carrots for the Spring bunny that visited on Sunday. They also love diving for peas when they swim in the tub. Outside, we find worms and anything else creepy crawly and they go wild.

There's a thread here about treats and such for ducks. Yogurt, cottage cheese, Romaine lettuce (dark greens, not iceberg, I've also heard that spinach interferes with calcium absorption but don't quote me). Try a search for duck treats.

Good luck and have fun.

 

[Maidservant]

Mine can have crops that look about ready to pop, and yet they still act hungry. They may see you as their mother and be trying to preen you. Mother ducks preen the babies, and the babies cuddle and preen the mother back.

Emily in NC

 

[nettie]

i can give my ducks, at any age, a whole handful of treats and they will come running for more if they see me eating dinner. It's a duck thiing, they will always act like they are starving all the time, even after making little piggies of themselves. Mine seem to like to do this esp when we have company over.

 

[shelleyd2008]

How much protein is in the chick starter? You need to make sure they have at least 20%, more is better. But they seem to want to eat constantly, so I wouldn't worry about it. Just keep their bowl filled and they'll be fine.

 

[headred]

Mine also, would eat all the time if they could!

 

[Brickman House]

It's gotta be a duck thing!

Mine have free choice starter feed, as much as they want, and they still descend like mad creatures on anything that drops in their vicinity.

And I can tell, by the rate they're growing, that they are definitely NOT starving!

 

[ging3rhoffman]

I feel so much better. They are just piggys. They have a large pond that they will be on in a few weeks so they will have all kind of new things to eat. I have one adult female mallard duck that i raised on the pond and her mate was hit by a car, so i thought she might like to have 6 new friends. Hopefully they will follow her into the goose/duck house. Thanks for responding to my post. Its so helpful when you get an answer.

 

[Wifezilla]

Three things to keep in mind

1) Ducks are always hungry. Always.
2) Even if they aren't THAT hungry, they still want to taste everything in case they want to eat it later
3) Ducks can't pick things up hold them while trying to figure out what it is. They nibble on everything as a way of figuring out what it is...and more importantly, if is tastes good

 

[lavenderman]

Try scrambled eggs -------- duckies love them...... we use all our pullet eggs that we don't eat ourselves to feed the baby ducks ................ they are so so on the chick starter crumbles but watch out when I put down a plate of scrambled eggs - just use a bit of milk for moisture and do in the microwave.................