a couple more ?'s, can I feed my adult ducks layer pellets?

[fowlsessed]

If not, could I continue to give them chick starter with the addition of niacin? Otherwise what do I need to feed them? And in general how expensive is it? thanks again

 

[agregg15]

You should start giving them layer when they are laying along with a separate dish of oyster shell so they can eat it if they want it. If they are too young to lay, but too old for chick starter then switch to grower/finisher. The price really depends on the brand. Blue seal is about $13-$14 per 50lb bag straight from one of their stores.

 

[70%cocoa]

How old are your ducks, Fowlsessed? As agregg says they can have layer pellets when they are old enough - I change mine to layer food when they're about 16 weeks old. After that my ducks eat the same food as my chickens.

 

[fowlsessed]

they are almost two months old, so no quite ready yet. I was just wondering if I could feed them the same feed my chickens get, just simplifies things a little. Also, do you still need to put the niacin in their drinking water? They will be semi free-ranging.
thanks

 

[70%cocoa]

You can wait a couple of months for the layer food then. Right now you could put them on pullet grower. If they are almost full grown and getting plenty of greens, bugs and sunshine then you probably don't need the niacin supplement any more.

It sounds like they are going well I hope you are really enjoying having your ducks

 

[fowlsessed]

that's good to know about the niacin and feed, thanks. And indeed I'm enjoying them.