Am I overfeeding my ducklings?

[CuddleNest]

Hi! The Peeps in Europe suggested I pose my questions to the Duck experts! Sorry that this post is a bit long, but I'm new to keeping ducks (though we have a bunch of chickens), and I'm a bit concerned and hope my story one the past few weeks might help figure out what I might be doing wrong (or right?).

My questions are:

• Am I overfeeding my ducks? Are they likely to get much bigger?
• How would you recommend modifying the food as they become older? Do I keep using the bewer's yeast no matter what?
• Has anyone seen this kind of duckling/duck? Could they be mulards?
• Is it likely that they are two drakes? We have grown attached, so I cannot rehome them. No one wants to eat them either. But any advice if they are two drakes would be appreciated.

On April 28, my neighbor (who also has chickens and geese) was at at nearby poultry farm getting ducklings. I asked her to also get two for us. At that point, the ducks were 2.5 weeks old, the farmer said. No one said what the breed was, just that if there is a black line on the heads as the feathers came in, that duck would be a drake. The neighbor took several ducklings to her place and fed/feeds them a bag of oats (Haferflocken) each day with a bowl of water. They spend the day in a large cage in the grass during and are in a concrete chicken stall/house at night with all of the other birds.

In contrast, we had our ducklings inside in a big flat tiled shower covered in newspaper in a cage (cat and dog are in the house) with a brooder, water, and Kue-Start (20% protein), which is a German pellet food we had leftover from just hatching chicks in April. I also tried to mix in oats but they weren't into it. Once the days were very warm, we started having the ducks outside during the day on straw in a cage so that they were somewhat protected from the other birds. They seemed lazy and I thought that maybe they wanted to have the freedom to roam around. So, we we put the chickens into their fenced in area, removed the cage, and let the ducks roam. However, despite some brief walking, they were just slow, always wanting to sick, and very un-chick-like (I know they are ducks, but they seemed really inactive). At some point, I got very concerned because they seemed completely out of energy, and their legs were bowing inward. From various posts here, I realized that I might need to give them more niacin. I started adding brewer's yeast (Bierhefe) to the pellets 4 days after the ducks arrived, wetting the pellets first to make the powder stick to them. They got the brewer's yeast/pellet mix, water, and all the bugs, grass, and whatever else they found outside to eat. I brought them in every night until this week since it is finally very warm out there at night and they have quite a bit of feathers now. When inside over the past few weeks, they always had access to water, and they always seemed to want a snack before bed. I was rather liberal with their food, I guess, and they always ate all of it. I never threw any away. Thinking that I might be overfeeding them (see below when I explain my neighbor's reaction to their size), this week I tried to reduce the pellet food to just twice a day, mornings and late afternoons. When I come with it, they scarf it down. In between I bring veggie snacks. They seem to particularly like small pieces of floating cabbage, lettuce, or cucumber. I saw them stealing the greens from my onion patch, eating grass, and snapping in some flies and worms (one they pulled out of its hole in the ground after it rained). Yesterday, they still scoffed at oats, even in oatmeal form. They are free ranging all over a rather large yard and playing in kiddie pools of water, napping during the day on straw under an Eglu Cube coop. BYC posters have recommended reducing protein over time for pet ducks, unless I've misunderstood. I'm not sure how to transfer the food over or which food is recommended that I could also get here (near Bonn in Germany). We go to local "hof" places or the Raiffeisen shop. I could ask them for special mixes if I know what ingredients and proportions to ask for.

I have uploaded some pictures to show their size (they are around 6 to 7 weeks in the pictures) and the darkening spots on their heads. My profile picture is a picture of one of the ducks a week younger or so. I also have videos but somehow couldn't get them to upload here. I didn't consider weighing the ducks when I first got them, so I cannot say how much heavier they have become. During a recent bath time, I noticed how big they got. My neighbor said that they are at least twice as large as her ducks right now who are the same age from the same farm; she appeared a bit shocked and commented that I might be "doing too much" with my ducks. Nonetheless, the ducks are currently very active, and the bowing legs issue is completely gone on one duck and almost gone on the other (maybe I caught it too late?). They rest a lot but appear perky and happy and seem to get along with the chicks and chickens who mingle with them a few hours a day (though, they also like the pellet food). They spent last night and the night before last in a modified Eglu Go coop with no complaints (but a bowl of water, just in case).

Am I doing something wrong? I worry that they got heavy or big so fast that it might have influenced their leg growth somehow. I just want healthy and happy ducks. Any feedback would be appreciated!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

They look like muscovy to me. The one in front looks like a male, I'm not sure about the other one, but it looks female. Males often sit down a lot. If yours are twice as big she may have females, and you males.

I feed mine an All Flock ration, and a bit of corn. Mine free range for bugs.

 

[CuddleNest]

They look like muscovy to me. The one in front looks like a male, I'm not sure about the other one, but it looks female. Males often sit down a lot. If yours are twice as big she may have females, and you males.

I feed mine an All Flock ration, and a bit of corn. Mine free range for bugs.

I didnt even consider Muscovy! Interesting. Thanks! I will really have to read up on that. They are a bit different from Pekins I guess. I had assumed they were Pekin or Mulard due to being white.

Yes, the one in the front is a bit bigger than the one in the back. But somehow the wing feathers aren't as advanced. Also, the smaller one had been picking at the larger one under the feathers, somehow in the arm/feather pit region, which caused some bloody moments/days. I had to separate them while they were overnighting in the shower a few times to break what appeared to be becoming a habit. It got a bit better as they spent more time outside, but I sometimes still see the smaller duck nibbling and yanking feathers out of his/her friend. I thought that maybe it was a protein issue because they were also eating their feathers or fluff as it dropped out and the big feathers came in. So, initially, I felt comfortable giving them the high protein feed.

Do they appear to be too big to you? At what age do you think I can start giving adult or all flock food? Do/did you phase the duckling food out, like mix the other food in for a few days to get them used to it? In addition to a huge bag of chicken scratch, I have a bag of shell pieces for the chickens and another vitamin powder and grit. I mix these in or offer it separately depending on different factors (shell toughness, how often they were free ranging, etc.). I'm not sure if this approach can also be used for the ducks, and if so, when...and if they are drakes, maybe they never need the shells? Do the drakes just ignore the stuff they dont need if you put it out anyway?

Incidentally, the chicken scratch mix that the chickens (and now also 11 week old chicks) get daily appears to be corn, some shells (looks like oyster or muscles), wheat and some other stuff. Do you think I could try to mix it in with the pellets for the ducks or would it be risky somehow?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I put my ducklings on the all flock after a few weeks. Mine is a pellet so I had to wait until they could eat it easily. They also get a bit of cracked corn tossed on the ground. You don't want them to have too much protein. I generally feed an 18%ration, and they forage all day, and sometimes all night as much as they want.

Muscovy ducklings are kinda sluggish. They sit around a lot. It's pretty normal. Yours probably need access to some range or grass to not get bored. I will assume that's why the female is picking on the male. It's normal for males to feather out more slowly. It's one technique to sex them.

You can spray any bloody parts with bluekote or a similar product. Too much protein can make poultry a bit squirrelly sometimes, gives them energy.

I enjoy my muscovy. They are quiet, and fairly self sufficient.

 

[TomCahalan]

Your neighbor is just feeding them oats, while you are feeding them nutritious poultry food. That is why yours are bigger. Her approach isn't exactly wrong, since people have been doing it that way for thousands of years, but her ducks aren't going to grow as quickly or achieve their full potential. Your approach is superior.

I didn't give my first batch of ducklings enough niacin the first week, and it took some of them months to fully recover, even when I was supplying them with massive amounts of niacin. In the end they all had perfectly good legs.

 

[CuddleNest]

I put my ducklings on the all flock after a few weeks. Mine is a pellet so I had to wait until they could eat it easily. They also get a bit of cracked corn tossed on the ground. You don't want them to have too much protein. I generally feed an 18%ration, and they forage all day, and sometimes all night as much as they want.

Muscovy ducklings are kinda sluggish. They sit around a lot. It's pretty normal. Yours probably need access to some range or grass to not get bored. I will assume that's why the female is picking on the male. It's normal for males to feather out more slowly. It's one technique to sex them.

You can spray any bloody parts with bluekote or a similar product. Too much protein can make poultry a bit squirrelly sometimes, gives them energy.

I enjoy my muscovy. They are quiet, and fairly self sufficient.

Wow, this is very helpful! Thank you so much! I will start putting some of the chicken food out and see if they like it. I threw the most recent bag out because we transfer and keep the food in air-tight bins, but I have to get more soon anyway and can check what the protein content is. I know this might not mean much, but I remember that when we buy the feed at the farm store, it usually has a variety of birds on the front, so perhaps it is also an All Flock variety. When we bought it, we told the sales guy that it was meant for chickens. Anyway, I have to look that stuff up in German to be sure.

I uploaded two videos of the ducklings to YouTube and am pasting the link here. Do you see the nibbling? I hope that is normal for this breed. If not, please let me know.

(3.5 weeks old)

(5.5 weeks old)

I didnt mean to be a big duck lover, but now I'm totally in love! These bath times were the best!

 

[CuddleNest]

Your neighbor is just feeding them oats, while you are feeding them nutritious poultry food. That is why yours are bigger. Her approach isn't exactly wrong, since people have been doing it that way for thousands of years, but her ducks aren't going to grow as quickly or achieve their full potential. Your approach is superior.

I didn't give my first batch of ducklings enough niacin the first week, and it took some of them months to fully recover, even when I was supplying them with massive amounts of niacin. In the end they all had perfectly good legs.

Oh that sounds rather hopeful! I guess I should be a bit more patient now in case it might take longer to get over the leg thing. Did you continue to give niacin even as they got older then? Do you still supplement with niacin (or something that provides it, like brewer's yeast)?

Thanks for the feedback and compliments. I really don't know much, but what I'm doing is based on stuff I read here on byc. So, if it's a good method, then I should be thanking all of you! My neighbor seemed to imply that I was overdoing it, and I got worried that I was putting them at risk or something. Maybe what she meant is that for them, it would just be too much effort. The odd thing is, they intend to eat their ducks. I guess they will be waiting a long time for their birds to get big enough to eat.

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

You can't over feed ducklings. I feed mine constantly and they should have lots of feed until 8weeks. They look just right for their age. If they are Muscovy, they may be able to fly. This is a good place to come and if you need another German speaker @WannaBeHillBilly

 

[CuddleNest]

You can't over feed ducklings. I feed mine constantly and they should have lots of feed until 8weeks. They look just right for their age. If they are Muscovy, they may be able to fly. This is a good place to come and if you need another German speaker @WannaBeHillBilly

Ok, this is all very helpful. Thanks so much! I'm starting to become a bit relieved!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

As other people have stated before me: By the laws of physics in this universe it is impossible to exceed the speed of light and to overfeed ducklings!
And it is pretty normal that a one month duckling has almost the size of a grown up duck. Very sure that you have Muscovy Ducks, @Miss Lydia or @Raenh can tell for sure, they have Muscovies. They are called "Warzenente" (wart duck) in German: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moschusente#Warzenente
And they will grow to a pretty big size, i hope you have a large yard. And they are flighty and love to roost in shrubs and trees. They don't quack but chirp and are constantly broody during the warm season. All in all funny birds!