Another food question

[Kmoreau]

My baby Pekin is about 3 weeks. I work at a feed store so I am able to get my food very cheaply. I just want to make sure I am on the right track. I have been feeding cracked corn mix with non medicated chick starter. I add vitamins to the waterer 3 times a week, and make sure he is getting proper niacin intake. I let the duckling in the yard with my other duck 5 times a week to forage and eat grass. I also give it peas, broccoli, and worms as treats pretty often. When do I stop feeding the chick starter, and should I switch to a lay pellet? I also have read conflicting things about feed cracked corn as a staple, should I add it to the food or only use it in the winter?

 

[Amiga]

I lean toward just using a little cracked corn for calories. There's a bit in the layer feed I am now using and I don't fret about it.

Sounds like you are doing some very good things there! I would steer away from corn as a constant diet. At three weeks I had switched my runners from waterfowl starter to duck grower / maintenance feed. When they began displaying breeding behaviors at about 12 weeks of age, I set out oyster shell free choice. I was uncertain whether I might have a drake, and didn't want him to have layer feed (too much calcium rough on drakes).

As it turns out, I have all girls so they get a layer mash, which I moisten and to which I add some dry cat kibble and a little extra oyster shell. The ducks forage quite a bit, so their calcium got out of balance several weeks ago and we are still recovering from that.

When changing feed, I start mixing the new in the the current and increase the amount of new feed until I'm feeding all new stuff.

So I started switching from "baby food" to grower/maintenance after the second week, if I recall correctly.

 

[Dutchgirl]

We just fed ours a chick starter/grower. Then when they were full-grown we let them loose with the chickens and they ate layer food, plus all the grass and dirt and stuff the one duck eats now.