Balanced Diet VS Commercial Feeds and or Supplements ?

[416bigbore]

Since I am new to raising ducks I was surprised to learn about issues related to Niacin (vitamin b3) deficiency in their diet. I also would have never guessed the wide variety of different people foods that people have feed to their ducks and chickens like scrambled eggs and even cooked chicken. I did see the list of different foods posted to the Forum to avoid and that was very valuable information. Since I was curious, I done a google search to see what people foods were high in Niacin that I might be able to give my ducks over a Niacin supplement and this is what I found.
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/foods-high-in-niacin

 

[Duckmom27]

When I was concerned about niacin the first week I had my ducklings (since all I could find was chick starter and couldn't locate a vitamin supplement or brewer's yeast; seemed everything duck related was disappearing from shelves at the time) I gave them a little bit of tuna mixed with brown rice every day. Both are natural sources of niacin. Non-vegetarian humans get most of their niacin from meat and fish, but it's also naturally found in whole grains and other foods as well, as you see from the link you posted. I'm actually writing a book on the chemistry of nutrition so I've done a fair bit of research on niacin and other vitamins, just...much more in relation to human diets, not ducks I don't know the niacin content of bugs and worms and slugs but I would guess that is one primary way ducks get it in the wild/foraging since that would be their "meat". Also minnows and probably frogs. Another thing you might not think of is that some algaes have high niacin content, and ducks in the wild eat a lot of algae. Seaweed also has good niacin content, and I've tried to find if other aquatic plants do as well, but it can be hard to find information on vitamin content in "foods" not widely eaten by humans. But I would suspect so, since it is the aquatic birds that need the extra niacin, so I would guess they are getting it from foods land birds wouldn't eat as much, if at all, such as aquatic plants and algaes. Growing your own chlorella or spirulina for example would be one way to add niacin availability to your flock in place of purchasing commercial feed or vitamins

Edited to add: as I've stated before I'm just getting started with ducks, so anyone wanting to switch off commercial feed should do a lot of their own research first and not just run with what I've said. I'm still using commercial feed and will continue to until I'm confident of the quantities/ratios of different foods necessary to meet their nutritional needs

 

[416bigbore]

When I was concerned about niacin the first week I had my ducklings (since all I could find was chick starter and couldn't locate a vitamin supplement or brewer's yeast; seemed everything duck related was disappearing from shelves at the time) I gave them a little bit of tuna mixed with brown rice every day. Both are natural sources of niacin. Non-vegetarian humans get most of their niacin from meat and fish, but it's also naturally found in whole grains and other foods as well, as you see from the link you posted. I'm actually writing a book on the chemistry of nutrition so I've done a fair bit of research on niacin and other vitamins, just...much more in relation to human diets, not ducks I don't know the niacin content of bugs and worms and slugs but I would guess that is one primary way ducks get it in the wild/foraging since that would be their "meat". Also minnows and probably frogs. Another thing you might not think of is that some algaes have high niacin content, and ducks in the wild eat a lot of algae. Seaweed also has good niacin content, and I've tried to find if other aquatic plants do as well, but it can be hard to find information on vitamin content in "foods" not widely eaten by humans. But I would suspect so, since it is the aquatic birds that need the extra niacin, so I would guess they are getting it from foods land birds wouldn't eat as much, if at all, such as aquatic plants and algaes. Growing your own chlorella or spirulina for example would be one way to add niacin availability to your flock in place of purchasing commercial feed or vitamins

Edited to add: as I've stated before I'm just getting started with ducks, so anyone wanting to switch off commercial feed should do a lot of their own research first and not just run with what I've said. I'm still using commercial feed and will continue to until I'm confident of the quantities/ratios of different foods necessary to meet their nutritional needs

Nutritional needs most important while ducklings until full grown adults, then I would guess it would be ok to back off the special chick growth feed. An over weight adult duck I would guess to have health issues also, Not?

 

[DucksOhio]

These are domestic birds. They need to be fed a proper diet. I wouldn't expect my dog to be able to hunt like a wolf.

Touché. That’s perfect for me.

 

[416bigbore]

I found this to be informational.
https://www.forthebirdsdvm.com/pages/care-and-feeding-of-pet-ducks

 

[Pollo Blanco]

Why is this so much harder than every other animal I have ever raised?

I might sound harsh, so please forgive me in advance. I will sound unorthodox, so try to keep an open mind. Don't believe anything you read on the internet; use it as a starting point to research for yourself, not using super popular search engines that filter your results.

Anything your duck can eat out of your non-chemically treated yard that is not moldy is a green light.

Don't eat anything yourself that you wouldn't feed to your dog.

Who cooks for wolves?

The microwave was debuted in the 70's, and the refrigerator in the 50's.

How did people preserve and cook food prior to 1950's?

Bonus question: When was dog food invented?

Bonus answer: 1950's

Useless trivia; My one acre natural 'lawn' has so many slugs in it that sometimes I slip on one and have to catch my balance.

"A slug for a dusk; ain't that luck?"

 

[Pollo Blanco]

I found this to be informational.
https://www.forthebirdsdvm.com/pages/care-and-feeding-of-pet-ducks

That is no different than recommending a diet of Kraft macaroni and cheese, Wonder bread, Oscar Meyer bologna w/ Miracle Whip and American cheese and Twinkies for a growing child.

If you could select ONE dried food item from the grocery store, one that will easily last a year on the shelf for your healthy diet, what would it be?

 

[Pollo Blanco]

I wouldn't expect my dog to be able to hunt like a wolf.

My dogs love blackberries.
I taught them how to each pick his own, which means they get the low ones and don't have to share the ones I'm picking for myself!

 

[Pollo Blanco]

Ducks have been kept and herded in this area of the world for centuries. They would train flocks of ducks to stay in their herders’ site. They would keep an eye on his long bamboo cane that the herder would carry with him. This pole had strips of cloth attached to the one end of it.
Using his herding pole, he would drive the ducks to the rice paddies during there day. There the ducks would keep the rice paddies insect free whilst gleaning the scattered seeds and weeding the paddy.
At night when it was time for the flock to go home the herder would herd them back to where they would be kept in either a protective clay or bamboo structure.
The duck eggs would be collected from the structure early the following morning before the ducks were herded off to the rice paddies again.
For centuries the ducks were chosen for the foraging abilities, they had to be good walkers and prolific egg layers.

https://domesticanimalbreeds.com/indian-runner-duck-breed-everything-you-need-to-know/

 

[416bigbore]

https://jimvysechickenchat.wordpress.com/2014/10/22/delicious-duck-friendly-treats/