Bantam duck feeding and breeding

[riftnreef]

We are pretty new to ducks and I want to make sure I'm giving ourselves the best chance possible to be successful. We received a pair of Indies and a pair of Gray Calls last fall. This spring they did what they were supposed to, and laid fertile eggs....problem is, we did not have the best success in hatching those eggs. Part of this I'm sure was the incubator and our lack of knowledge in hatching duck eggs, but I'm also thinking part of this may have been diet and the breed.

What do you guys feed your bantam ducks in and out of breeding season to keep them in the best condition possible? I would prefer a commercial feed, and not a custom mix that may be subject to regional availability.

Am I understanding correctly that they will breed and lay again during the fall, or is it spring only?

Any incubation advice would also be appreciated, especially for the call ducks!

Thanks in advance...!

 

[aprille218]

I feed a duck and goose specific feed 100% of the time plus they are in a large pen on the ground. My calls have only ever laid eggs spring- early summer never again in the fall.
Aprille

 

[Going Quackers]

I use a grower(free choice oyster shell for the ladies) and my calls are also on the ground. I let them breed and brood their own eggs. It was late spring they laid till then didn't continue much past summer, definitely a shorter duration than other breeds.

Calls are notorious for being hard to hatch, we had some troubles here too but i still managed to get 9 babies lol