Blue Seal feeds

[sayyadina]

I'm getting some ducks in May or June, and I was wondering what experiences people here have had using Blue Seal feeds for their ducks. This is the only feed available in the area. My ducks are going to be outdoor pets/bug eaters.

Do they have appropriate amounts and proportions of protein, fat, fiber, vitamins & minerals? Any problems with deficiencies/toxicities? I went to the Blue Seal website, and I couldn't find any nutritional information there.

 

[TennesseeTruly]

I was told by William of Little Heirloom Farms that Blue Seal is a very acceptable feed for ducks and geese both.

Laurie

 

[4-H chicken mom]

I have to say, I have never heard of Blue Seal.

I will look that one up.

 

[veronicasmom]

I use Blue Seal Grower Cal and Blue Seal Layer pellets. Then in the winter I add in the Blue Seal cracked corn. My ducks do quite well on it.
You can usually find out from your feed store who the rep for your area is, or even call Blue Seal and speak to someone there to get the information on their feeds. They are quite helpful.

 

[giffy]

I had Blue Seal, Dumor and Nutrena brands at my local feed stores, always liked the Blue Seal feeds.

giffy
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[NYREDS]

Blue Seal manufactures a line of high quality feeds. However, as far as I know they don't make a feed formulated for waterfowl. Many people feed chicken feed to ducks & they will certainly do fine on the chicken feed. I prefer a feed meant for waterfowl. I feed Mazuri Waterfowl Maintenance & Mazuri Grower to young birds. Mazuri is made by Purina & any Purina dealer can order it.

 

[AHappychick]

I use them sometimes as they have an organic line. I have been very happy. They also have a game bird feed (not organic) that would work well for ducks.

In a pinch before they are laying you can use chick starter and just add Brewers yeast to it.

and then oyster shell when they start laying

 

[sayyadina]

Thanks, everyone.

According to the feed brochure I got from our feed store/Blue Seal rep, they have several feeds for ducklings & adult ducks. We've been very happy with the other feeds from Blue Seal (horse & alpaca), but I just wanted to get some feedback from other people about their duck feeds.

Going to use their Chick n Gamebird Starter/Grower for the ducklings & goslings, Grower-Cal pels when they're older, but I'm not sure which feed to give them when they're adults. They have Layer pels and Breeder Pels. My birds are going to be mainly pest control, I'm not really breeding or keeping them for eggs. Do I follow the instructions on the bag for amounts to feed?

Do they need anything as the way of supplements? I know about oyster shell & grit, but what about a vitamin supplement or probiotic?

Is Blue Seal good about getting back to customers (phone or email)?

 

[veronicasmom]

I've had very good luck with speaking with Blue Seal reps. I usually get them on the phone when I call them. For several years, we'd have a BS rep come out and do a hay analysis for our horse hay too. Only cost $15 for them to come do 6-8 samples and then email us a full report.
Since we got ducks 8 years ago, we've used just the Blue Seal layer pellets, grower cal, calcium, grit (which mine never touch), and cracked corn when it is really cold. I also feed chopped veggies a few times a day in the winter, for nutrition and for fun. Less veggies in the summer. Oh and of course, PEAS! Other than a freak problem we had last summer, totally unrelated to feeding, ours are very healthy, in good condition, and appear quite happy.

 

[trilyn]

I love, love, love Blue Seal feeds-the quality is always consistent. I've never had a bag of moldy feed, it's always very fresh and I feel the quality is superior to most other brands. Their scratch alone is comprised of 3 different grains and is never dusty or moldy smelling, I've opened up bags of Nutrena and been disappointed-very dusty and only has wheat and corn. I use the gamebird crumbles mixed with a half scoop of scratch in their feed and they've been laying beautifully all winter. Soon, they'll be going on layer-once the weather warms up a bit and we see some grass!! All my animals are on Blue Seal, from the dogs to the horses!