Can ducks eat chicken layer pellet ?

[jackrooster]

I have my chickens and ducks together........can my ducks eat layer pellet ?? I have a mallard a pekin 2 blue sweeds and a buff........or will this make them sick??

 

[BigPeep]

I have ducks and chickens. Although they are now separated, they were together for a time. I tried to feed the chickens chicken feed and the ducks duck feed but it didn't take long before they were each eating each other's feed so I don't think it makes any difference. In fact, as I am now selling the duck eggs and I have certified organic feed for the chickens but not the ducks, I am going to start putting the organic chicken feed into the duck feed in increasing quantities until the ducks are only getting the organic chicken feed by the time they start laying again in the Spring. I can't get the organic duck feed around here. This will technically still not qualify the duck eggs as being organic because they were eating the non organic feed for a time in their lives but it's close enough.

 

[jackrooster]

would it make them lay better??

 

[Amiga]

Whatever you feed, during laying season the calcium levels need to be higher than when they are not laying.

I feed a combination that is roughly:

2/3 duck maintenance
1/3 poultry layer
a handful of dry cat kibble
a handful of hard wheat
2-3 handfuls rolled oats

crushed oyster shell free choice

all the slugs, worms, and creepy-crawlies they can find
greens - garden weeds, chopped lettuce

A few peas as a treat almost daily

oyster shell is nice because if you have drakes, layer pellets are rough on their internal organs over the long haul. So if you have a mix of male and female, stick with maintenance ration and add free choice oyster shell on the side. If they are all female, you could use layer pellets, which have the calcium they need. Lack of calcium can cause serious health problems for layers.

'Hope you are enjoying your ducks!

 

[Kelebek]

Thank you - I was curious about this - as right now our ducks and chickens co-mingle free range and hubby has been caught buying layer instead of scratch .....

 

[sonew123]

all mine roam together and I could not keep them away from their seperate feeders so they all get layer pellets! calls, magpie,runners, and chickens

 

[Chickem707]

I know this is an old thread, but what would i feed if I introduced 6 week old ducklings to my hens? And can roosters eat layers pellets? Thanks

 

[Cayuga momma]

I know this is an old thread, but what would i feed if I introduced 6 week old ducklings to my hens? And can roosters eat layers pellets? Thanks

Any male of either species should not be eating a layer feed. It's too much calcium for them. You could feed them a All Flock feed or you can feed them Chicken Finisher feed and keep oyster shell available on the side for the females.
Make sure you add Niacin to the feed if your ducks will be eating it too. The extra naicin won't hurt your chickens.