can I keep running ducks with my chickens?

[treldib]

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Define "Duck Feed"

I don't think there is anything specifically made for Ducks, other than Mazuri Floating Waterfowl Maintenance Feed, which is insanely expensive and impractical to feed. People have kept, raised, and bred Ducks on "Chicken Feed" for decades. Almost everyone broods ducklings with non-medicated chick starter with the only difference being supplemental Niacin on the side. I know a bunch of people who feed their adult ducks Layer Pellets made for chickens. I have raised mine on Purina Flock Raiser (for chickens) and now feed them Purina Layena Pellets (for chickens). Ducks and chickens have similar nutritional needs (Ducks need more Niacin, etc.) and in the wild eat similar things.

Fix'd spelling errors.

 

[greekbioguy]

Quote:


Define "Duck Feed"

I don't think there is anything specifically made for Ducks, other than Mazuri Floating Waterfowl Maintenance Feed, which is insanely expensive and impractical to feed. People have kept, raised, and bred Ducks on "Chicken Feed" for decades. Almost everyone broods ducklings with non-medicated chick starter with the only difference being supplemental Niacin on the side. I know a bunch of people who feed their adult ducks Layer Pellets made for chickens. I have raised mine on Purina Flock Raiser (for chickens) and now feed them Purina Layena Pellets (for chickens). Ducks and chickens have similar nutritional needs (Ducks need more Niacin, etc.) and in the wild eat similar things.

Fix'd spelling errors.

they may have similar nutritional needs but not the same,even here in Greece i could find feed formulated specifically for ducks. i do not disagree that ducks can survive on chicken feed but they will not be as healthy as they would if they were feed properly.if you use your ducks as production birds (use them to lay eggs and as diner when the time comes) you will probably not witness any adverse results. if you want to keep ducks as pets (like a dog or a cat ) then over the years you will start to see problems . when i say taking proper care of them i mean covering all their needs and keeping them alive until they die of old age. chicken feed is too ''strong'' for non production birds. you might get away by feeding it to domesticated production ducks but not to any wild duck species(they have special needs) ,even tame duck nutritional needs are closer to those of wild waterfowl than they are to chickens.
as for housing is concerned it is common knowledge that you should not mix species of birds (any species of birds ,with very few exceptions) . they do not have the same attitude ,aggression, diseases and they need a different environment to live in .even in very large aviaries you should only keep very close related species

actually in Europe it is against the law to keep ducks with any other species of birds because of I5N1 avian flu(ducks have a certain immunity to the virus and they can be vectors without ever getting sick). duck pens should be separate and some distance away from chicken coops


around here there are some animal feed mills (not any particular brand) where you can take your own feed formula and they will make food pellets acording to your wish (they can only make large quantities though) i would quess there should be some around your place too. you just pay for the ingredients and the pellet machine operation

 

[duckking]

I have 2 Rouens, drake and hen, 3 Mallards, all hens, and 4 chickens, all hens, very happily living together. They are all on organic layer feed, but they are good foragers. They have free choice oyster shell, lot's of fresh greens and veggies, mealworms, crickets, tons of water and scratch here and there. They are all 22 weeks old. Two of the hens are laying, 2 are not yet and the ducks are still too young. They all get along great, are all very healthy, (as confirmed by a poultry/wild fowl vet), the hens eggs are awesome.

These girls were all brought up together, however. Separated once the ducklings got bigger than the chicks and so much messier, but put outside together without any issues. Ducklings and chicks both got extra electrolytes, niacin, etc. when growing up. Still give it to them a couple of times a month in their water. The Rouen drake is a new addition, but was accepted by all very readily. Even the chickens react to him if he gives off the alarm. I guess he has become their roo.

Having some reintroducing issues with one of the pullets, but the ducks have accepted her back immediately after 10 days. Just the lead hen is being a bit of a B****. Working on it!

 

[Caprice_Acres]

Not keeping birds together is a bunch of hooey, IMO. Sure, it's bad in overstressed, disgusting, cruel factory farms, true - where disease would run rampant and mutate between species quickly due to supressed immune systems. Also in crowded areas or pens, the birds can't get away from others that may be aggressive, or cannot get food/water when aggressive birds keep them away from the sources.

People have been raising rural flocks together forever. As I said, I have guineas, chickens, welsh harlequin ducks, muscovies, geese, and seasonal turkies all together at the same time. They range around my goat pastures, in my backyard with my dogs and cats, and underneath my rabbit cages, too.

My birds are not contained, not overstressed, and definetly not ill. I keep multiple bathing areas, water sources, and feed pans out so all poultry - big and small - have their time at the plate and water as needed.

I feed a custom mix that has no calcium in it, just oystershell on the side. It is a mix of corn, oats, soybean meal, alfalfa meal, and a vitamin/mineral mix - all ground fine so they don't pick out parts and leave others. Unfortunately, my feed mill won't pelletize our feed. Also, the bulk required (500lbs minimum) is likely MUCH more than many small flocks need. I get it because I have over 60 chickens, 5 geese, 7 guineas, 20+ 'scovies, and 5 Welsh Harlequins - we buy by the 1500lbs.

They also free range 24/7, 365. But, I used to feed a bagged layer feed to them for at at least 3 years of my oldest muscovys' life. Bagged feed got expensive and that's the only reason I switched. Sure, you MIGHT be able to find a 'duck feed' though I've never seen one, but it would likely be expensive and it truely isn't necessary. Domestic ducks really do have similar dietary needs as chickens, with a couple of allowances. It is certainly not BAD to feed a layer feed to ducks, thats for certain.

 

[greekbioguy]

again i need to say that just because your mixed birds survive it does not mean you are doing the right thing. you can state that you have no space , you have no money for separate coops or just you can not be bothered to make one but saying that this is the right way to raise birds is a completely false statement

look it up in books in the Internet or wherever you want . scientifically keeping birds together is wrong
no ducks do not live well on chicken feed . chicken feed is mostly corn mixed with soy such mixes are detrimental to a ducks health in the long run
ducks need allot of indigestible materials in their diet a corn based diet is really bad for them ,its the same for a person to survive on burgers and chips you will survive and probably look fat and strong but you will die of heart attack when you are 40. that's exactly what happens to ducks i can make a list of problems arising from a chicken orientated corn based diet. fatty liver syndrome,obesity ,kidney failure caused by too much calcium,problems with egg binding because of too much fat around the egg canal .prolapse, angel wings caused by too much protein the list is endless

saying all the above i need to say that intermediate diets can be formulated that would be sort of OK for both chickens and ducks but corn should be around 30% of total ingredients. ducks need variety of grains with ingredients like oats and barley making up a big percentage of their diet so their digestive system will work properly,but feeding such diets to your chicken you will probably have less eggs but your chicken will live and lay for a longer time
for a duck corn is what fried chips are to us (you can eat them but if you eat them all the time you will not be healthy )
saying that sth is right just because you are doing it is a very wrong way of looking at things in life in general , try to keep in mind that you may be wrong sometimes and don't always trust traditional poultry keeping methods because they were made for maximum production only and did not pay too much respect to animals well being. if your birds are just your meat and egg factories then this is the way to go ,if birds are your pets too in addition to being producers then you need to try a bit harder to keep them happy and healthy

what i am saying is not my personal opinion (i do not have an opinion on the matter i am a biologist not a livestock feed expert or a vet ) ,its the opinion stated by experts round the world on this matter. i had to read to find these things out .but i did allot of reading to be able to keep birds and feel OK with the way i am treating them.read articles and opinions to get the info about bird keeping don't ask your neighbour or your grandparents or the people in the feed store in your town the chance is that they may even know less than you do. since you dont seem to trust what i say look it up... you will never ever find a proper scientfic article writen by any self respecting expert saying that keeping ducks and chickens is the way to go. i wish they were it would make life easier but they dont

 

[dianaross77]

I am sure there is a "right" way to do things but I doubt we could agree on it. Stating that people who don't do things the way you do don't care about their animals is just untrue. I don't think you have to be rude to state your opinion. And I do feed my ducks "duck and goose food" and it's the same stuff that's in the chicken food, just in a pellet. I guess you could take a cue from mother nature and take a look at a lake. In the spring and summer months in Michigan, you'll see mallards, canada geese, seagulls, etc all peacefully coexisting. I take the kids to a farm for visits and they have ducks, chickens, and guineas in the same run and they are all perfectly fine. It really makes me sad when someone can't ask a simple question without being criticized or judged.

 

[feather and mountain man]

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Well I respectfully disagree with this statement. My mother has always run ducks and chickens together and never had a problem. She sill has her two first ducks that are now 10 and are very healthy and happy. They eat the same feed as the chickens and never got sick. They have laid eggs and raised my babies. Baby chickens and ducks. Chickens hatching out ducks and chickens at the same time.

So last year my mom gave me 2 ducks and I was worried about them getting along but no problems. They stayed away from each other at first but eventually intigrated. We keep wading pools it the pen for them and they have made it a big chore of cleaning the pen now as they are messy critters but to me they are worth it. I love my ducks.

The thing I like most about having ducks run with my chickens is the ducks are quick to sound the alarm when preditors are near.

 

[TLWR]

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That's because they were doing it wrong!

You can find specific duck food where you are. Great. For whatever reason, not everybody can find a specific duck food or change to a chicken layer feed when females are "of age for it" because that is what seems to work for the most people. So the rest of us go by what seems to work. Maybe we are all wrong. When we feel we have enough evidence for that, we'll change. Until then, I'm guessing most will keep going with what has worked for them or they've seen work for others. Feeding and housing.

 

[Caprice_Acres]

I guess I'll just go on abusing my poor poultry...

 

[dianaross77]

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Shame on you!