Can you believe.....

[WestKnollAmy]

I want to tell you all something really funny. Okay, not so funny as very interesting. Or maybe you won't find it interesting.......

I hatched out Cayuga ducklings along with some chicks. I left them together to grow up in a brooder and for the first 2 weeks forgot to put Niacin in their water. Thinking I had better get my act together I put some in the waterer one night in the brooder and the next morning found one of the Cayugas dead.
Thinking I really had messed up I moved the other Cayuga out of the brooder and into it's own cage because ducklings do not need as much heat as chicks. No brooder light for it but it cried for friends so I moved 2 of the Mottled Javas over with it and it was happy. I also measured out the Niacin every day and made sure I had the right amount for the duckling. Well, the other day I was cleaning brooders and noticed that the Javas in with the Cayuga were 3 times the size of the ones left in the chick brooder!

Now I put vitamins A-D-E, Pro B and other vitamin/mineral supplements in my brooder waters a few times a week but have never done just Niacin (B vits). And never every day for chicks.

Anyone ever noticed this?

I think I am going to start taking Niacin! I want to grow up big and strong. Obviously my B6 and B12 are not doing squat for me!

 

[Denninmi]

I don't for several reasons == ducks are "wet" chicks are "dry"; ducks poo a lot more, and are very messy; they have different nutritional requirements as you stated; medicated chick starter might be toxic to ducks (depends on the medication?).

So, I think it's best to keep them separated. Last year, I made a great big brooder in the garage, and had ducks, chickens, and turkeys, but divided it into 3 sections with old window screens. A couple of times, briefly, someone slipped through, and I had peanut butter in my chocolate or chocolate in my peanut butter, but it was just for an hour or so, not enough time to cause any real problems.

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

With the call ducklings, when they hatch they go into the brooders with the chicks for the first 2 weeks or so, before they get really messy. I also brood everything up on wire, so there's not shavings to get messy/wet from the ducklings.