Canned salmon?

[tequilapickles]

Hi all,

Just got my first pair of white pekin ducklings a few days ago and love them. Unfortunately, the pet store I got them from and none of the feed places around me have waterfowl starter, so I'm using a generic starter feed (not medicated, of course) with only 18.5% protein. I've been supplementing this by feeding them egg whites, but I'm wondering about giving them a little canned salmon to vary things up. Is this okay for them to eat? If not, what else could I feed them to supplement the protein?

Also, what's the lowest temperature they can tolerate when fully grown? It usually doesn't get below 30F in the winter where I live. Thanks.

 

[katharinad]

I feed all my ducklings 16% protein only. No need to push it any higher. You don't want your babies to grow to fast either to avoid joint problems. Muscles tent to grow faster then their joints, and high protein pushes muscle development. So for now you seem to be fine with your 18%.

I ween my ducklings for the heat lamp rather quickly, and I only use regular light bulbs and not the red heat lamps. As 2.5 weeks they are usually without heat lamp in the daytime, but with heat at night. Try to keep it above 65 degrees at all times until they are 2 months old.

Full grown ducks can handle very cold weather as long as they can get out of the wind. You may have to heat their enclosure until they are done with their first molt, which can be 4 months of age.

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

x's2

Toss that canned stuff it's not good for them at all...16-18% is perfect, give some greens if you want to give them a treat, just simple grass clippings will keep them happy

 

[tequilapickles]

Awesome, thank you both. I guess they're more resilient than a lot of these website guides make them out to be.

I chopped up a little salad of lettuce and a very small amount of watermelon...they loved it so much that they crapped in their regular food.

 

[suburbanduckmom]

Ducks are sensitive to metals so I would be careful about canned food. I don't have any science behind it but I wouldn't take the risk.

Seems like you are doing a good job with the snacks. They don't really care too much about variety. To make it a real treat put the greens or fruit in a dish of water so they can dabble it out.

We wrapped our pen in burlap to block the wind and put a large rubbermaid bin in with a hole for the door. As long as they have a place to get out of the wind and rain/snow they should be ok.