Can't find good feed

tequilapickles

Hatching
9 Years
Sep 19, 2010
6
0
7
Hi everyone,

I have two 4-week old Pekin ducks and I think they're ready to move on to something with lower protein. Everything I find says to get them between 14 and 16% protein, but I can't find any waterfowl feed that low where I live. I considered chicken lay pellets but the guy at the feed store looked at me funny and tried to push 19% waterfowl feed. What would you folks suggest? They're on 18.5% protein starter crumbles now.
 
I use "Blue Seal" Grower Cal pellets for game birds. I get it from the Amish but it's a commercial food and I think you can find it at most feed stores and farm and garden centers. It's 15% protein.
 
I'll keep an eye out for it. Do you feed that to them as adults? And also, is there any big problem with giving adult males all purpose lay feed? All I know is they have more calcium and grit for eggshells. I have a male and female and I'm not sure if their biology demands very different foods.
 
I have the same problem. Even the Flock Raiser is too high for ducks over the age of four to five weeks. I solve the problem by cutting their feed with oats, a very low protein, high-fiber feed. You can use wheat for the same purpose, and it's cheap. I buy the horse oats in the fifty-pound bags for about ten bucks.

I start adding it gradually at about three to four weeks, until their feed is about one quarter oats & three quarters feed. Works like a charm. The one time I decided to skip it and stuck with the higher protein feed, I ended up with three cases of angel wing, two of which corrected themselves with a return to lower protein and one of which still suffers a mild case.

Good luck!
 
Very cool. I think cutting with oats is my best bet. I'll check a few other stores tomorrow and see what I find. Worst case, I guess I could keep them on 16% lay feed. It's too bad the Mazuri feed is so expensive.
 
Layer feed is fine for the boys if they're also free ranging. Mine eat what the girls eat, 16% Purina layena, and have for two years & they're fine. They also free range during the day, so they balance out the feed with natural forage.
 
Thanks for the advice - managed to find the Layena today and picked up a bag of it. I guess I'll mix it with their starter 18% until that's all gone to give them a gradual change.
 

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