Duck ate a bunch of shavings!!?

Hi again, I just looked up the recommended amount to Feed Ducks of the Mazuri Waterfowl it says 1/4 cup per pound of duck.
standard Ducks depending on breed can weigh somewhere between 4 and 6 pounds generally , most of my ducks are in that range.
So that means every duck that is approximately 4 pounds needs a full one cup per day .
if you have 5 Ducks they will need approximately 5 to 6 cups of Feed per day . That would be like 3 cups in the morning and another 3 cups at dinner time.
It’s funny I never really measured how much I give my ducks. I just give them as much as they want and when they are full, they do stop eating.
 
Yes lol playing and splashing that’s they always do but I’m really glad you gave him overnight water last night just because of not knowing what he might have eaten to help him get it down just in case it was something that could’ve been a problem.
Mazuri Waterfowl is wonderful Feed. I also buy it and feed my docks some in the morning and the evening. I love how it floats on the water and they love gobble it up that way.
I also leave a feeder full of duck pellets all day available free choice
I used to buy All flock pellets because I had chickens together with my Ducks but now my chickens have their own yard and so the ducks get Duck pellets
It’s true ducks eat a lot.
, do yours have a big yard to eat wormsand bugs during the day too? That helps keep food costs down a little
I hope he is well today maybe you can keep the ducks away from the new mulch if possible and find out if it has any chemicals, I know there are some mulches with weed killer in them
Yes, thank you! They have free range in our big garden/pasture and get lots of slugs and bugs from around our raised beds. They also go into the sheep pasture so they have lots of room to roam.
I just let them out and checked on him and it looks like all of the shavings that he had stuck are gone! I also just fed them breakfast and he seemed hungry which is good.
I’m pretty sure now that it was shavings and not mulch because the mulch that we have is pretty large, about 1/3 to 1/2 the length of a pencil (around as thick as one as well), and the stuff that I felt in his neck was pretty small pieces (and their shavings are smaller).
However, I have heard that pine shavings are toxic for them to eat, is this true? And if they are, is there anything that I should give him?
Hi again, I just looked up the recommended amount to Feed Ducks of the Mazuri Waterfowl it says 1/4 cup per pound of duck.
standard Ducks depending on breed can weigh somewhere between 4 and 6 pounds generally , most of my ducks are in that range.
So that means every duck that is approximately 4 pounds needs a full one cup per day .
if you have 5 Ducks they will need approximately 5 to 6 cups of Feed per day . That would be like 3 cups in the morning and another 3 cups at dinner time.
It’s funny I never really measured how much I give my ducks. I just give them as much as they want and when they are full, they do stop eating.
Oh wow, I had no idea that they needed that much! Gosh, I feel like a bad duck mom for not giving my poor little babies all the food that they need.
They are runner ducks, for reference, so I think they’re on the smaller side? I think they’re classified as “light,” but not bantam like calls.
Thank you so much for taking the time to share all of this information! I want to take care of my sweet birdies the best that I can :)
 
Yes, thank you! They have free range in our big garden/pasture and get lots of slugs and bugs from around our raised beds. They also go into the sheep pasture so they have lots of room to roam.
I just let them out and checked on him and it looks like all of the shavings that he had stuck are gone! I also just fed them breakfast and he seemed hungry which is good.
I’m pretty sure now that it was shavings and not mulch because the mulch that we have is pretty large, about 1/3 to 1/2 the length of a pencil (around as thick as one as well), and the stuff that I felt in his neck was pretty small pieces (and their shavings are smaller).
However, I have heard that pine shavings are toxic for them to eat, is this true? And if they are, is there anything that I should give him?

Oh wow, I had no idea that they needed that much! Gosh, I feel like a bad duck mom for not giving my poor little babies all the food that they need.
They are runner ducks, for reference, so I think they’re on the smaller side? I think they’re classified as “light,” but not bantam like calls.
Thank you so much for taking the time to share all of this information! I want to take care of my sweet birdies the best that I can :)
You can weigh them - my runners are about 3 and 1/2 pounds, the boy runners probably more around four pounds. I weigh Ducks by getting on the scale by myself and then getting back on it with holding the duck. ❤️
 
I feed Mazuri Maintenance Feed, around 2 cups per day between 5 ducks.
Unrelated, but recently (maybe a couple months ago) my ducks started wanting ALL THE FOOD that they could possibly get. Before, they would eat some, but not all of their food, and now, they eat the entire bowl no matter how much I give them. I think that it may be a combination of my younger hens just starting laying, and the weather getting cooler.

It may also be related to how much food they can find while they are foraging. Things like what kinds of plants and how many slugs will change at different points in the year.

Most likely it is a combination of factors, less available when foraging and also needing more total food. That would make a really big increase in how much of the purchased food is needed.
 
Yes, thank you! They have free range in our big garden/pasture and get lots of slugs and bugs from around our raised beds. They also go into the sheep pasture so they have lots of room to roam.
I just let them out and checked on him and it looks like all of the shavings that he had stuck are gone! I also just fed them breakfast and he seemed hungry which is good.
I’m pretty sure now that it was shavings and not mulch because the mulch that we have is pretty large, about 1/3 to 1/2 the length of a pencil (around as thick as one as well), and the stuff that I felt in his neck was pretty small pieces (and their shavings are smaller).
However, I have heard that pine shavings are toxic for them to eat, is this true? And if they are, is there anything that I should give him?

Oh wow, I had no idea that they needed that much! Gosh, I feel like a bad duck mom for not giving my poor little babies all the food that they need.
They are runner ducks, for reference, so I think they’re on the smaller side? I think they’re classified as “light,” but not bantam like calls.
Thank you so much for taking the time to share all of this information! I want to take care of my sweet birdies the best that I can :)
My Runner Ducks eat almost more than all my chickens together! :lau
 
When you think about it, a duck’s natural habitat is typically near lakes or ponds, where they have access to a wide variety of food sources such as bugs, fish, frogs, and other small aquatic creatures. In a backyard setting, ducks may find a few insects and some grass to nibble on, but they don’t have the same abundance or variety of food they would in the wild. Chickens, on the other hand, naturally live on grassy areas or in wooded environments. They eat insects, grass, and fruits — many of which are readily available in a backyard. This is why chickens generally eat feed less than ducks.
 

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