Duck feed temporary replacement? They won't eat otherwise

[mypoorducky]

They should be able to eat grains raw or cooked.

If they have access to small pebbles, they will probably eat them as needed, so you may not need to do anything about that.

Just gave them the mix. I forgot it was freshly steamed, so they dipped their beak but quickly pulled out and ran off. I added some of their water to it to cool it down, and gave them pieces of the grain by hand. They ate it, thankfully. They wouldn't eat it from the container since they thought it was too hot, but I gently dipped their beaks in it to let them know it wasn't too hot anymore. They ate a bit of it, but then ran off again and are now foraging across the yard. Success?

Edit: I handfed them a pile of it. They ate a lot more actively! However, that seemed to be the end of it. Back to foraging. They did drink the water that was inside their food container, at least.

Edit 2: Back to actively eating! I gave them some grit, didn't eat it but they have the option now, at least. They went up to the bowl and ate from it. Success!

 

[NatJ]

I handfed them a pile of it. They ate a lot more actively! However, that seemed to be the end of it. Back to foraging. They did drink the water that was inside their food container, at least.

I don't know what amount is right for them to eat each day, so I would just hope they eat the right amount.

Foraging is probably good for them, because they will find bits of things they are willing to eat, and that are likely to be healthy for them too.