duck food recommendations & advice needed

[Duckiiess]

I've been very happy with Nutrena all flock pellets for adolescent/ adult ducks. Was feeding the Purina duck pellets before I found that. It has the same protein, more niacin, and is a little cheaper to boot.
The ducklings get purina flock raiser with nutritional yeast. Both get cat food here and there, more so in the winter for some added B vities/ niacin. During the summer they're eating plenty of bugs to make up for it.
There's no such thing as the "best" feed, it depends heavily on how your birds do on it.

 

[sowNreap]

Tractor Supply carries Nutrena Naturewise All Flock which has about 125ppm of Niacin. This is compared to Purina Duck feed at 65ppm and Mazuri Waterfowl Maintenance at 162ppm.

It can be ordered online & shipped or some stores carry it in stock.

 

[salshep20]

I'm a big Mazuri fan and you can buy online

expensive feed!! LOL but good

 

[ruthhope]

we have a local feed store real close to us but they don’t sell duck food only chicken and horse stuff. if i can’t find any duck feed online i might just get some chicken feed and brewers yeast

I just found out that my local TSC doesn't stock Mazuri but I was able to order on line 3 days ago and have it shipped, free of charge, to the store.

I use TSC Purina Duck Pellets. If your local TSC doesn't stock it -- again you should be able to order on line and have it shipped to the store.

Buying from Amazon suppliers or Mazuri directly, is expensive because of the cost of shipping.

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

I've started mixing with Purina Duck Pellets now that my TSC is carrying them.

 

[Luv Ducks]

Last summer a college student wanted to buy some of my ducks for a food study for his schooling. He had also bought ducks from Pennsylvania. They were all Mallards. He fed them Mazuri Water fowl duck food and none of them would eat it. I bought my ducks back at the end of the summer when he was finished with his food study with them. He gave me the rest of the bag that the college had furnished him for my other ducks. None of them would touch it. I don't know why but none of mine liked it for some strange reason. He told me how much the 50 pound bag had cost and that it was supposed to be the best but my Ducks liked Purina better. How particular they can be at times, lol.

 

[Weeg]

I feed Scratch and Peck feeds. I'm a big fan for many reasons.

1) Its corn and soy free. Those are two of the largest sprayed corps in the US, so I worry about that. I've also read opposing opinions on soy, so figured I'd just stay away from it so I didn't have to worry about it.

2) Its Organic and Non-Gmo. I like this because of what I mentioned above. Legumes like soy are sprayed with RoundUp to dry them out before using. RoundUp is hihg in Glyphosate which causes cancer.

3) It comes in a paper bag. I hate throwing away those plastic feed sacks. You go through it so fast you end up throwing so much away. I know theres ways to reuse them, but its much easier to get feed in a paper bag.

Edit: Noticed that this is an older thread, but going to leave this here for anyone who comes searching.

 

[addctd2plnts]

expensive feed!! LOL but good

I use it too. I know the per bag price seems high, but I tried a lot of other types and they wasted half of it. There was feed thrown ALL OVER! With Mazuri, I swear they don't waste a single piece! And when I keep track, they don't use as much. The real monthly costs end up very close. I found something similar when I tried a more expensive dog food with my dogs. The dogs didn't need as much food, which reduced the cost a little and, even better, there was less poop!

 

[PoodleGalKate]

My ducks’ favorite food is DuMor Duck Feed. You can get it for like $7.99 per 10 lbs bag at Tracor Supply. I like that it’s not too expensive, & I don’t need to haul those bloody 50 lb bags. If you need it to be even more cost effective, you can go with the Purina Flock Raiser for like $26.95/50 lb bag. My domestic flock of between 40-50 ducks will all eat that, but it isn’t preferred. Matsuri is probably far and away the highest quality from what I have heard, but mine only like to eat that when in the water. They are kind of “odd ducks” (haha - pun intended). Lol! Also, it’s twice as expensive as the Purina Flock raiser so I guess it also depends on your budget, how many ducks you are needing to feed, etc.

With regard to fruit and veggie scraps - no citrus either. I love that they consume all of our strawberry tops, salad scraps, etc. There is really little to no waste. Hope this info helps.

 

[Luv Ducks]

I had some of my ducks in a food study for a university. They absolutely all hated the Mazuri Waterfowl feed. It is expensive and the young man that borrowed the ducks for the summer gave me the big bag that was left for the rest of my ducks. None of them would touch it. I don't know if it has to be in water or if he tried that or not. I have fed mine Rural King feed before and they seem to do alright with that along with the Purina Flock Raiser and Duckling Starter from Dumor when they are first born. Hopefully yours will do good no matter what route you decide to go. Those 50 pound bags certainly are a bear.