Duckling Feeding Question

[ellieanne22]

Hi, all!

I was hoping for some clarification on feeding my ducklings. I have read many of the posts that have been written about feeding ducklings and giving them treats. I'm still a little unclear as to whether or not I need to feed my ducklings brewer's yeast? And is that the same as nutritional yeast?

I am fairly certain that this is the feed I am giving them (I'm not at home at the moment, but will check when I can):

https://www.amazon.com/Manna-Pro-St...ocphy=9023209&hvtargid=pla-447587320225&psc=1

It contains 22% protein and a minimum of 35 mg/lb of niacin according to the bag.

Is that sufficient? Or should I look in to supplementing? And if I supplement, do I add it directly to the feed?

When they get integrated into my flock, do I need to worry about them eating my chicken food? Or can I feed them the same layer feed & just add the yeast? I can absolutely have two feeders with separate foods in it if needed, I just didn't know how you kept the ducks from eating the chicken food and vice versa.

 

[ruthhope]

Hi, all!

I was hoping for some clarification on feeding my ducklings. I have read many of the posts that have been written about feeding ducklings and giving them treats. I'm still a little unclear as to whether or not I need to feed my ducklings brewer's yeast? And is that the same as nutritional yeast?

I am fairly certain that this is the feed I am giving them (I'm not at home at the moment, but will check when I can):

https://www.amazon.com/Manna-Pro-St...ocphy=9023209&hvtargid=pla-447587320225&psc=1

It contains 22% protein and a minimum of 35 mg/lb of niacin according to the bag.

Is that sufficient? Or should I look in to supplementing? And if I supplement, do I add it directly to the feed?

When they get integrated into my flock, do I need to worry about them eating my chicken food? Or can I feed them the same layer feed & just add the yeast? I can absolutely have two feeders with separate foods in it if needed, I just didn't know how you kept the ducks from eating the chicken food and vice versa.

Manna-pro has enough niacin for most ducklings. Occasionally there will be a fast growing pekin duckling that will need a supplement.

Nutrition yeast differs from brewer's yeast in a couple of ways. It is human food grade and thus relatively costly whereas brewer's yeast is marketed for reptiles, is not human food grade and is cheaper.

The big difference is in the amount of niacin. However you must read the label on both nutritional yeast and brewer's yeast and make sure the brand contains niacin. Some do not. Nutritional yeast that contains niacin provides a bigger dose per table spoon than brewer's yeast.

For my son's ducks -- female pekin laying flock -- that have never shown signs of niacin deficiency, we use brewer's yeast. Actually, one of the girls has shown signs of deficiency on the one occasion last year that he ran out of brewer's yeast. She got confused and couldn't find her way out of the coop -- not even following her buddies who came to find her. That confusion completely cleared up when she was back on brewer's yeast

 

[ellieanne22]

Manna-pro has enough niacin for most ducklings. Occasionally there will be a fast growing pekin duckling that will need a supplement.

Nutrition yeast differs from brewer's yeast in a couple of ways. It is human food grade and thus relatively costly whereas brewer's yeast is marketed for reptiles, is not human food grade and is cheaper.

The big difference is in the amount of niacin. However you must read the label on both nutritional yeast and brewer's yeast and make sure the brand contains niacin. Some do not. Nutritional yeast that contains niacin provides a bigger dose per table spoon than brewer's yeast.

For my son's ducks -- female pekin laying flock -- that have never shown signs of niacin deficiency, we use brewer's yeast. Actually, one of the girls has shown signs of deficiency on the one occasion last year that he ran out of brewer's yeast. She got confused and couldn't find her way out of the coop -- not even following her buddies who came to find her. That confusion completely cleared up when she was back on brewer's yeast

Will the nutritional yeast give them too much niacin? I have some on hand and planned to use that as needed. But I'm now wondering if it isn't better to be safe than sorry and supplement anyway?

What are the most common symptoms of niacin deficiency? What should I be looking out for?

 

[Miss Lydia]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/niacin-deficiency-in-waterfowl.1367557/
I start my duckling out on Nutritional yeast and even as adults they get a couple tablespoons sprinkled over their feed daily. The niacin they don’t need they will pee out.

 

[ruthhope]

Will the nutritional yeast give them too much niacin? I have some on hand and planned to use that as needed. But I'm now wondering if it isn't better to be safe than sorry and supplement anyway?

What are the most common symptoms of niacin deficiency? What should I be looking out for?

What Miss Lydia said ^ ^

 

[HeritageFan]

I use game bird starter for my ducklings, because I’m typically starting them along side of poults.
But. I buy this at my local Wilco (feed store). I do the math on the approximate weight of my current flock, grind up the soft tablets in a mortar and pestal, and sprinkle the powder on their food. Every feeding, no matter their age. It’s cheap, and may or may not be the reason I’ve only dealt w bumble foot once in 8 years of having ducks. Not challenging the universe to bring is issues lmao! But it seems like a simple safeguard. You can’t OD them on niacin. And, even though this says garlic flavored, I’ve also added a pic of the ingredients and garlic is not listed (garlic isn’t good for fowl, but there isn’t actually garlic in this stuff)

 

[ellieanne22]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/niacin-deficiency-in-waterfowl.1367557/
I start my duckling out on Nutritional yeast and even as adults they get a couple tablespoons sprinkled over their feed daily. The niacin they don’t need they will pee out.

I recently had to move my chicks and ducklings that arrived at the same time into the same brooder. I realize that's not typically recommended, but it's what I had and they seem to be managing well enough. I am running out of the duck starter/grower that I had them on. My ducklings (and chicks) are now 5 weeks old. My chicks still have medicated starter that I have been feeding them outside of the brooder so the ducks can't get to it.

The duckling starter/grower is 22% protein. The chick crumbles are 18%. Could I switch them both to an all flock feed (the one I found was 20% protein)? Or are their needs different enough for this to be a bad idea? If I switch to the all flock feed, is that okay to feed my girls that are laying (almost 2 years old)? I already have oyster shell out for them to free feed from.

Additionally (sorry for all the questions), I've never had ducks before and while they seem to be losing some of their baby fluff that they hatched with, I haven't seen any true feathers yet. Is that normal? I'm trying not to be too concerned, but it's a little hard when the chicks that are the same age are almost all feathered out. I'm not at home at the moment but can post a pic of them when I get home tonight if that would help.

 

[HeritageFan]

I’m putting my “hard hat” on before I answer lol
But. I often brood turkey poults and ducklings together when small until they head off to their new homes, or, if I’m bringing up some lil ones to augment our flocks....
I feed the ducklings and poults game bird starter when they are small, add some crushed brewers yeast tablets (niacin), and add a light dose of extra electrolytes / vitamins to their water (I get it from Murray McMurray hatchery...also use nutridrench from the feed store in a pinch but it’s not my preference.... different balance of vitamins etc)

Once I break them up/ as they grow, I switch them to a soy and corn free crumble (I am allergic to both of those ingredients and prefer to not feed it to my laying or meat birds....).
The game bird starter is 30% protein.
The Home Grown soy/ corn free is 18% if I recall correctly.
I add a bit of rolled oats to the soy/ corn free feed for the adult ducks to cut the protein a tick more. And I never stop the niacin. Just has worked well for us. Of course they also have free access to appropriately sized grit, and then oyster shells as they get a bit older.

Sorry I know I’m not answering about the chickens- hopeful that perhaps someone else will weigh in (we don’t have chickens)

But. What I CAN say is. My ducks have always taken a very long time to feather out.
By about 20 days +/- they have the beginnings of what look like tail feathers starting to show up. Shortly after that, they start to slowly show signs of feathers growing in on their back, and wings.
Things start to happen pretty fast from there.
Ducklings in the pic are a month old for a comparison.
My heritage turkeys at a month old are pretty well feathered out and flying all over

 

[Lor]

And, even though this says garlic flavored, I’ve also added a pic of the ingredients and garlic is not listed (garlic isn’t good for fowl, but there isn’t actually garlic in this stuff)

Garlic is the 4th ingredient listed. I'd considered using this myself but skipped it due to that.

 

[HeritageFan]

Garlic is the 4th ingredient listed. I'd considered using this myself but skipped it due to that.

I apologize for a quick scan and missing it
Part of why I included the ingredients as I was in the middle of chores and distracted lol
But I’ve used it for about 8 years without any issues. One case of bumble foot over 15 ducks in that time frame.
Maybe I’ve just been lucky It doesn’t take a lot. I crush 3-4 per feeding twice daily for the 6 we currently have.
Just my $0.02