Duckling Food and Niacin

[Enigmius]

My ducklings will be two weeks old tomorrow. I bought some steamed crimped oats to bring the protein down to 18%, but do the oats have to be ground down? Here is a picture of my ducks and the oats.

 

[Enigmius]

I probably should have started another thread..

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

@Enigmius, I doubt the oats have to be ground. Ducks can eat bird seed. If you are adding the oats - make sure they have access to grit as well. They have chick sized grit that is great for ducklings.

 

[Enigmius]

@Enigmius, I doubt the oats have to be ground. Ducks can eat bird seed. If you are adding the oats - make sure they have access to grit as well. They have chick sized grit that is great for ducklings.

Well, I decided put the crimped oats into the food processor whilst I was waiting. I figured having it ground up wouldn't hurt. I gave them a little just to see if they would even eat it, but I didn't give them grit. I guess I better get out and get some real quick.

 

[Enigmius]

Got it. Now, do you add a little to the food, or have separate? And do you have available everyday?

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

Got it. Now, do you add a little to the food, or have separate? And do you have available everyday?

I offer it separately in a dish or container. They will eat what they need. Once they are outside, they might not need it if your soil has small stones and pebbles. But, I still offer mine grit and I make sure it is available in the winter since the ground is frozen.

 

[Shellysstuff7]

The reason we went with Nutrena NatureWise All Flock (at 7 weeks of age) over Purina Flock Raiser is below in the email replies I received from Purina and Nutrena when I specifically required about niacin content in the feeds:

From Nutrena NatureWise All Flock:

Jolene Hambley (Nutrena)

Apr 3, 7:51 PM CDT

Hello Shelly,

Thank you for your inquiry and for visiting our website. The NatureWise All Flock is 125 mg/kg. The niacin requirement for ducks per NRC is 55 mg/kg. Additional supplementation is not required but no harm if you want to add some brewers yeast. Brewer’s yeast is a very good B vitamin source as well.

I hope this information is helpful to you. Please do not hesitate to email me if you have more questions!

Thanks,

Jolene M. Hambley, M.S.
Nutrena

**************************************************************
And from Purina Flock Raiser:

PMI Web [email protected] via va7b0t92pccsj12k.f3fhtof.j-i9xqeas.na55.bnc.salesforce.com
Apr 5, 2018, 12:31 PM

Thank you for choosing Purina feed. Purina Flock Raiser has 55 ppm niacin added to the feed, to insure that your ducks and geese get the niacin they need. If your flock is free range, make sure that the feed makes up at least 90% of their diet, or the nutrition level will become too dilute, and not meet their needs. Please let us know if you have any other questions.

************************************************

So, because of the additional niacin content, we decided to go with Nutrena NatureWise All Flock.

The reason we went with Nutrena NatureWise All Flock (at 7 weeks of age) over Purina Flock Raiser is below in the email replies I received from Purina and Nutrena when I specifically required about niacin content in the feeds:

From Nutrena NatureWise All Flock:

Jolene Hambley (Nutrena)

Apr 3, 7:51 PM CDT

Hello Shelly,

Thank you for your inquiry and for visiting our website. The NatureWise All Flock is 125 mg/kg. The niacin requirement for ducks per NRC is 55 mg/kg. Additional supplementation is not required but no harm if you want to add some brewers yeast. Brewer’s yeast is a very good B vitamin source as well.

I hope this information is helpful to you. Please do not hesitate to email me if you have more questions!

Thanks,

Jolene M. Hambley, M.S.
Nutrena

**************************************************************
And from Purina Flock Raiser:

PMI Web [email protected] via va7b0t92pccsj12k.f3fhtof.j-i9xqeas.na55.bnc.salesforce.com
Apr 5, 2018, 12:31 PM

Thank you for choosing Purina feed. Purina Flock Raiser has 55 ppm niacin added to the feed, to insure that your ducks and geese get the niacin they need. If your flock is free range, make sure that the feed makes up at least 90% of their diet, or the nutrition level will become too dilute, and not meet their needs. Please let us know if you have any other questions.

************************************************

So, because of the additional niacin content, we decided to go with Nutrena NatureWise All Flock.

Thank you so much for posting this!!! I was feeding my ducks Purina Duck Feed Pellets but they are SO HARD to find!! I asked my local Purina Distributor to order it for me TWO MONTHS AGO and I have gotten a run around. It was going to take a month to get due to it being a new product. Then someone forgot to order it. Then they were supposed to get it in within a week and that was almost 3 weeks ago!!! So frustrating!!
I can't get pellet form of Purina Flock Raiser (they make such a mess with crumbles). I was concerned about the amount of Niacin in the Purina as well. I am switching to Nutrena NatureWise All Flock Pellets. I called Tractor Supply and they told me they carry it all the time. So again thanks for the info!! It has helped me make the decision of what brand to go with!!

 

[Enigmius]

Thank you so much for posting this!!! I was feeding my ducks Purina Duck Feed Pellets but they are SO HARD to find!! I asked my local Purina Distributor to order it for me TWO MONTHS AGO and I have gotten a run around. It was going to take a month to get due to it being a new product. Then someone forgot to order it. Then they were supposed to get it in within a week and that was almost 3 weeks ago!!! So frustrating!!
I can't get pellet form of Purina Flock Raiser (they make such a mess with crumbles). I was concerned about the amount of Niacin in the Purina as well. I am switching to Nutrena NatureWise All Flock Pellets. I called Tractor Supply and they told me they carry it all the time. So again thanks for the info!! It has helped me make the decision of what brand to go with!!

you’re welcome.

 

[Miss Lydia]

@Enigmius how are you and your flock doing.

 

[Enigmius]

@Enigmius how are you and your flock doing.

I'm doing ok. One of my girls started to walk a little weird. I now let them out of their run, and fenced duckyard to free range my whole backyard. They love it, but they get spooked often(sometimes by the wind) and run all the way back into their coop. Well, I'm guessing that one of the girls must have scraped her foot a day or so ago, and now her foot starting to bother her when she walks. So, I chased her down and looked at her feet. It looks like the start of bumble foot. This will be the first time I've had to treat one of my birds for bumble foot. It doesn't look bad. Just a slight raised bump, and a tan spot on it. It's not black; I'm hoping that I caught it early enough and thus I can just soak her foot for a few minutes, spray her with vetericyn, rub in some Neosporin, and place her in a see-me-don't-touch-me pen inside the coop(mainly so she doesn't get into the pond) for a week or two to see some improvement. So tomorrow I'm going out to get a few supplies. She'll need a bucket of water to drink that is too small to get in, but I worry about our texas summer heat.