duckling food

[CASEYPIETRO]

I have pet ducks and i took the eggs and incubated them well 2 have hatched and i forget what i did for feed when i had ducklings so right now i took the food i feed my adult ducks kind of crushed them and added alittle water is that ok? What should i do?

 

[shicks0211]

adult duck food won't have enough protien for the babies. get some chic grower..in crumble form and feed that to them for about 6 weeks at least ..and add some niacin as well

 

[BarredRockGirls]

I feed Flock raiser . From hatch to laying age then mix in layer . FR. Is great it already has enough niacin

 

[WhiteRavenNH]

Hi Poultry Peeps =) I'm having a heck of a time finding a food to transition our 2 Pekins that arrived at 5 weeks ago at my barn. I'm not sure how old they are; I'm guessing about 7-8 weeks old now. They're big; about 4lbs; have all their adult feathers and are quacking instead of making baby noises. They nibble at the grass & clover when they're outside and are already too big for their kiddie pool I can't find Duckling crumbles; (They came with a bag of duckling feed) just chick crumbles. They've tried to eat the rabbit food when they were out of their pen while it was being cleaned; so are they old enough now to transition into poultry pellets or should I get the chick crumbles and wait a while longer? Also; is cracked corn a good food to mix in?

This is my first experience with ducks so I'm grateful for any help you can give us.
Thanks!!

 

[Amiga]

At 7 to 8 weeks, you can probably safely get them onto poultry feed. I would avoid the corn, as it is mostly calories with few nutrients, and at their age they need nutrient-rich diets so their internals can develop properly and avoid future health problems. Gaining weight too quickly is, I have read, a concern with Pekins.

I moved from crumbles to grower pellets at about 2 or 3 weeks, by the way. Just watch them at first and make sure they drink while they eat and don't choke on the pellets.

And I would add a little brewer's yeast to the food for a few weeks, too, just to be sure they're getting enough niacin. A half a tablespoon on their food once a day.

 

[Going Quackers]

Definitely move to a grower, you'll want to get that protein back, my 9 wk olds are on a 15% it's a grower by purina fine for waterfowl, chickens etc...

By lowering the protein after 3wks it slows growth down, which is best if their breeders, pets or exhibition usage.

 

[WhiteRavenNH]

Thank you!

I've looked around and asked a couple feed stores and this looks like a good compromise:


Home Fresh Grow & Show Pellets

Home Fresh

Grow & Show is a complete, balanced 15% protein diet designed for growing replacement chickens (pullets). It is also ideal for growing, showing, or maintaining pet ducks, geese and other game birds. Available in 50-lb bags, pellet or crumble.
Guaranteed analysis

Crude Protein, min ............................................................... 15.0%
Lysine, min ............................................................................ 0.7%
Methionine, min ...................................................................... 0.3%
Crude Fat, min ....................................................................... 3.0%
Crude Fiber, max .................................................................... 5.0%
Calcium (Ca), min ................................................................... 0.7%
Calcium (Ca), max .................................................................. 1.2%
Phosphorus (P), min ................................................................ 0.7%
salt (naCl), min ...................................................................... 0.25%
salt (naCl), max ..................................................................... 0.75%
Vitamin a, min ................................................................. 4,275 IU/lb
Vitamin e, min ...................................................................... 21 IU/lb
Now to figure out how to build them a pool without breaking the bank