Duckling only wants to drink?

[StuporMan]

I've been rearing a runt duckling and he just seems to despise any kind of feed, it isn't that he doesn't have an appetite because he'll pick out certain pieces of feed (I'm using mazuri waterfowl starter) and eat them, but for the most part he just flings it out of his beak and moves over to the water bowl, and now it's getting to the point where he's becoming bow legged but otherwise is perfectly fine. I'm considering using nutri drench supplemented with niacin until I can find something he'll eat, any advice?

 

[Everose]

I've been rearing a runt duckling and he just seems to despise any kind of feed, it isn't that he doesn't have an appetite because he'll pick out certain pieces of feed (I'm using mazuri waterfowl starter) and eat them, but for the most part he just flings it out of his beak and moves over to the water bowl, and now it's getting to the point where he's becoming bow legged but otherwise is perfectly fine. I'm considering using nutri drench supplemented with niacin until I can find something he'll eat, any advice?

Definitely get him some niacin. He might want something else too, maybe try eggs or greens, mealworms and lots of other protein rich foods are a particular favorite for ducks. Most ducklings like sweet potato and peas. He'll probably appreciate a little more variety in his diet. Diets that are very diverse will offer a lot of different nutrients that he may be missing, and will contribute to a heathier tummy which will help him overall. Hope this helps, I've had little runty ducklings in the past, hopefully he'll hit a growth spurt like most of them do.

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

Make a soup with the Mazuri put some in a small container add warm water and let it sit for 30 minutes, then feed her. This is what I do with my babies for the first week.

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

Definitely get him some niacin. He might want something else too, maybe try eggs or greens, mealworms and lots of other protein rich foods are a particular favorite for ducks. Most ducklings like sweet potato and peas. He'll probably appreciate a little more variety in his diet. Diets that are very diverse will offer a lot of different nutrients that he may be missing, and will contribute to a heathier tummy which will help him overall. Hope this helps, I've had little runty ducklings in the past, hopefully he'll hit a growth spurt like most of them do.

If you do this, make sure she has chick grit.

 

[Everose]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/duckling-not-growing.1464362/
This thread has some good info, and it's still active.

 

[Peas4Ducks]

We had a little duckling who wasn’t growing nearly as fast as our other two—I found this article immensely helpful. After about five weeks, she fully caught up with her flock mates. Good luck to your little one!

 

[StuporMan]

Definitely get him some niacin. He might want something else too, maybe try eggs or greens, mealworms and lots of other protein rich foods are a particular favorite for ducks. Most ducklings like sweet potato and peas. He'll probably appreciate a little more variety in his diet. Diets that are very diverse will offer a lot of different nutrients that he may be missing, and will contribute to a heathier tummy which will help him overall. Hope this helps, I've had little runty ducklings in the past, hopefully he'll hit a growth spurt like most of them do.

I'll try eggs and mealworms, he isn't too keen on peas most likely because he's still too tiny to eat them (he's a call duck so you can imagine how small he is)

 

[Peas4Ducks]

It sounds like @Magnolia Ducks suggestion of warm soupy feed is the way to go—I would suggest also adding probiotics to the water.

 

[StuporMan]

It sounds like @Magnolia Ducks suggestion of warm soupy feed is the way to go—I would suggest also adding probiotics to the water.

It seems that his problem wasn't with the feed itself, he wanted to forage for it. I'm still adding probiotics and leafy greens to his diet however, never hurts to have a diverse diet hahaha