Duckling starter feed advice- do I need to add niacin

[AlyssaB4]

Below is a picture of the brand of duckling starter feed that I have been feeding my 2 Mallard ducklings this first week of life. I have read manyyyy reviews, and most say this feed is fine as is, some say you need to add supplements.
For anyone who is familiar with this brand, do you think that I should add niacin supplements to the feed? And if so, what brand of brewers yeast do you all recommend? ) thanks!

 

[quackingdom]

If it's formulated specifically for waterfowl, it should have enough niacin. It says the niacin content is 35 mg/lb. According to this, that should be enough: https://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/feeding-ducks

 

[N Good]

Below is a picture of the brand of duckling starter feed that I have been feeding my 2 Mallard ducklings this first week of life. I have read manyyyy reviews, and most say this feed is fine as is, some say you need to add supplements.
For anyone who is familiar with this brand, do you think that I should add niacin supplements to the feed? And if so, what brand of brewers yeast do you all recommend? ) thanks!

You should be fine on the niacin. Just keep an eye on the ducklings and if any develop a limp I'd start adding some brewers yeast. When it comes to brewers yeast I just buy whatever's cheapest
Also, this feed is fine, but the 22% protein is a little high in my opinion for raising pets. If you're planning on butchering them, roll with it, but if you want healthy birds with a long life I would start mixing in a 18% or even 16% feed and switching over once the 22% is gone.
Higher protein makes the duck grow faster and bigger which can lead to tendon issues long-term if it grows too big for it's carriage.

 

[AlyssaB4]

You should be fine on the niacin. Just keep an eye on the ducklings and if any develop a limp I'd start adding some brewers yeast. When it comes to brewers yeast I just buy whatever's cheapest
Also, this feed is fine, but the 22% protein is a little high in my opinion for raising pets. If you're planning on butchering them, roll with it, but if you want healthy birds with a long life I would start mixing in a 18% or even 16% feed and switching over once the 22% is gone.
Higher protein makes the duck grow faster and bigger which can lead to tendon issues long-term if it grows too big for it's carriage.

Can ducklings be given too much niacin? I’ve had a hard time finding an answer to this; I’ve seen that it being water soluble makes it exit the body easily and not build up. I’m trying to figure out if putting a tiny bit of brewers yeast to be preventative of niacin deficiency would be harmful or not?

 

[N Good]

Can ducklings be given too much niacin? I’ve had a hard time finding an answer to this; I’ve seen that it being water soluble makes it exit the body easily and not build up. I’m trying to figure out if putting a tiny bit of brewers yeast to be preventative of niacin deficiency would be harmful or not?

It is unlikely that you would give too much niacin. Possible? Yes, just like you could take too much vitamin c, but my understanding is that you would need to feed a LOT of brewers yeast to give too much niacin to ducks. If you're concerned, adding some brewers yeast isn't going to hurt anything.

 

[N Good]

This sticky thread might have better information than what I'm remembering in my head and what my practices are.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/niacin-deficiency-in-waterfowl.1367557/

 

[AlyssaB4]

This sticky thread might have better information than what I'm remembering in my head and what my practices are.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/niacin-deficiency-in-waterfowl.1367557/

Thank you, this was very helpful!

 

[AlyssaB4]

You should be fine on the niacin. Just keep an eye on the ducklings and if any develop a limp I'd start adding some brewers yeast. When it comes to brewers yeast I just buy whatever's cheapest
Also, this feed is fine, but the 22% protein is a little high in my opinion for raising pets. If you're planning on butchering them, roll with it, but if you want healthy birds with a long life I would start mixing in a 18% or even 16% feed and switching over once the 22% is gone.
Higher protein makes the duck grow faster and bigger which can lead to tendon issues long-term if it grows too big for it's carriage.

Ah ok, I did not know that about the protein, i will get some other starter feed with less. Thank you

 

[AlyssaB4]

It is unlikely that you would give too much niacin. Possible? Yes, just like you could take too much vitamin c, but my understanding is that you would need to feed a LOT of brewers yeast to give too much niacin to ducks. If you're concerned, adding some brewers yeast isn't going to hurt anything.

Ok thank you, I think I’m just going to put a tiny bit of brewers yeast to their feed to try.

 

[N Good]

I'm glad it was helpful. It's good to be familiar with the signs of niacin deficiency. My first time I had no idea what I was doing and didn't end up giving enough niacin. I noticed some of the symptoms after about a week and provided niacin and they resumed normal growth with no long-term effects. Obviously that is not the goal! The best thing is to prevent a problem to begin with, but if you're familiar with what it looks like you can catch it until you dial in the right amount for your ducklings.