Ducks aren’t eating crumble...much.

[Brahmb]

Hi.

My ducks seem to be healthy and happy, but they aren’t eating much of their crumble. I add mealworms - which seem to disappear, brewer’s yeast, and grit. I have three 6.5 week-old Rouens and they eat maybe 4 pounds of crumble in a week - probably closer to 3 after waste.

I know I probably shouldn’t, but I have fed them about a half-cup of dried shrimp daily along with either a cup frozen peas or corn and some kale here and there. Am I spoiling them too much? They have been free-fed their crumble since I bought them. I am now considering moving it out of their kennel at night so I won’t have to keep water in there at night. They have a tendency to sit in their water pan and it is usually pretty chocolatey in the morning (from their eating more so than poo, I think). They also have a hanging waterer with vitamins that they use less than a gallon a week.

I’m considering fermenting their feed and sprouting some scratch grains to have them eat more of the diet food. Oh... they also have had an hour or two minimum to free range in the yard each day, during which time they muddy a couple of water pans and their swim tank.

Are they getting a nutritious enough diet? Should I go hardcore and limit them until they eat their crumble? Like I stated, they seem happy and healthy, and they are quite quick on their feet. They can outrun me and dodge my year-old Border Collie.

 

[NoFlyBackFarm]

The diet seems okay. Mine eat crumble because I don't offer anything else. About once I dump a bag of frozen peas in their pool but other than that no. They sound fine and they get enough nutrients so offer the crumble but not so much if they prefer to eat the other stuff.

 

[Brahmb]

Thanks!

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

You can remove the feed and water from their housing. I only provided feed and water 24/7 while they were young and in the brooder - up until about 7 weeks.
They don't need treats every day - which is anything you provide that isn't their feed. I would cut back the treats and only give it to them once in awhile. It's good to use treats while training them to come to your call or just give it to them in the evening when you check on them. Then, they have had all day to eat their feed.
What feed do you have them on?

 

[Brahmb]

It’s the Flock Raiser by either Dumor or Purina.

 

[chickens really]

Hello. Ducks can be picky if fed too many treats. Cut back on the treats and they will eat their feed.

 

[Brahmb]

Ok. Thanks to both! I will only spoil them at night before I put them away. It did work for training them, though. They do come to my call...

 

[Neffy]

Hi.

My ducks seem to be healthy and happy, but they aren’t eating much of their crumble. I add mealworms - which seem to disappear, brewer’s yeast, and grit. I have three 6.5 week-old Rouens and they eat maybe 4 pounds of crumble in a week - probably closer to 3 after waste.

I know I probably shouldn’t, but I have fed them about a half-cup of dried shrimp daily along with either a cup frozen peas or corn and some kale here and there. Am I spoiling them too much? They have been free-fed their crumble since I bought them. I am now considering moving it out of their kennel at night so I won’t have to keep water in there at night. They have a tendency to sit in their water pan and it is usually pretty chocolatey in the morning (from their eating more so than poo, I think). They also have a hanging waterer with vitamins that they use less than a gallon a week.

I’m considering fermenting their feed and sprouting some scratch grains to have them eat more of the diet food. Oh... they also have had an hour or two minimum to free range in the yard each day, during which time they muddy a couple of water pans and their swim tank.

Are they getting a nutritious enough diet? Should I go hardcore and limit them until they eat their crumble? Like I stated, they seem happy and healthy, and they are quite quick on their feet. They can outrun me and dodge my year-old Border Collie.

No you aren’t spoiling them too much! They shouldBe able to eat as much as they want they are growing babies. I tore up a patch of grass and put it in a shallow Tupperware along with the dirt that it came in (that was not fertilized or pesticide sprayed) He loves that especially because it’s pretty wet from watering it down in the container he likes to Pushes big down into the dirt and drink the water I think he gets great that way too. I also bought a mesh tent that I can set up outside and it has an open bottom it’s really a tent that goes over a child’s bed but it works good so he can get out and get some grass he loves the grass I don’t know what he’s finding in there but he loves it. Think about what ducks eat in nature there almost always in the grass poking around. There’s a good list I found for what Ducks can eat and what is healthy for them and what they shouldn’t eat I will get it for you and link it at the end. Mine loves watermelon and it doesn’t love some of the stuff that other people Say..... Basically since I mostly eat fruits and vegetables I just think about giving him anything I’m eating and make sure to Google it first because there are a few things that you might think they’d like that are toxic. Mine loves watermelon and any kind of greens like bok choy kale mustard greens grass and I’m getting some duck weed for my pond outside too. He’s kind of small right now but he did eat a couple minnows and love them the other ones are too big for him still. He doesn’t like crickets that I bought at the pet store but he loves meal worms. He’s gotten a little spoiled so he doesn’t want to eat his duck starter but I gave him all kinds of seedsAnd make him oatmeal sometimes. I usually mix in a little bit of my prescription dog food that is wet and is low fat low protein. Niacin you already said you give your duck. Grit is some thing they would probably need if they’re not getting outside and a lot of people recommend oyster shells but also those aren’t as good as rocks because they break down too easily and they could also get too much calcium which could be detrimental. I recommend going on Google and just finding sources that you think are reliable and look up a few different websites about some thing to get your answers rather than going on peoples answers online who may or may not know what they’re talking about. That’s what I do I’ve been doing tons of research but I still think you should double check everything on your own. I learned that Moringa leaves or powderAre also beneficial for Ducks I happen to find that out because I was going to use them that I had and looked it up on Google. So as turmeric for certain things. I only have one duck and he was tripping in shipping and chirping and I couldn’t figure out why and then he found a mirror in the house and just got silent and sat down so I realized that he wanted a mirror in his cage so he had a friend. It’s an orphan duck that I’m using for a while until I can be let go in a bird sanctuary so I would not normally have only one duck but he’s the only one who survived. I like watched a lot of YouTube videos and did a lot of research on Google but those are some of the things that I’ve learned here is a link that I found the most helpful I think.

https://opensanctuary.org/article/daily-diet-treats-and-supplements-for-ducks/

Sorry for any spelling or grammatical errors here I’m talking into my phone so it may have misinterpreted a few things but I’m not gonna go back and proofread this because it takes forever and I need to get back to my ducky

 

[Isaac 0]

@Neffy , welcome to BYC. As a note, this poster created the thread two years ago.