Ducks eating less

[Deggy]

So, my ducks Amelia and Bob both of them decendants from peking and local Indonesian ducks are eating a lot less now... Usually everytime i bring out food they mow it down within the first few mins but now they take a few scoops and then loose their interest.

Bob still eats quite a bit but my female duck amelia eats a lot less than usual.

Changed their diet from powdered wheat to powdered wheat with rice a few weeks ago but ive never had problems with the rice.

Not quite worried just curious, should i be worried ? They both are alert and energetic no drool and normal poo

They have been eating less for the last 2 days

Any help will be appreciated

 

[CindyinSD]

I'd suggest a specialty waterfowl feed or an all-flock if either is available to you. If not, then a meat bird feed (so long as your ducks are mature). The grains you're feeding don't provide enough protein. How old are your ducks? Are they free range? If you could post pics of them and their habitat, that could help. Do they have a pond? They may be eating duckweed and pond insects, etc. (That's a good thing.)

Ducks need a variety of nutrients, many of which may not be supplied by a diet of wheat or wheat & rice. If you are in a warm climate, it may be that this is a season of abundance for them and they are finding many insects or plant foods and don't need so much supplemental grain.

 

[Deggy]

Well i do give them suplemental grain but saddly i dont have a pond here, but they still have access to a water bowl its big enough for both of them, and theyre roughly 3 months old and they are uhmm.... Semi free range. Currently im suspecting that they might be stressed...

 

[Deggy]

Il provide you with the pics as soon as possible

 

[Deggy]

 

[Deggy]

Top pic is where they sleep during the night, just incase because theres usually cats in the area that is willing to snatch ducks.
Now i know what youre thinking but no its not always that dirty, i clean their cage every single morning and then let them roam and forage food for about an hour in my garden and let them have some fun and explore but im going to buy a chicken fencing and let the ducks roam the garden 24/7

 

[Deggy]

Well they still wont eat the milled up wheat but theres some good news, theyre willing to forage some food and ive been feeding them sweet potato leaves and theyre willing to eat a bit of suplemental grain but not that much

So far they dont show any symptoms of sickness (low wings, runny nouse, drooling,laziness)

Got any ideas?

 

[CindyinSD]

Where do you live, Deggy? Is it winter there or summer? How hot/cold is it? If it's hot, they may not eat as much because they're not expending calories to keep warm. If there's plentiful forage, they won't want wheat and rice powder (would you?). In the presence of a mature, natural pond, they might not eat much feed at all, because they get their food from the pond.

In places where you can get it, commercially mixed feed is the norm, but if you live in a country where commercial feed isn't available, you will have to study what your animals need and try to mix a suitable feed for them from available ingredients. Neither rice nor wheat alone are especially good as poultry food. It will keep them alive, but it's not great nutrition by itself. Like people, poultry need a mix of foods to supply all their nutritional needs. I haven't studied this because I feed a commercial mix designed for feeding a variety of poultry species. I give extra niacin in the form of brewers yeast to developing waterfowl to keep their legs strong.

At the least, add some other seeds/grains to the mix. Oats are supposed to be especially appropriate for waterfowl. Sunflower seeds are higher in protein than grains and my birds love them. If you can get whole (not ground/powdered) grains, they will keep better and likely be more attractive to your ducks.

Once you grind them, grains/seeds deteriorate rapidly (become rancid), lose nutritive value and develop a slight bitterness. This is why freshly ground flour makes better-tasting bread.

It sounds like your ducks are getting a good portion of their feed from their free-range time and like the weather has been warm, but without knowing what sort of climate you have, that's just a guess. At any rate, from your description of them, it doesn't sound like they're suffering, or sick at all.

 

[CindyinSD]

Where do you live, Deggy? Is it winter there or summer? How hot/cold is it? If it's hot, they may not eat as much because they're not expending calories to keep warm. If there's plentiful forage, they won't want wheat and rice powder (would you?). In the presence of a mature, natural pond, they might not eat much feed at all, because they get their food from the pond.

In places where you can get it, commercially mixed feed is the norm, but if you live in a country where commercial feed isn't available, you will have to study what your animals need and try to mix a suitable feed for them from available ingredients. Neither rice nor wheat alone are especially good as poultry food. It will keep them alive, but it's not great nutrition by itself. Like people, poultry need a mix of foods to supply all their nutritional needs. I haven't studied this because I feed a commercial mix designed for feeding a variety of poultry species. I give extra niacin in the form of brewers yeast to developing waterfowl to keep their legs strong.

At the least, add some other seeds/grains to the mix. Oats are supposed to be especially appropriate for waterfowl. Sunflower seeds are higher in protein than grains and my birds love them. If you can get whole (not ground/powdered) grains, they will keep better and likely be more attractive to your ducks.

Once you grind them, grains/seeds deteriorate rapidly (become rancid), lose nutritive value and develop a slight bitterness. This is why freshly ground flour makes better-tasting bread.

It sounds like your ducks are getting a good portion of their feed from their free-range time and like the weather has been warm, but without knowing what sort of climate you have, that's just a guess. At any rate, from your description of them, it doesn't sound like they're suffering, or sick at all.

I forgot the sweet potato leaves... they're very good nutrition for ducks & people, too. That means your climate is fairly warm. In a climate that is *always* warm, given sufficient time and area to forage in, they may not need much more to eat beyond their own gleanings from nature.

 

[Deggy]

I live in Indonesia, well i usually mix the grinded wheat with umm concentrate, its not like what you think it is, its basically a mixture of shrimp,fish,corn and other ingridient thats manufactured by well one of the 2? Companies that make poultry food here.

Oh and our climate is tropical, its been quite warm here around 37°c but they have never got this problem before, they always eat their feed even tho its warm.

Anyways, thank you so much for the help! Im glad that i've joined this community