Ducks eating other ducks feather

[Member 630274]

So i have 9 muscovys, and 2 of them started eating their friends feathers. Now im keeping them separate from the others. But i feel sorry for them and sometimes and i let one of them out of the cage so that they can roam free for a while until i let the others outside of their pen. Anyone know how can i stop them from eating feathers so that they can get back to their friends?

I too have concerns of my ducks eating molted feathers. We use the higher 8% scratch grain but I give mine treats often. Some days its peas, but almost every day they get a few flock party quack snacks with all kinds of goodness intended for health. The boys LOVE EM... the girls not so much. The girls are the ones eating feathers off the ground. YUK... and ideas or suggestions on a feed that might give them enough protine to stop this feather eating would be much appreciated. pic of quack snacks nutritional i fo for reference. MadDhwan you may wanna consider them also. I hope the pic of nutrition helps you decide without havibg to make a trip to the store.

 

[Member 630274]

Well snacks are just what it says "snacks" If you not feeding a feed that well balanced then that is the reason they are eating feathers for the protein. Please go and get either a duck-specific feed or an All flock feed. Treats should only be 10% of their feed daily.

Well actually thats exactly what I thought but their feed is 12% protein and the snacks ate just that "snacks" they always have access to food, not to snacks. I personally serve the snacks so one doesnt get too much protein. The protein in the snacks are 8%. To make up the 15% thats recommended. Ive noticed the girls are a lot more picky. They havent liked the sweet "balls" (they're compressed and have molasses in them) or the seed mix. Both flock party brand. They sometimes get fruit/vegetables like grapes (chopped of course) or berries...frozen/thawed peas or corn. I dont give bought treats on days with other treats so I dont wind up over feeding or giving too much of any 1 nutrition. These girls wont have it. Do I just buy everything until I find something they'll eat? Would that even help? Is 12% treats and foraging in the yard suffient and it could be something else? Is it really that bad to eat feathers? Im afraid they will choke eventually... Any suggestions/facts would be SO APPRRCIATED.

 

[Member 630274]

I've seen my ducks and chickens pick up a small feather and eat it. I guess if it's laying on the ground it's fair game. lol
Your ducks need a well-balanced feed like an All flock or duck pellets. treats and foraging isn't well balanced. I believe Purina Flock raiser has 20% protein and It has never been a problem here along with foraging. There are other brands of all flock too. But just feeding them 12% treats along with foraging is like giving kids candy and a vitamin and thinking that is all they need. If you want healthy ducks and good layers too then switch them to a balanced diet.

I dont give them 12% treats... not sure how that got miscommunicated. I said I give them feed with 12% protein and treats with 8% protein in their treats since 15% is what Im seeing is recommended. Im not a total moron. Idk any decent person who would feed any animal or person that way. I sure dont know where you got that all I give them is treats and let them forage when my comment clearly states "their feed is 12%" and "their treats are 8%". I feel like Im on fb and some one just wants to argue and totally ignore what I've actually said. I could be wrong but I feel as tho I am being put down. Like Im some idiot when facts are presented and TOTALLY misconstrued back to me. Thanks for trying tho. At this point I think Im just going to let them eat feathers along with their FEED treats and foraging in the yard and just keep looking for articles that might give more info instead of asking for help from experienced people when they come at me with nonsense like that. Good day

 

[HollowOfWisps]

I too have concerns of my ducks eating molted feathers. We use the higher 8% scratch grain but I give mine treats often. Some days its peas, but almost every day they get a few flock party quack snacks with all kinds of goodness intended for health. The boys LOVE EM... the girls not so much. The girls are the ones eating feathers off the ground. YUK... and ideas or suggestions on a feed that might give them enough protine to stop this feather eating would be much appreciated. pic of quack snacks nutritional i fo for reference. MadDhwan you may wanna consider them also. I hope the pic of nutrition helps you decide without havibg to make a trip to the store.

Your feed is too low in protein and that is why your ducks are eating feathers. Your scratch is not adding 8% protein to your ducks total diet. What the 8% means is that out of the nutrients in the scratch 8% of the scratch has protein which can be a little confusing. The minimum recommended protein guidelines are for complete feeds. Are you in the US? If so I can offer some recommendations on feed. I am curious though what brand of feed do you buy? I've never seen a poultry feed with only 12% protein.

 

[addctd2plnts]

Try Mazuri feed for Gamebird and Waterfowl. I'd probably get a small bag of the Starter and as soon as they stop eating feathers, mix it with their Maintenance feed. They use fish as their protein source and the ducks won't leave a single piece of it. They need the Vitamin B and Niacin in duck feed, or you must add Brewers yeast to their feed. Chicken feed doesn't have enough B Vitamins in it. It's better, I think, to feed Duck feed to chickens, rather than chicken feed to ducks. Overall because they eat it all, there's no waste and it seems to be worth the extra cost. I get it from Chewy.com

Make sure they are also getting grit. I start with chick grit and them increase to larger size in a few weeks. When you start the grit, start feeding them small amounts of fruits and veggies. I started by mashing over ripe bananas with a little warm water. They went nuts for it. Then peas, blueberries, and cutting Spring Mix lettuce into smaller pieces. In the winter they can have warm cooked plain oatmeal for a snack. Chewy has Black Soldier Fly Larvae which is much more nutritious than meal worms and an awesome treat is you need them to go into coop. They look expensive but because they are so light weight there's a lot in a 3lb bag and last a long time. Hope this helps!

 

[Member 630274]

Try Mazuri feed for Gamebird and Waterfowl. I'd probably get a small bag of the Starter and as soon as they stop eating feathers, mix it with their Maintenance feed. They use fish as their protein source and the ducks won't leave a single piece of it. They need the Vitamin B and Niacin in duck feed, or you must add Brewers yeast to their feed. Chicken feed doesn't have enough B Vitamins in it. It's better, I think, to feed Duck feed to chickens, rather than chicken feed to ducks. Overall because they eat it all, there's no waste and it seems to be worth the extra cost. I get it from Chewy.com

Make sure they are also getting grit. I start with chick grit and them increase to larger size in a few weeks. When you start the grit, start feeding them small amounts of fruits and veggies. I started by mashing over ripe bananas with a little warm water. They went nuts for it. Then peas, blueberries, and cutting Spring Mix lettuce into smaller pieces. In the winter they can have warm cooked plain oatmeal for a snack. Chewy has Black Soldier Fly Larvae which is much more nutritious than meal worms and an awesome treat is you need them to go into coop. They look expensive but because they are so light weight there's a lot in a 3lb bag and last a long time. Hope this helps!

yes very helpful. All of mine are over 8 weeks now and are past starter feed and get regular treats of fruits and vegetables. I was surprised at how many veggies they either cant eat or says need to be cooked 1st. I did not know about the bananas or oatmeal tho! or the black soldier fly larvae. I'll definitely add that to their snack/treat list. I also have never seen mazuri feed in our co-op but I will ask and look for it if they dont have it. Mine have also always gotten grit. as chicks and as adults. My aunt used to have chickens when I was a child so while I had little info on actually raising I did learn how chickens "chewed" their food lol. I need to re-research about some of the vegetables they can have. I thought I remembered they couldnt have spinach. I may be remembering it wrong tho. It could have been they can have spinach and I swapped it around for what they cant have in my mind. These dang birds are so picky!!! Moby (one of the 3 boys) LOVES berries, aflac is more of a peas and corn boy, and boosie is the only good one that likes em all. I just dont know what to do with these feather eating girls to bring their protein up to par so they'll quit eating feathers. They have turned their bills up at every snack except peas! They havent like corn, grapes, berries, the seed mix of treats or the compressed balls with molasses treats I attached a picture of in the original message. Running out of ideas for treats but the addition of bananas, oatmeal and the fly larvae I think is going to help for all of them. Not just the feather eaters LOL

 

[Member 630274]

Actually nowhere did I state "8% in their feed" my exact words were:

"Your scratch is not adding 8% protein to your ducks total diet. What the 8% means is that out of the nutrients in the scratch 8% of the scratch has protein which can be a little confusing."

The picture of the scratch that you posted has an analysis of 8% protein which you also stated in your exact words:

"I said I give feed with 12% protein and treats with 8% protein in their treats since 15% is what Im seeing is recommended."

" let them forage when my comment clearly states

 

[HollowOfWisps]

I havent posted a pic of their back of scratch grain As clearly stated by all of the things you've quoted me on. Also clearly stated was their snacks by name. FLOCK PARTY QUACK SNACKS which you can also clearly see in the pic. You even posted where I clarified their #8, 8%, or 8 way scratch feed has 12% protein again. PLEASE do not comment on things you've obviously not paid attention to and just want to attack someone you feel is about as ignorant of birds as I now feel about you in general.

This is what everyone is seeing and where I got the picture from

Also the term I used "Scratch" is a broad term used to describe seed and grain treat mixes for poultry. "Scratch" does not mean feed.

 

[Member 630274]

This is what everyone is seeing and where I got the picture from
View attachment 2902953

Also the term I used "Scratch" is a broad term used to describe seed and grain treat mixes for poultry. "Scratch" does not mean feed.

under your big red arrow it says "pic of quack SNACK nutritional info for reference. not scratch grain nor feed... Its a much better idea to actually read the book than make assumptions after just looking at the pictures.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

under your big red arrow it says "pic of quack SNACK nutritional info for reference. not scratch grain nor feed... Its a much better idea to actually read the book than make assumptions after just looking at the pictures.

Scratch is a very broad term used to describe grain and seed mixes for poultry which is what I was referring to instead of saying "Snack". I'm just going to tag some others for help and bow out. I hope you get the answers that you are looking for. **Tags removed**