Duckticipation - PIC :D

[DuckLady]

Ducks have different nutritional needs than cats, so feeding cat food, even cutting with greens is not the best choice for their long term needs.

They really need feed. Chicken feed at 16% is fine. All purpose at 16 to 18% is better, but harder to find. The supplements you are seeing is what makes the feed better for them.

Oyster shell should be offered separately so the ducks can eat it as their body needs. It is not the same as grit. You can offer grit, but if they are out in the yard free ranging they usually pick up what they need in the yard.

When you give veggies that are hard, they may not eat them. But they are more likely to if it is small enough not to choke them when they swallow it. Remember they have no teeth and cannot peck things apart like a chicken due to their rounded bills. They swallow things whole. My neighbor had a duck choke to death on a huge banana slug. Worms should be a treat, not a staple. I like to go and turn over dirt in the garden with ducks climbing all over my feet. But it is not for their daily meal.

 

[Wifezilla]

Remember, I already bought some chicken food so I wont be starving the ducks. Honest

I do want to find alternatives to commercial food for some very specific reasons...health, political, moral, etc....

I am looking and researching to find the duck equivalent of the Biologically Appropriate Raw Food diet that is being successfully used on dogs and cats. http://www.njboxers.com/faqs.htm (Note: the only reason I am not doing this for my cats in they were initially raised on kibble and WILL NOT eat raw food. Since my oldest cat in 19, I am not going to try and make her switch at this point. Over the past 2 years I have eliminated all corn, soy and wheat from their diet. Our middle kittie was 22 pounds. She has now slimmed down to 11 lbs. The oldest cat has less arthritis issues and more mobility. They youngest cat is so healthy and energetic he drives us crazy (he is only 1). They do have brown rice in their kibble, but the wet food they get has NO grains or starches at all. This has worked out to be a very good compromise for the fur-babies and all three of them are very healthy)

Of course what ducks need is going to be different, but finding out the right information is proving difficult. Like with dogs, cats, zoo animals (and people), the grain manufacturers have done a great job scaring people in to believing that feeding their products are the only way to have a healthy animal.

Ducks evolved over millions of years without the existence of ConAgra, Monsanto, Purina, etc... Have they helped specify the particular nutrients needed to keep a critter healthy? Yes. Is the only source of those nutrients their products? Nope.

Don't worry. These ducks will have access to a large variety of food. I am going to try and reduce their dependence on highly processed, highly heated, commercial feeds. All that processing and heat destroys any natural vitamins and fats in the foods anyway. It also turns the natural fats rancid, making the feed unhealthy. It is the same thing with extruded breakfast cereals that people feed their kids thinking they are healthy (shudder).

 

[kinnip]

I've looked into making some dietary changes with mine, especially omitting the grains. The problem I run into is cost. The grain growers have also done a fine job of ensuring their prices are lowest.

 

[Wifezilla]

Yes, you are correct. They are able to make that food so cheap due to farm subsidies. So while it seems cheap, it really isn't because we already paid for it with our taxes

grumble grumble grumble

It may be that, economically, the grains can't be totally eliminated. It would be nice, though, to reduce the amount as much as possible until a better alternative comes along.

Anyone have any information about the FAT requirement for ducks? I know a lot of focus is put on protein, but there are 3 primary maconutrients (well 4 if you count alcohol, but I am NOT sharing my white wine with the ducks! You have to draw the line somewhere!

). You can't change one without effecting the other and still provide caloric requirements.

 

[Dances with Ducks]

Mazuri Waterfowl Formula has 4.1% crude fat. Holderread has between 3.2 to 3.6 listed in his "Complete Ratiions for Adult Ducks" chart in the Duck Rations Appendix of his book.

I find this conversation interesting and I'm really looking forward to seeing what you figure out for your ducks' diet. I really don't like feeding my ducks soy or corn as that probably contains GMO.

 

[dancesWchickens]

We raised a wonderful black runner before a raccoon got her (we were devastated - she was just like a puppy). Anyway I'm nuts about organic/sustainable stuff, and I think you're absolutely right: poultry was around and healthy long before commercial feed was available. I had no idea what to feed our duck either (the guy at the feed store told me to give her duck crumbles, but couldn't tell me what, exactly, was in duck crumbles). Seeing as our poultry feed my family directly (eggs) and indirectly (by fertilizing our homegrown fruits and vegetables), I don't give our birds anything that I wouldn't want in my family's food: pesticide residues, antibiotics, artificial ingredients, etc.

Our duck was robustly healthy eating what my chickens do: organic chicken scratch and layer pellets supplemented with barley, quinoa, flax seed, oats, popcorn—essentially any organic whole grain I can find that's not outrageously expensive. Whole grains have a good amount of protein in the germ, and plenty of oils. The duck was great for cleaning out marginally old grain from the pantry, greens from the fridge, and stale homemade bread. She also ate a ton of leaves and bugs from the garden, but what she REALLY loved was fresh fruit. No teeth, but man that duck could whack apart an overripe plum like a pro - didn't realize at the time that she might have choked, but honestly she seemed to know exactly what she was doing. We got such a kick out of watching the explosive mess she could make! Of course, we learned (empirically) that too much fruit = duck diarrhea, which, given the vast amount of poo a duck normally makes, is truly remarkable. She didn't seem to mind, but we did. It cleared up when we stopped feeding her fruit for awhile. Oh, by the way the duck also loved wine (we discovered this accidentally at a neighborhood block party: she was roaming around guzzling it from glasses that had been set on the ground).

The thing to watch out for is mold, which can be toxic to birds (and to us). Ducks like to eat everything wet, and as you probably have figured out by now will dunk anything dry in water before they eat it. Wet food molds fairly quickly. I ended up putting the duck's food well out of reach of any water because I got tired of cleaning the gigantic food mess (in addition to the gigantic duck poo mess) every day.

Have fun with your new babies!

 

[Wifezilla]

Thank you so much for your input and that photo is adorable

Since I am on a low carb eating plan myself, fruit is an occasional treat for me. I was planning on doing the same for the ducks. Looks like I called that one right! LOL

I will have to go the the other local feed store and see what they have. Hopefully they will have some organics.

As for the fat, that percentage sounds very low...especially for an omnivore. Hummm....must find more info...LOL

 

[Dances with Ducks]

I think those percentages were for gross weight as opposed to calories. Fat is super calorie dense, so how would 4% gross weight translate to percentage of calories? I have no idea myself, but would that put it closer to what seems appropriate?

 

[Wifezilla]

There are 9 calories per gram in fat. 4 in carbohydrates and protein. Even if you double those numbers, that still sounds low. How many fat grams are in a frog anyway? LOL

 

[Wifezilla]

Ok...here is a link to the nutrition data on a raw frog leg
www.fitday.com/WebFit/nutrition/All_Foods/Fish/Frog_legs.html