Feed plan

[688peterl]

Im keeping a few ducks as pets, they wont be used for meat or egg production they will just be pets and i have some questions about feeding them...

There are a few types of food (that i have seen anyway)

-starter crumbs
-grower pellets
-maintainance pellets
-layer pellets
-breeder pellets (same as layer pellets?)

Because im hatching duck eggs i have no idea what sex they are yet, but when they do hatch they will need starter crumbs, then grower pellets then maintainance pellets am i right?

Im confused about feeding the female ducks because they need layer pellets or breeder pellets instead of just maintainance pellets am i right? or could the females have maintainance pellets like the males and have some of that oyster shell stuff as well as the maintainance pellets?

this is so confusing!!!

I really hope the eggs im incubating are male because if i have mixed sex ducks them i will have to find a way of stopping the males eating the females food and vice versa, because i know that layer/breeder pellets can poison males? or is that even true?

 

[PeeperKeeper]

If you don't want to have so many types of feed around just get the starter crumbles for the little ones and a regular protein feed for the rest and offer oyster shell as a free choice for the layers.

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
Not true ask away if you have more questions. ~gd

 

[688peterl]

thanks goosedragon but im still a lil confused, like a said i wont be using the ducks for meat so i dont need the grower? what do i need then, obviously i need starter crumbs but then do i just go straight to maintainance feed when they are old enough?

 

[nettie]

yup... but ease them into it, rather than just switching it one day.

 

[688peterl]

Quote:
the maintainance i was looking at says grower/maintainance

http://peticious.com/duck-growermaintenance-pellets-5kg-p-102039.html?ref=269

argh im so confused

 

[nettie]

that feed is fine... you can even feed your ducks layer pellets even if you have boys... it's nothing to get flustered over, they pretty much eat anything... lol.

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
yep thanks i should have mentioned the slow change over.

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
the maintainance i was looking at says grower/maintainance

http://peticious.com/duck-growermaintenance-pellets-5kg-p-102039.html?ref=269

argh im so confused

you sure are if you are even thinking of paying that much money for 5 kg (11 pounds) of feed and I suppose you would have to pay shipping on that too? Unless you are in the center of a major city find your self a farm-feed store. The Greens will want to get me for this but that ALL NATURAL feed is usually bad you need added vitamins and minerals and the best way to get them is by having 'Chemicals"(gasp!!!) added to the natural grains as they are being milled and mixed. got to run the Greens are heating the tar and plucking the birds. LOL ~gd

 

[688peterl]

Quote:
so i start them on duck starter then go onto that grower/maintainance right? how long are they on starter for before they move onto the grower/maintainance? also... why cant i find grower/maintainance seperate? is it basically just the same thing?