Feed

[Spyda]

Hey good day.
Soo i know some people that feeds there ducks pig grower
And another who feeds allpurpose feed is that safe ?

 

[sylviethecochin]

All-purpose poultry feed is fine for ducks.

I'm not sure about the pig feed, having not seen an ingredients list/nutritional analysis, and not knowing how much of the ducks' diet is actually pig feed, or how old the ducks are. If it's the ducks' entire diet, I'm going to say that's bad, just because of the salt content. I'd also imagine it's low on protein.

 

[Spyda]

All-purpose poultry feed is fine for ducks.

I'm not sure about the pig feed, having not seen an ingredients list/nutritional analysis, and not knowing how much of the ducks' diet is actually pig feed, or how old the ducks are. If it's the ducks' entire diet, I'm going to say that's bad, just because of the salt content. I'd also imagine it's low on protein.

They are 4 mths old ducks i believe

 

[cincyfarmgirl]

My ducks and my chickens do not like the pellets. I even buy mini pellets and they don’t like those. They don’t seem to like crumbles either. The chickens prefer to have chicken scratch which I limit to 10% of their diet but they’ll practically starve before they’ll eat the pellets. Any help on this? Both chickens and ducks love meal worms but I don’t think they can just live on those. Of course they do have a large fenced outdoor yard and I let them free range under my watchful eye as often as possible. Does anyone else have trouble with the poultry not eating pellets and if so any suggestions question

 

[Miss Lydia]

You could try fermenting It's hard to feed in winter though [been there done that] I bought heated dog bowls to keep it from freezing. My whole flock loves their feed moistened better than dry. I don't feed fermented in winter since I am now down to one heated dog bowl. Here is the info https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ter-easy-fermented-feed-method-w-video.65375/
My birds prefer their 6way scratch to their mini pellets and to keep the calcium from being too much over the months they aren't laying I add the 6way grains to their pellets 2to1 over winter. Yes they eat the grains first but they also eat their pellets. And at the end of the day what is left I add water too, They go crazy for it.

 

[cincyfarmgirl]

You could try fermenting It's hard to feed in winter though [been there done that] I bought heated dog bowls to keep it from freezing. My whole flock loves their feed moistened better than dry. I don't feed fermented in winter since I am now down to one heated dog bowl. Here is the info https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ter-easy-fermented-feed-method-w-video.65375/
My birds prefer their 6way scratch to their mini pellets and to keep the calcium from being too much over the months they aren't laying I add the 6way grains to their pellets 2to1 over winter. Yes they eat the grains first but they also eat their pellets. And at the end of the day what is left I add water too, They go crazy for it.

Thanks for those useful suggestions. Indeed they eat the scratch first and then eventually work on the pellets scattered on the ground before finally consumed. They walk around practically begging for food when the scratch is gone though and I relent again giving maybe 10% of the scratch but since their egg production fell off even before the cold short days I was attributing it to that I might be giving too much scratch and not enough high protein pellets. I’ll try some of your suggestions. Thank you

 

[Miss Lydia]

Mine beg worse than my dog and he is really good. But I try not to give in to them. They get their scratch mixed with their feed once it's gone it's gone. Although in early afternoon they do get a treat of Mealworms and dry dog food which they all go crazy for. Lets just say our birds are spoiled. And of course there is oyster shell out all the time if any feel they need extra calcium.

 

[cincyfarmgirl]

Mine beg worse than my dog and he is really good. But I try not to give in to them. They get their scratch mixed with their feed once it's gone it's gone. Although in early afternoon they do get a treat of Mealworms and dry dog food which they all go crazy for. Lets just say our birds are spoiled. And of course there is oyster shell out all the time if any feel they need extra calcium.

Yes I do give my scratch with their pellets they just look miserable when the scratch is gone. I’ll try to look the other way. I also throw meal worms out once a day especially if they are not able to free range (outside of their usual large fenced area which I only do if I can keep a close eye on them because coyotes are keeping a close eye on them also ) and the winter temperatures have diminished natural food supply while free ranging. They love their dried meal worms. I’m going to try the fermentation idea also using ACVinegar mother. When I used to let my chickens free range outside the fenced area 90% of the time and before the coyotes started picking them off, the egg production was much better. But I can’t risk them being picked off like that so the free free ranging is limited.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I understand it is risky letting them free range. Mine have access to over a half acre fenced and we do have coyotes plus all the other predators. At least the fence with barb wire around the top gives some protection but It's def not 100% foolproof. We do what we have to to protect our birds.

I love this fermentation method I think you will too.
When I first started fermenting their feed it was not a good procedure I was following but since I found this one I have never tried another.
Let me know what you think of it and how your birds like it.
I also use ACV with moither as a tonic 1X a week in their drinking buckets. 1 Tab per gallon. I use it too.

 

[cincyfarmgirl]

I understand it is risky letting them free range. Mine have access to over a half acre fenced and we do have coyotes plus all the other predators. At least the fence with barb wire around the top gives some protection but It's def not 100% foolproof. We do what we have to to protect our birds.

I love this fermentation method I think you will too.
When I first started fermenting their feed it was not a good procedure I was following but since I found this one I have never tried another.
Let me know what you think of it and how your birds like it.
I also use ACV with moither as a tonic 1X a week in their drinking buckets. 1 Tab per gallon. I use it too.

I bought some of the ACV vinegar but it’s not working because it’s still sitting in the kitchen cabinet. My husband asked me one day how long does this stuff have to be here before it starts working? Ha ha. He’s funny. I guess I haven’t gotten past the taste but I have read about and know people who enjoy the health benefits of it. I wonder if pickle juice has the same benefits considering that that’s a fermentation process. And also I have two Pekin ducks, the hen just beginning to lay eggs and the protective drake aggravating the chicken so I separated them. They don’t prefer the pellets I’ll try these other suggestions with them as well. And also have two one and a half year old Nigerian dwarf goat wethers (pets) I wonder if they would benefit from ACV?