Feeding Ducklings Greens

[Quack me up]

I just hatched ducklings, and they were a bit early so for the first few days we just fed them leafy greens and grass. My main question is why do ducklings need starter feed? I mean wouldn’t they just be eating grass/seeds/fish in the wild, so why can’t I feed them that?

 

[Isaac 0]

I just hatched ducklings, and they were a bit early so for the first few days we just fed them leafy greens and grass. My main question is why do ducklings need starter feed? I mean wouldn’t they just be eating grass/seeds/fish in the wild, so why can’t I feed them that?

I could go on and on about this, but I'll make it short.

You cannot compare the nutritional requirements of domestics ducks to wild ones, we have bred them to grow much faster, lay more, with that they require more nutrition, its very hard to exactly replicate what ducks in the wild are eating to ours. Leafy Greens and Grass, for example, are not nutritionally complete, if you continue to feed them such a diet I wouldn't doubt that they begin to have lots of problems related to nutrition. Duck Feed is specifically formulated and designed to satisfy all of the duckling's nutritional needs.

 

[Isaac 0]

Do you think a Khaki Campbell that can lay upwards to 250 eggs a year is going to have the same calcium requirements as a Wild Mallard that lays a clutch of eggs (10 or so) once a year, or a Pekin that grows almost twice/three times a fast as a Wild duck is going to have the same niacin needs, NO.