feeding ducks

[birdbrain5]

I got a couple pekin ducks, and plan to get a couple more. I'd like to hatch some, or if they decide to on thier own thats fine. The people I got them from said they fed them just cracked corn, and some veggies too. I assume this is what they fed them since chicks, and let me tell you, they grew just fine. They are beautiful big ducks and dont seem to be lacking anything. My question is, can I continue to feed them just cracked corn and veggies, or if I am going to hatch ducklings do I need to feed them a certain % of protien? Also, a friend of mine was adopted by a few ducks that showed up, and she would just throw them bread everyday, they hatched ducklings on thier own and they all looked just fine. If these birds have all done well on either bread and corn and veggie diets, do I really need to go pay feed prices for them?

 

[MysticalMom]

Feeding ducks just cracked corn is like feeding them straight fat and sugar. Feeding them bread is feeding nothing but carbs. Neither of these things has any real nutritional value and just serves to make the ducks full, not healthy. Ducks will eat anything you throw at them, and yeah they'll grow. But that doesn't mean they're healthy or that they are getting what the need. My advice is that if you want really happy healthy ducks that will live long and give you lots of eggs... spend the extra money and get the feed they need.

 

[gofasterstripe]

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[La Mike]

For healthy ducklings you should feed some high protein feed maybe not solely but they will need all the protein available when they start producing eggs to maintain healthy eggs
Poor eggs result in poor ducks
You can sub any food and a duck will eat it they are pigs with wings lol. wether its good for them is a different issue
Not enough protein in their diet will result in thin eggs which do not hatch well
If they are free ranging they will most likely get it on there own

 

[tomingreeneco]

A higher protein feed (20%) should be available to them at all times. If you let them free range and there is plenty of good stuff for them to feed on you will go through a lot less feed. Mine eat very little feed when the weather is nice as they have a pond and 20 acres to roam (lots of insects). Just my 2 cents.

 

[Duck_feeder]

I wrote an article last year on why you should avoid corn-only diets.

http://indoorducks.com/corn.html

While the article focuses only on corn-only diets, similar problems can be found with pretty much any diet that lacks variety.

If you're going to feed them only one thing, go with pellets. At least they are designed to provide a well rounded diet.