Finding Grower Feed with Niacin in Canada

[redrascalsranch]

Hi all,

I have a mixed flock of chicks and ducklings and I am looking for a grower feed that contains niacin for the ducks and only has about 1.0% calcium since they're still young. I'm having trouble finding this in Canada (southwestern Ontario, more specifically). It's the niacin that seems to be missing, even from duck-specific feeds. And the stores that sell feed aren't particularly helpful, they just go by what's listed on the product and niacin is never listed. I'd really rather not supplement so I don't have to track how much feed they're all eating (plus I wouldn't know if it's the chicks or ducks who is getting at it).

Does anyone know of any products available in Ontario that meets the niacin and 1% calcium requirements?

 

[Debbie292d]

An all-flock usually is for turkeys, ducks, geese, chickens, etc.

Our Kalmbachs Flock Maker (all flock) says right on the bag it's complete for ducks. We feed that to everything here, from chicks to ducks to grown chickens. For the hens, we have a dish of oyster shell as it's low in calcium.

I don't think you can get that brand there, but there should be other brands of an all-flock that are just as good.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Unfortunately, niacin doesn't have to appear on the labels here, either. A few years ago, a BYC poster contacted the Mfgs for Purina and Nutrena re: their All Flock and Flock Raisers, confirmed they had adequate niacin for adult ducks, I've not seen similar update since. (I must also point out that "adequate for generic adult duck" is low for Pekins, and very low for hatchling/adolescent Pekins - which is why so many of us use nutritional yeast as a bit of insurance. Its (sort of) cheap, readily available in bulk, and has the niacin content right on the label so we can do the math.

The excess niacin and other vitamins isn't harmful to our chickens (for those of us with mixed flocks) and it does boost total crude protein a bit (rarely a bad thing) - though its AA profile isn't optimized for chickens and other poultry. As you'd expect, its a yeast, nor farm foul. Leans heavily into Lysine, good for breast and other muscle development. Not as "spiked" a source of Methionine as would be convenient, or you'd see it widely incorporated into chicken feed commercially.

You cold try writing the Mfgs you have locally available, see if they will respond. Then PLEASE report the results, even if they won't say. That's how the community learns and grows our knowledge base