Free Ranging and Feeding

[Abraeri]

I was wondering how much those of you who free-range feed their ducks. Mine free-range - they have a bush they like to sit under during the heat of the day and go out to forage in the evenings and early mornings. We have 5 acres but the ducks hate to go out into open spaces so they only come out into the land in the front of our house when we cut our lawn (to get all the crickets that are running away ) They spend most of their time in the garden and around the area of their kiddie pool. However, I find that I'm still going through one 50lb bag of feed about every two weeks for 11 ducks. Will have to see if that number will go down now that it is summer but I was just wondering what your experiences on that were.

Ideally I would love to completely phase them off of feed at least in the summer months, but not really sure how I would go about that, or if it's even possible. One thing I've noticed is that while the ducks love to forage, they're not so great about picking apart kitchen scraps because of their blunt bills.

So I want to hear from you! How much space your girls (and boys) have, any tips for getting them out into land where there's a lot of good stuff, etc.

 

[casportpony]

Ideally I would love to completely phase them off of feed at least in the summer months, but not really sure how I would go about that, or if it's even possible.

IMO, not possible. I free range mine too, and even with lots of bugs and grass they still need proper feed.

 

[Jbently28]

What kind of ducks do you have? Certain breeds are better foragers than others, and some larger breeds naturally will eat more than others as well. It all depends on your breed though.

 

[Jbently28]

Both of those breeds produce a lot of eggs. Ducks that are significant layers tend to need to eat more protein to keep up their egg supply.

 

[The Dapper Duck]

IMO, not possible. I free range mine too, and even with lots of bugs and grass they still need proper feed.

Agreed. My Muscovies get the majority of their feed from pasture, and that species does better than mallards, but they still need feed. There is no way around feeding ducks unfortunately. You can reduce the need by rotating their pasture so bugs and legumes can replenish themselves (protein), and by seeding with nutrient dense plants. A generic cover crop mix from the feed store or nursery is what my ducks love.

 

[Fishkeeper]

You need to always have food available for them. Not least because, unless you're giving them an entire pond they can catch fish and aquatic inverts and seaweed out of, free ranging won't give them all the nutrients they need. It's not just a matter of sheer caloric intake, it's also trace nutrients.

 

[The Dapper Duck]

I definitely lean on the pasture more than most people. It kinda drives me nuts when people say "that feed is a complete ration" because my eggs look and taste a heck of a lot better than birds that only get commercial feed. I don't give free-choice because my birds are lazy and the poop the worst poops when they eat only feed. Young birds need feed free-choice but once they are adults, and this is speaking of Muscovies, they can forage quite well and I have not noticed any issues with shell thickness or production. I feed once a day or every couple days outside the laying season and once a day during laying and just enough that they don't leave too much in the bucket after everyone has had their fill. I know, I'll catch some flak for my methods, but my birds are healthy and happy and they make some great eggs. Results may not be typical, but these are my second flock of birds and my first flock didn't even get this much feed, but the foraging setup was a lot better with the first (slugs in the tropics are quite abundant).

 

[Abraeri]

That is what I'd think too... was interested in wether someone had done it though. What do you guys think about older birds though - ones without as high of a need for nutrients to go into their eggs?

Rotating is pretty much impossible lol. They always come back to "home base"; and hate to venture out into unfamiliar places. They also always come back for water too, no matter how much good stuff they were getting. We have a ton of grass in the front but they rarely come out there, usually they only come to eat the bugs when we cut the grass.

They get food free-choice. They stay under their bush during the hottest parts of the day but they do a lot of foraging. Sometimes I think they are not getting anything at all though, it's as if they are losing more energy out there digging holes and burrowing then they get from whatever they eat.

Is there no need to supplement if they are getting layer pellets? They do get layers pellets but lately I've been getting more soft-shells than usual. So I feed their eggshells back to them free choice.

 

[Abraeri]

You need to always have food available for them. Not least because, unless you're giving them an entire pond they can catch fish and aquatic inverts and seaweed out of, free ranging won't give them all the nutrients they need. It's not just a matter of sheer caloric intake, it's also trace nutrients.

That is true, and those are dreams! But in the very least I just wanted to know what everyone else's experience with free ranging was - as in does it reduce the amount of food intake compared to in a run all day?

 

[123RedBeard]

Sound like yours are not getting much from foraging ... as they are eating almost as much as a commercial feed only duck ...

https://metzerfarms.blogspot.com/2019/03/how-much-will-my-ducks-eat.html?m=1

I'd skip breakfast for a week ... give them feed in the afternoon ... hungry ducks will be more eager to go look for their own breakfast.