Help with feeding routine!

[Duck momm]

Hi!
So I’m going to school soon (about 3 weeks) and when I’m at school there’s nobody to take care of my ducklings! My parents don’t know how to take care of them and they dont want to take care of them because they have to take care of our other pets!
My school schedule is most likely from 9am-4pm. My ducklings are going to be 9 weeks when school starts.(right now their 6 weeks)
i want to keep them as pets therefore I don’t want them to become that big!
I have 5 ducklings and I feed them 1/4 cup EACH , 3 times a day (breakfast ,lunch ,dinner). So each day each duckling gets 3/4 cup of food. They also live outside so they can forage around in a grassy area.
Should I feed them a lot in the morning before I go to school then once I get him from school feed them a little and at night feed them their typical amount so their lunch is shortened therefore their breakfast is extended?
or I could feed them their normal amount just they would have to wait 7 hours? maybe that would be too long, but they could forage around??
also an extra question is in the winter should I keep them on this feeding schedule but add an extra 1/4 cup to each meal? because I heard that in the winter they need a little more extra food to keep warm.
If you have any other suggestions that would be great as I’m a first time duck owner!

 

[Ratchnick]

First of all you can't keep them small by starving them. You can feed free choice twice a day, Just set out a dish of food for 30 to 60 minuets and take what's left away after that time.

 

[Stoney Meadow Maple]

those are very cute, they look like they have red blotches on their feet, but perhaps that's just the photo? I put out a black rubber bowl of food in the morning, they get that, and they can forage, if they eat it all in the morning, they have to forage for the afternoon, their choice, they seem to self regulate so at 8 pm when I put them away they have eaten the last of the food but there are some crumbs left. then I feed them at night so they can eat all they wish then.
I think yours will be fine, my wife schedule will be like yours as she is a teacher, just give them a good dose in the morning before School and then plenty at night, they will adjust, and they will be extra happy to see you at night
stay safe and healthy at school!
good luck!

 

[WallyBirdie]

Hi!
So I’m going to school soon (about 3 weeks) and when I’m at school there’s nobody to take care of my ducklings! My parents don’t know how to take care of them and they dont want to take care of them because they have to take care of our other pets!
My school schedule is most likely from 9am-4pm. My ducklings are going to be 9 weeks when school starts.(right now their 6 weeks)
i want to keep them as pets therefore I don’t want them to become that big!
I have 5 ducklings and I feed them 1/4 cup EACH , 3 times a day (breakfast ,lunch ,dinner). So each day each duckling gets 3/4 cup of food. They also live outside so they can forage around in a grassy area.
Should I feed them a lot in the morning before I go to school then once I get him from school feed them a little and at night feed them their typical amount so their lunch is shortened therefore their breakfast is extended?
or I could feed them their normal amount just they would have to wait 7 hours? maybe that would be too long, but they could forage around??
also an extra question is in the winter should I keep them on this feeding schedule but add an extra 1/4 cup to each meal? because I heard that in the winter they need a little more extra food to keep warm.
If you have any other suggestions that would be great as I’m a first time duck owner!

Don't limit their food to keep them small. You risk their well-being. Imagine a kid saying they are hungry- and someone decides they can't eat because they don't want the kid to grow up...

Also, yes, they DO eat more in the winter.

 

[Duck momm]

First of all you can't keep them small by starving them. You can feed free choice twice a day, Just set out a dish of food for 30 to 60 minuets and take what's left away after that time.

Ohh ok! I’ll start changing up my feeding schedule slowly right now so by the time I have school they would already be adjusted! Thanks for your help!!

 

[Duck momm]

those are very cute, they look like they have red blotches on their feet, but perhaps that's just the photo? I put out a black rubber bowl of food in the morning, they get that, and they can forage, if they eat it all in the morning, they have to forage for the afternoon, their choice, they seem to self regulate so at 8 pm when I put them away they have eaten the last of the food but there are some crumbs left. then I feed them at night so they can eat all they wish then.
I think yours will be fine, my wife schedule will be like yours as she is a teacher, just give them a good dose in the morning before School and then plenty at night, they will adjust, and they will be extra happy to see you at night
stay safe and healthy at school!
good luck!

My siblings and I put nail polish on our ducklings so we know whose is whose lol! I’m going to be changing up their feeding schedule tomorrow slowly so they will be adjusted to it! Thanks for your help! I hope you and your wife are safe!

 

[Duck momm]

Don't limit their food to keep them small. You risk their well-being. Imagine a kid saying they are hungry- and someone decides they can't eat because they don't want the kid to grow up...

Also, yes, they DO eat more in the winter.

Ohhhhhhhh I read an article somewhere saying ducks should only eat a certain amount of food because it makes them better at laying; in going to start slowly adjusting their feeding schedules tomorrow so they can start getting used to it! Thanks for your help!!

 

[LT71689]

You can also just put a bunch of food in a bowl and let them decide how hungry they are throughout the day, they don't need to be on a schedule of multiple regulated feedings, and they generally wont gorge themselves like dogs or cats that have food-anxiety issues might if they were given constant access to food. My pekins have 24/7 access to a full food bowl and they just grab little snacks here and there as they feel like it. Ducks get as big as they get, you cant control their size by feeding them less and it puts them at health risk. You're not likely to get an overly obese duck unless you're feeding it the wrong type of food meant for fattening them up for meat, and not allowing any kind of exercise.

 

[NatJ]

What kind of ducks?

I read an article somewhere saying ducks should only eat a certain amount of food because it makes them better at laying

Do you have a link to the article? I'd be curious to read it.

There is one kind of chicken (Cornish Cross) where that is required. They are bred to have enormous appetites and get fat quickly, but they usually cannot live long enough to lay eggs. So deliberately stunting their growth with limited feed is needed with them, if someone wants eggs at all. It is not true for any other kind of chicken, and this is the first time I've heard anything similar for ducks.

 

[Ratchnick]

Its true if they get to fat they wont lay well, but you dont need to starve them, that will make them lay not at all.