How much feed should I need per duckling?

[Boshaft]

I ordered 7 day old ducklings and a 25 lb bag of food, thinking I could figure out how much they ate and then order more as needed, but it's been a week since I ordered the food and it hasn't gotten to me yet (What are these people thinking, taking holidays? Sheesh! I kid, I kid)

At the very bottom of http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/livestock/poultry/feeding/nutritional-requirements-ducks , there is a chart:

Age (weeks) Feed for week (kg) Cumulative feed (kg)
0-1 0.15 0.15
1 0.40 0.55
2 0.75 1.30
3 0.95 2.25
4 1.00 3.25
5 1.30 4.55
6 1.65 6.20
7 1.80 8.00
8 1.60 9.60

In imperial:

Age (weeks) Feed for week (lbs) Cumulative feed (lbs)
0-1 0.33 0.33
1 0.88 1.21
2 1.65 2.87
3 2.09 4.96
4 2.20 7.17
5 2.87 10.03
6 3.64 13.67
7 3.97 17.6
8 3.53 21.16

How closely do these numbers fit your own experience? They seem really high to me, especially if the feed conversion rate is 2.5-3:1. Are my ducks going to weigh 7 pounds at 8 weeks? I know it varies by the breed - I'm getting 3 Khaki Campbells, 1 Cayuga, 1 Buff, and 2 Grimaud Hybrid Pekins.

If the chart is accurate I should have enough to last until they are 3 weeks, at which point I can go ahead and start them on an adult food like http://www.mazuri.com/mazuriwaterfowlbreeder.aspx right? I just don't want to run out and have them eating cat food while I wait on UPS

 

[Amiga]

I had fifteen runner ducklings for the first two weeks, then four went to live with their owner, and the eleven stayed with me. I bought a turkey-waterfowl starter, 50 pound bag the day they arrived.

At between two and three weeks, I started adding grower, in increasing proportion, to the starter crumbles (another 50 pound bag). Probably after five or six weeks I was done with the first bag of feed.

That is not a precise set of numbers for you, but that is what I did.

Ducklings don't eat every morsel. They splash quite a bit, if the feed gets damp it must be taken out to avoid mold. And they grow amazingly quickly. Really. I think the first night their legs got half an inch longer. So, yes, I think those numbers look pretty reasonable.

I just put food out, and kept it before the ducklings 24/7 for the first two months. When I was down to a third of a bag, I got another bag. Nowadays I get two or three bags at a time and keep them cool and dry.

 

[jdywntr]

Like Amiga, I don't keep track.

If you are ordering your feed and having it shipped, you are going to spend a ton of money. My 13 ducklings are 1 month old and have gone through about 50 lbs of feed but their mom is with them and eats with them.

I would look for a local feed store. You don't want to have to switch their feed if you run out, discover the feed shipped is bad or something.

 

[Boshaft]

Believe me, I'd love to buy from a local feed store and save the shopping cost, but the closest one is a couple hundred miles away. Fortunately, they should be able to forage a large chunk of their diets. I'll probably order the adult food when they get here so I can switch them over.

Do y'all keep the feed in the paper bag it's shipped in or dump it into a sealed container? I'm thinking that would reduce the chance of spoiling, as well as keep pests out.

 

[Amiga]

Either a sealed 3.5 gallon plastic bucket (with resealable lid), or a large metal trash bin with tight lid, double lined with garbage bags.

 

[sourland]

Either a sealed 3.5 gallon plastic bucket (with resealable lid), or a large metal trash bin with tight lid, double lined with garbage bags.

X 2 I do this with all my feeds from dog to wild birds to pigeons to poultry.

 

[Boshaft]

Hmm is 3.5 gallons big enough to hold lbs of feed? Or do you divide each bag up?

 

[Amiga]

I divide a 50 pound bag of Mazuri (very fluffy pellets) into four of those buckets. A 50 pound bag of Blue Seal Organic Layer pellets fits into three buckets. A 30 gallon metal can holds either one Mazuri bag or one and a half Blue Seal.

 

[Boshaft]

Well, I got my food yesterday, and the ducklings today Unfortunately, one of them spent too long on the heating pad during shipping, so she has 3 blisters on the bottom of her foot. All the are on the webbing, and she can walk, albeit poorly. Is there anything I can do for her to help?

Boshaft

 

[Miss Lydia]

Well, I got my food yesterday, and the ducklings today

Unfortunately, one of them spent too long on the heating pad during shipping, so she has 3 blisters on the bottom of her foot. All the are on the webbing, and she can walk, albeit poorly. Is there anything I can do for her to help?

Boshaft

Triple antibiotic and soft bedding till the foot heals. something like Poultry Nutri drench in water to help give her a boost won't hurt the other ducklings either. And pics when you get time... Congrats on the new ducklings.