How much to feed ducks? THEY'RE FAT!

[chickens really]

What exactly will the scratch grain do? That's pretty much just empty calories, yes?

No..Not with Ducks. Ducks and geese do great with grains.
People get confused with feeding layer Chickens and Ducks. Two different species.

 

[AmberCamilia]

Maybe with spring coming you can cut back a little on feed since there will be bugs etc for them to eat too.

I have a hard time cutting feed back with my layers since I know they need good nutrition to help keep those eggs coming and to keep them healthy. With a flock of 14 Water fowl and 28 chickens They go through 200lbs of feed a month. Sounds like a lot and if I didn't live on the side of a mountain I could have some over weight ducks too but mine get a lot of exercise daily going up and down the hills here. So can your have any outside of the pen time? Maybe adding so extra exercise for them would help. Like was mentioned Pekin do get over weight and that isn't good for the females that are laying. Maybe start adding some veggies to their diet daily and cut back small amounts of feed weekly until you see they are losing weight. When my Dachshund was having to be on steroids for a back injury my vet suggested adding green beans to his food to help fill him up since steroids make them so hungry and we didn't want him over weight with already having a back problem. I search the gro store for lettuce and things like that marked down to feed to my birds.

I would love to enclose the entire yard where they're at (would be around 50x15 -- a lot more than they have now!), but I would be far too concerned about hawks swooping in. I'm expanding their run here in a couple weeks, but I'm also adding six more ducks. I could probably build a kennel type run outside theirs, and let them go out and forage and play throughout the day.

I plan on growing them a little garden soon. Plus, who doesn't love getting fresh lettuce and tomatoes for those midday salads?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Please post some pics of your ducks I'd love to see them.

 

[AmberCamilia]

Here's just a few pictures.. Some of my favorites

^ They got Thanksgiving dinner.. I couldn't help myself! From left to right: Sage, Clover, Aspen, Daisy, Douglas

They absolutely loved it (and I loved watching them eat it). See Sage eating a yam? Too adorable.

Back when I attempted to make them a pond.. at least I tried, but my yard was just way too muddy for all that. Hopefully I'll be able to give them a big pond eventually. Starting with the "leader" (Blue Swedish): Douglas, Aspen, Clover, Daisy, and Sage

Chitchatting about whether or not to eat the snow or go back in the warm coop Daisy was inside with me that day.

Sage is the child of the pack. The others stick together and shy away from strangers, but Sage is a little gullible. She's a baby

Have you ever been so hot that you feel like you're melting? Clover knows that feeling very well!

This was Daisy last week. She's been inside with me for a while, recovering from bumblefoot (I don't know how I'm ever going to part with her when I have to -- I've gotten so attached!).

 

[Miss Lydia]

They are all beautiful, love their names too.

How is Daisy's foot looking about healed?

 

[AmberCamilia]

They are all beautiful, love their names too.

How is Daisy's foot looking about healed?

Well, it's been 10 days with medicine only (no surgery) and she's still got a pretty bad limp. I'm thinking the vet will have to do surgery She seems fine overall though, and she does walk better now, but her limp is bad.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I am sorry to hear this did you try Epsom salt soaks and clear iodine then peeling off the scab ? you probably said at one time I just forget.

 

[AmberCamilia]

Yes, I made sure to try everything you said since I have no prior experience with this. I thought for sure it worked since her limp went away, the little "bump" was gone, and there were no scabs. I'm not sure if she just got it again or if I failed to get it all the first time, but I noticed her limping and looked at her foot and thought surely not.. Her foot and leg were swollen, more than they were before even!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Sorry to hear this. Bumble can be stubborn and hard to treat. If you have a vet that will treat her maybe that is the best. Sure don't want the staff to spread into her blood stream.

And your ducks don't look that much over weight although pics aren't the same as seeing them in person. Did you see the body condition chart I'll get it for you.

 

[AmberCamilia]

Hmm... going by that chart, it looks like Douglas (the Blue Swedish) is about a 3, and the rest are about 4s, possibly closer to 5s. I'll have to go out there after it stops raining and check for sure though.