How to tell if ducks are underweight?

[Kayla_and my ducks_4]

feel the keel bone, it should be rather hard to feel under the fat and the breast meat should feel full and plump. if the meat is caving in then they are underweight.
if the keel feels "sharp" he is underweight too. the keel should be flush with the meat.

I’ll try that now I’m going to lock them up for the night!

 

[Kayla_and my ducks_4]

A young mallard will feel thinner than a domestic breed, but you can try the keel method.
http://www.poultrydvm.com/topics/poultry-body-condition-score-charts
View attachment 2500633

He’s a domestic mallard but he’s way smaller then the girls so I’m sure he will be a little thinner. He has food with cracked corn and they have peas once a week too. They also have brewers yeast in their food! I’m going to check now!

 

[Kayla_and my ducks_4]

I

A young mallard will feel thinner than a domestic breed, but you can try the keel method.
http://www.poultrydvm.com/topics/poultry-body-condition-score-charts
View attachment 2500633

i think he’s a #2 they always have food to eat and stuff. I feel like a bad duck mom! They are my world and I don’t know why he may be underweight. What can I do to fatten him up a little? Should I stay outside and feed him at least once a day so I knows he’s eating?

 

[SolarDuck]

He’s a domestic mallard but he’s way smaller then the girls so I’m sure he will be a little thinner. He has food with cracked corn and they have peas once a week too. They also have brewers yeast in their food! I’m going to check now!

I think its normal for mallards to be significantly smaller than your other domestic breeds. If you have a Pekin, Cayuga, and Golden 300 I think it is pretty normal that your mallard would be much smaller. Are you feeding them chicken feed with brewers yeast? If you are, it might be a good idea to switch to a duck specific or all flock feed if you have a store near you that carries them.

 

[tielie135]

I

i think he’s a #2 they always have food to eat and stuff. I feel like a bad duck mom! They are my world and I don’t know why he may be underweight. What can I do to fatten him up a little? Should I stay outside and feed him at least once a day so I knows he’s eating?

sounds like the right weight to me. dont worry, your doing well
look up plucked mallard. gives you a good idea what they should look like under the feathers

 

[Duck mommy 2019]

I

i think he’s a #2 they always have food to eat and stuff. I feel like a bad duck mom! They are my world and I don’t know why he may be underweight. What can I do to fatten him up a little? Should I stay outside and feed him at least once a day so I knows he’s eating?

i recommend daily veggies and bugs to keep them healthy

 

[Kayla_and my ducks_4]

I think its normal for mallards to be significantly smaller than your other domestic breeds. If you have a Pekin, Cayuga, and Golden 300 I think it is pretty normal that your mallard would be much smaller. Are you feeding them chicken feed with brewers yeast? If you are, it might be a good idea to switch to a duck specific or all flock feed if you have a store near you that carries them.

They have duck feed!! Thank you so much!

 

[SolarDuck]

They have duck feed!! Thank you so much!

Alright, if they have a duck specific feed there is no need for you to add any brewers yeast to it, it should have all the niacin they need.

 

[Kayla_and my ducks_4]

Alright, if they have a duck specific feed there is no need for you to add any brewers yeast to it, it should have all the niacin they need.

We don’t use Purina duck feed! Our Facebook groups say that just incase you should be supplementing unless it’s Purina. I want to use purina but they don’t have any at our tsc right now.

 

[SolarDuck]

We don’t use Purina duck feed! Our Facebook groups say that just incase you should be supplementing unless it’s Purina. I want to use purina but they don’t have any at our tsc right now.

Hmm interesting, I thought that any duck specific feed should have enough niacin in it for them. Niacin is a vitamin so I assume they can have too much of it like any other vitamin. @Isaac 0 do you think its necessary to add brewers yeast to the non-Purina duck feeds?