Inventive feed solutions for juvenile ducks?

[ollaber]

Hi all. I live in a very remote beach town with little access to commercial feeds, and have ten two-month-old Khaki Campbells living in an enclosure in my garage. I want to use only organic feed, and so far they've eaten organic chicken starter and grower from my local Agway, supplemented with nutritional yeast for niacin, and plenty of greens, squash, and potatoes, which they love.

However, I'm having trouble finding any feed, organic or otherwise, with the "developer" stage 13% - 14% protein content recommended by Holderread. My Agway has organic chick starter, with too much protein, and organic poultry layer, with too much calcium, but nothing in between -- organic or otherwise.

Does anyone have any sage advice as to what I can feed my ducks until they are of laying age, whether it be a combination of feeds, feed with additional grains or other supplements, or something else entirely? I am looking for a creative and healthful solution, but my resources are limited to what I can find at Agway (starter and layer), what I can order cheaply online, and what I grow and store myself (squash, sweet potato, potato, greens). Thanks!

 

[Amiga]

Seems to me that if you are providing them with abundant greens, squash and potatoes, you already have dropped the protein percentage, so I think I would stick with the starter with one possible "if."

I hope you don't mind if I don't do the leg work here, but I would compare the other ingredients, see if I could see what other differences there are between starter and grower, and make sure their diet is in line with that. First thing to come to mind is they may not need as much niacin once grown - that's key for nervous system development, but not as much in most circumstances once grown, if I recall correctly.

 

[Kaessa]

I've also read mixing oats in with the feed is a good way to lower the protein levels. No idea on ratios, though, someone else will have to answer that one.

 

[Richb353]

Welcome,
I've fed my flock Purina or Dumor Layer crumbles then pellets since day one. No reason other than my own ignorance and likely it was on sale. Anyway, it is high in protein (16%) and I have had no health issues at all. Looking at the Purina Poultry webpage they recommend Purina Flock Raiser for the ducklings, but I don't see that as regularly as the Layena and when I do it's only in crumbles.
Enjoy,
Rich

 

[ollaber]

Thanks all. I found a nice big sack of organic corn on sale and I'm mixing some of that in, but will definitely consider the oats option as well. As it is they're such big fans of the greens and starchy vegetables and always devour those first, and not even bothering with all of their feed, so perhaps we're in the clear -- though I am going to do a run down of the full nutritional label this evening and compare that with the Holderread recommendations.