IS CHICK FOOD\STARTER OK FOR DUCKS?

[PeanutnCashew]

I don't have ducks yet - getting them in a couple of weeks. I have been reading posts in this forum and most people agree that a true duck starter is best, but since it can be difficult to get it, unmedicated chick starter is okay as long as you add brewer's yeast into it to add niacin. if you don't add the yeast, the ducks get a vitamin deficiency and develop spraddle leg. I did see a post by someone who said that medicated is okay (in the past it was a problem but newer formulas are better) - but most people still tend to believe that unmedicated is the way to go. I believe the problem is that ducks eat a lot more food and they will over-medicate themselves.

I called Tractor Supply today to find out if the brands they carry, DuMor and Purina, are unmedicated. The salesman looked it up and said they are both unmedicated. I asked specifically about starter/grower which you can use when they are 3 weeks old. I didn't ask about starter (I have found that it is hard to find starter that is unmedicated for my chickens).

The salesman said that if the food is medicated it would specifically say that on the label. If it doesn't say anything about medication, then it is unmedicated. I'm not sure I believe that! I'd rather that the package stated that it was unmedicated. The active ingredients to look for in medicated feed are below - from another post:

Amprolium which goes by the trade names Corid and Amprovine, Amprolium, Amprol, Anticoccid and is a thiamine analog, competitively inhibits the active transport of thiamine (B1).

The second type of medication used is Lasalocid goes by the trade name Bovatec. Bovatec (lasalocid) is a coccidiocide that kills coccidia. It is an ionophore that moves potassium, sodium, calcium and magnesium into the cell causing the cell to burst. Bovatec works primarily on a single developmental stage of coccidia, providing a more narrow range of action than Deccox.

Hope this helps ... maybe someone who actually has ducks can chime in!

" I believe the problem is that ducks eat a lot more food and they will over-medicate themselves."..exactly!! The newer formulas are suggested to be ok. But, if you already bought some and want to take precautions, mix half with unmedicated feed. My ducks hardly eat any duck/chick food at all...they eat more veggies/fruit. I also mix some Beneful dog food in there ..they like it

 

[luckyducky9]

we feed them medicated chick starter and there fine so....................thanks any way peanutncashew!!!
send me a PM i would like to hear questions from you

from: luckyducky9

 

[luckyducky9]

i'm not sure if i use Dumor but now we use duck mash for our ducks

from:luckyducky9

 

[HauiBali]

Reading this realize me that how lucky I am to have the feedstore just a mile away and they carry a full feed portfolio for every kind of animal, and - I live in a big agricultural town - the food is always fresh, the shop has huge turnover, so I have to buy only for a week or two.

 

[twinmama]

I used unmedicated Dumor chick starter that is for chicks, ducklings, and goslings. I did add Brewers Yeast in the beginning just to be safe. When I finished off 2 50# bags (few weeks maybe) I switched, and I now offer both Flock Raiser and Grower/Finisher, since one is pellets and the other is crumbles. This is mostly because I have chickens of different ages along with the ducks, so they can eat whichever they prefer. My choices were based on a combination of what I read here and the feeding instructions on the feed bags.

 

[kuntrygirl]

I used unmedicated Dumor chick starter that is for chicks, ducklings, and goslings. I did add Brewers Yeast in the beginning just to be safe. When I finished off 2 50# bags (few weeks maybe) I switched, and I now offer both Flock Raiser and Grower/Finisher, since one is pellets and the other is crumbles. This is mostly because I have chickens of different ages along with the ducks, so they can eat whichever they prefer. My choices were based on a combination of what I read here and the feeding instructions on the feed bags.

I have a mixed flock as well, which is why I use Flockraiser. All of the animals can eat it (chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys and peafowl) I feed the Flock raiser crumble to the babies. Once they are old enough for the pellets, I feed the Flockraiser pellets.

 

[twinmama]

I have a mixed flock as well, which is why I use Flockraiser. All of the animals can eat it (chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys and peafowl) I feed the Flock raiser crumble to the babies. Once they are old enough for the pellets, I feed the Flockraiser pellets.

I'm thinking that once my youngest chicks are a bit older I'll switch entirely to the pellets, as it seems to have less waste. Do you offer additional calcium for your layers? I do feed all egg shells back to them, which they LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. When I dump a bowl of scraps on the compost pile, they go after the shells first and chase each other for them! I forgot to mention in my 1st response that I do give layer feed to my 3 who are laying, but now that all of the ages finally range together, I'm not sure what to do with them. I also have 3 more pullets who should be laying any day. I actually built their nest box yesterday after 1 of them squatted for me for the 1st time.

 

[kuntrygirl]

I have a mixed flock as well, which is why I use Flockraiser. All of the animals can eat it (chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys and peafowl) I feed the Flock raiser crumble to the babies. Once they are old enough for the pellets, I feed the Flockraiser pellets.

I'm thinking that once my youngest chicks are a bit older I'll switch entirely to the pellets, as it seems to have less waste. Do you offer additional calcium for your layers? I do feed all egg shells back to them, which they LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. When I dump a bowl of scraps on the compost pile, they go after the shells first and chase each other for them! I forgot to mention in my 1st response that I do give layer feed to my 3 who are laying, but now that all of the ages finally range together, I'm not sure what to do with them. I also have 3 more pullets who should be laying any day. I actually built their nest box yesterday after 1 of them squatted for me for the 1st time.

Yes, I do the same thing as you. I feed back the egg shells. I don't offer anything additional and I don't see any problems with soft egg shells

As far as the layer feed, I found that the layer feed actually decreases the egg production. I did an experiment and I stopped feeding Flock raiser for several weeks and switched to lay pellets and the egg production decreased. I then switched back to Flock raiser and the egg production increased. So, now they will be on Flockraiser for FOREVER.

 

[LilyAshley11]

I use starter with ducklings, but when they are adults, i use purina

 

[Missy60]

I use flock raiser also, but was told it had to much protein, so now I cut the protein with oats. My ducks were doing ok on the plain flock raiser and are still doing ok on it mixed with the oats. My ducks love mill worms and they are very high in protein so I thought the oats would be a good idea.