Laying pellets causing drakes to be sterile ?? *confused*

[Feathered Wings]

I posted a thread on the Duck forum about my Calls laying and i got a response to not feed them Layer year round because it would make my Drakes sterile.

The person that answered my post said to feed them corn to get them to stop laying and he said he fed his flock raiser when they weren't laying
Isn't flock raiser kind of like the all stock i see at TSC it has like 14% protien and is basically not very nutritional??

Can anyone help me to understand this i was told to feed the Call ducklings layer pellets by the gentleman i got them from back in july and he shows and breeds them.
I have a older white pair i also got from the breeder and they laid and raised 7 ducklings so i know the drake is not sterile.

This has just perplexed and worried me and i would really like some input and links to this information on not feeding layer pellets.

 

[Le Canard de Barbarie]

Quote:
There is a lot of misinformation on this site. Some people who give advice have never even owned a duck, and others may have only one or two.

The extra calcium found in layer pellets will not make your drakes sterile. The extra calcium won't be metabolized.

 

[Dances with Ducks]

I wondered about layer pellets causing sterility after I read that post, so I did a google search just to see if anything came up. I couldn't find anything so unless someone can come up with some good information on this I'm guessing it's just another one of those rumors that gets circulated as truth. Drakes get fed layer so often I would think people would notice if it was having this effect.
I do suspect the corn might have an effect on duck metabolism that sorta relates to what the poster described, but I can't back that up with any facts gleaned from my searches either.

 

[Mrs. Turbo]

who gave you that advice?????

It does not cause them to be sterile and it will not hurt them to feed it year round, it is just not recommended because the call ducks are seasonal layers and do not need the extra calcium.....but now is the time to start building up the calcium with layer pellets because they will start laying in a couple months.
Be careful not to feed them too much corn. If they are too fat during breeding season they do not breed well and you will have problems with eggbound.

 

[ChickenCop]

Probably some guy named Jerry ....i just know him at turbo...LOL

 

[nettie]

Pretty much the only thing feeding layer pellets to your drakes will do is make their toe nails grow really long... lol

Oh, but you shouldn't feed drake oyster shells, obviously... That can give them kidney damage because that is way too much calcium.... (so don't mix it in their feed, but rather give it as a free choice)

 

[Le Canard de Barbarie]

Quote:
Where did you get this information from? Why would you say something like this? Nails are made of the protein keratin, and have 800 times less calcium than bones.

Calcium Supplements Do Not Help Nails

 

[goosedragon]

There is more B.S. than truth on this board when it comes to nutrition! True female mammals and birds require more calcium than males for milk/egg production otherwise it is removed from the bones which act as a Calcium store house. But excess calcium in the diet is just excreted by both males and females. True if your birds are too fat they will not breed well but it makes no difference if the fat is produced by corn or peas or any other treat. A good layer ration is usually just slightly better than a maintenance ration the big difference is in the calcium in the layer, both SHOULD have everything that a bird needs. There is a theory among old-timers that the new feeds without protein from an animal source do not promote breeding as well as animal protein does so they will supplement the feed with things like fish meal or oil. Keep in mind that to produce fertile hatching eggs both the male and female need to be in great health, layer feed is formulated for the females to lay eggs. The commercial farmers that produce the eggs for hatcheries have done research and do use animal supplements and that allows them to cut back on Soy products which are believed to be part of the problem with feed made with no animal protein. Most small flock owners find that dry cat food with animal protein makes a suitable and handy supplement for breeders of both sexes.

 

[Feathered Wings]

Quote:
WOW! Thanks to all that has posted info you have no idea how this has eased my mind.
I'm new to call ducks as of July of this year and have read every post on BYC about them and learned a great deal.

But the person telling me to do all the switching feed really concerned me i have never heard that before.
I got my Calls from this site and visited the breeder and he showed me what he fed them so i followed his instructions.

Goose Dragon when should i feed the cat food and how often

 

[kawonu]

I feed my calls layer feed year round. I do supplement them with kelp and fish oil. I give oyster shells in a separate bowl. I have NO problems with fertility at all. They lay fertile eggs from late January to about July with no problems at all.