Medicated Chick Starter *Mildly Panicking* Help*

[HillbillyRose79]

Got four Rouen Ducklings Saturday. I have been feeding them the same as my Chicks and just read all of the horrible things that I could be doing to their bodies with it. We live pretty far out of town and I need an alternative food source for the next 24hrs. I have these other options on hand : Layena and scratch. Is there anything I can make for them until I get to town tomorrow?

 

[Rosie42892]

Can you tell us what type of medication is in the feed? Although it is not ideal, only certain types of medicated feeds are considered harmful. There are some people who have had no problem.

 

[HillbillyRose79]

The label reads Amprolium 0.0125%

 

[Amiga]

Some duck people say that the amprolium is not a problem for ducklings. If you don't want to feed that for one more day, you could grind up some of the Layena and hardboil an egg and mash that into it.

I think I might just let them eat the medicated for another day, but I cannot really say, since I am not that fond of the idea of medicated feed for ducklings (I understand it for the chicks). Certainly they need to eat good food. I would avoid the scratch. Not much there except calories.

 

[HillbillyRose79]

Thank you, I feel better knowing I haven't sentenced them to death or harm. Any recommendations on what I should buy for them tomorrow? Obviously I should have gotten on here a bit sooner, had no idea they were so different from chicks

 

[aprille218]

Duck starter or unmedicated gamebird starter. It's higher in protein than chick food.

 

[Rosie42892]

I would say it is safe to feed the unmedicated for one more day. I feed Purina Flock Raiser 20% Protein until they are 3 weeks old, then I cut the protein down with rolled oats. My ducklings are strong, active, and looking great!

 

[HillbillyRose79]

Thank you all for your responses, I will get these babies the proper food

 

[jdywntr]

As stated, the medicated feed is fine for your ducklings but since it protects against coccidia and ducklings rarely have a problem with it, it is unnecessary to feed it to them.

Unmedicated starter, Flock Raiser, or other starters mentioned will work. Be careful of protein level (some starters like broiler and turkey are REALLY high) ducklings only need 18-20% protein for the first 2 weeks and then the level can be lowered as they age. If you can get Flock Raiser or another feed made for different ages/species of poultry/waterfowl then you could keep them on that for good.