Mum wants a duck egg

[Weirdness555]

Is there not a specific food that we could add to their diet? I was reading about it and it was geared to humans but something like peas which are high in vit B3?

 

[Zombified]

Ducklings really shouldn't be eating anything but their bagged feed (unless you make your own) for the first couple weeks of their life.

Bleh, I wish someone more experienced would comment lol. The five that I have are my first ducks, so I can't really give you detailed information or the whys and hows.

 

[Weirdness555]

Hmm, that seams odd too... I mean mama duck wouldn't be giving them chick starter crumbs either :/ I'm sorry, I don't mean to disbelieve anything you say, it's just that when you research new pets you always get some advice which is just, lets say overzealous, like you should clean a hamster cage every week, so I like to compare to the wild situation, and sometimes there are reasonable adjustments to the wild conditions, like with fish water changes are important because they produce waste that is diluted in a wild environment but in a small tank it needs to be removed, but sometimes it's best for the animal (and easier for the owner) if you just emulate their wild conditions. Like our quail, a lot of people swear that they should be kept off the ground in wire bottomed cages, because otherwise the poo is unmanageable and the ammonia build up is bad for the birds, but we keep ours on the ground and provide them with more space, and poo has never been an issue, because they are in near-wild conditions.

I hope this explains why I am being so dismissive when I asked for advice, please don't be offended.

 

[Zombified]

No, I definitely understand what you're saying, and in many cases, I do agree. My dog, for example, doesn't eat packaged kibble.

But, I have yet to find anything solid for ducks, and it's honestly just easier to feed them a good-quality duckling crumble until they're outside. My ducks also aren't free-ranging ducks, so I'm unable to just allow them to eat what they can outside. They'd starve, lol. A lot of people DO free-range, but when you first get ducklings, they're more likely to perish if you just let them free-range before they get in their feathers. After that, they're capable of going outside and free-ranging and practicing a more wild-like behavior.


EDIT:
Also, just to add, keeping them in houses isn't really "natural" either. I mean, take dogs. They wild cousins don't give each other cookies, put collars and leashes on them, or use metal prongs for discipline. There will always be something NOT wild that we're going to do that they wouldn't do in the wild. That's just what happens when we humans decide to domesticate an animal.

I do agree that we should cater to their immune systems and their digestive systems as best we can. I believe that in the wild, they eat these vitamin-rich foods, which is why they don't need to supplement. When we raise them indoors(which is advised for the above reasons) they don't get all these extra things, so we have to supplement that. For us, it was easier to supplement them rather than getting the foods that would have contained all this goodness.

 

[Weirdness555]

I was never going to chuck them outside in their baby down LOL

I just find that sometimes nature's way of getting vitamins into animals is best, so if they need extra vit B3 then why not give them food with high vit B3? It must work or all wild ducks would have deformed legs. I'm just a little mistrusting of artificial supplements

 

[Zombified]

Aha, don't worry, I am, too. I use Solaray, which is a very well-reputable company that sells vitamins. Not sure if they can ship to where you are, however. That might have to be something you'd have to look up.

 

[Weirdness555]

I guess someone here will sell them, getting hold if it probably won't be a problem, but I'd be worried about giving them something that contained something toxic to ducks :/

 

[Zombified]

Yeah, I understand. I try not to use any supplements like that, either, but as I said, Solaray is reputable.

 

[Weirdness555]

Since calls might be a bit of a challenge to hatch, does anyone know anything about silver appleyards? There are a lot of those round here, mostly mini ones? How are they to hatch, and keep?