New duck mom

[pookeyjo]

Hey everyone. We are brand new to ducks. We just picked up Pekins last night at not even 12 to 24 hours new. We do have quite a few chickens, but my daughter wanted a few ducks to show for 4h. I am so confused. I have read that medicated chick starter food is bad for ducklings, but others have told me that is exactly what they feed to their ducklings along with yeast with no issues. Is this really a big deal to feed them medicated chick starter feed with yeast? We are so excited for our new journey, but we want to be sure our babies are getting the correct nutrients and feed they need to thrive. Thank you so much. This group has been SO helpful in the past.

 

[casportpony]

Welcome to BYC. Medicated feed containing amprolium is perfectly safe for ducklings, but most feeds containing amprolium do not enough niacin and some of the amino acids that ducklings need. I suggest switching your ducklings the a feed labeled for ducklings.

 

[BelovedBirds]

Hey everyone. We are brand new to ducks. We just picked up Pekins last night at not even 12 to 24 hours new. We do have quite a few chickens, but my daughter wanted a few ducks to show for 4h. I am so confused. I have read that medicated chick starter food is bad for ducklings, but others have told me that is exactly what they feed to their ducklings along with yeast with no issues. Is this really a big deal to feed them medicated chick starter feed with yeast? We are so excited for our new journey, but we want to be sure our babies are getting the correct nutrients and feed they need to thrive. Thank you so much. This group has been SO helpful in the past.

Welcome to BYC!! Congrats on your new ducks!! How old are they?

Medicated chick starter is safe, contrary to a lot of opinions, personally I preferred to use non medicated, but its up to you and what is available.
Ideally duckling specific feed would be better- If the feed is meant for chicks it won't have the correct levels of niacin. But you can safely use chick feed as long as supplemented with niacin.
The yeast you've heard used Is nutritional yeast, or brewers yeast. (No other kind of bread yeast or anything like that, nutritional or brewers only.)
Nutritional yeast is what I use, it's rich in niacin, 1 tbsp per cup of feed. Possibly a little extra for pekins, especially since its chick feed. I'd do 1.5 tbsp To be on the safe side.

This will provide the vitamins they need to grow and thrive

 

[pookeyjo]

Welcome to BYC!! Congrats on your new ducks!! How old are they?

Medicated chick starter is safe, contrary to a lot of opinions, personally I preferred to use non medicated, but its up to you and what is available.
Ideally duckling specific feed would be better- If the feed is meant for chicks it won't have the correct levels of niacin. But you can safely use chick feed as long as supplemented with niacin.
The yeast you've heard used Is nutritional yeast, or brewers yeast. (No other kind of bread yeast or anything like that, nutritional or brewers only.)
Nutritional yeast is what I use, it's rich in niacin, 1 tbsp per cup of feed. Possibly a little extra for pekins, especially since its chick feed. I'd do 1.5 tbsp To be on the safe side.

This will provide the vitamins they need to grow and thrive

Perfect. They are just a day old. I have Brewers yeast coming any day. I will stick with the medicated and see how that works. Thanks for the ratios.

 

[bhaugh]

If I remember right medicated feed prevents some nutrients from absorbing correctly. I personally don’t use medicated feed as ducks don’t seem as prone to the same diseases chickens get.

 

[Larafamilychickens]

Welcome to BYC!! Congrats on your new ducks!! How old are they?

Medicated chick starter is safe, contrary to a lot of opinions, personally I preferred to use non medicated, but its up to you and what is available.
Ideally duckling specific feed would be better- If the feed is meant for chicks it won't have the correct levels of niacin. But you can safely use chick feed as long as supplemented with niacin.
The yeast you've heard used Is nutritional yeast, or brewers yeast. (No other kind of bread yeast or anything like that, nutritional or brewers only.)
Nutritional yeast is what I use, it's rich in niacin, 1 tbsp per cup of feed. Possibly a little extra for pekins, especially since its chick feed. I'd do 1.5 tbsp To be on the safe side.

This will provide the vitamins they need to grow and thrive

I also just got some ducks and this is exactly what I was looking for! I could not find duck crumbles and All Flock does not contain Niacin.

 

[Luv Ducks]

They do make non medicated Chick Food here where I live and it is crumbles. I have used it before with no problems but have always steered away from the medicated since Chicks have different medical problems than ducks do. I just never wanted to chance it and mine have always been healthy with the Duck starter or Chick starter if I could not find the one for Ducks. Good luck with your little ones.

 

[Aki no niwatori]

Another way to give them some niacin in small amounts is peas. They love them as treats and is a great way to bond with them. just make sure they don't eat anything but peas though. Sweet potatoes and mealworms are good supplements as well. These are more as supplements than a replacement.

 

[Luv Ducks]

Another way to give them some niacin in small amounts is peas. They love them as treats and is a great way to bond with them. just make sure they don't eat anything but peas though. Sweet potatoes and mealworms are good supplements as well. These are more as supplements than a replacement.

I took a handful of peas out to my Call Ducks yesterday that normally ate them in the past and they turned their bills up at them. I was surprised as they are in drake jail right now and I figured they'd love something besides their regular flock raiser feed. Picky little Mafia boys, lol.