New duck owner unsure what to feed them

[MotherofOrpies]

Hello, I just got a 3 year old pair of Hungarian ducks from a friend who has quit keeping ducks and chickens, she used to feed them free leftover stuff from a chinese take out and some chicken scratch, I would really like to give them a balanced diet ( I also don’t have a chinese take out nearby which gives me freebies) but when I tried to give them quality duck feed, they didn’t like it, even when I mixed it up with freshly ground up fish ...any ideas how to get them to like the duck feed , or what to give them as a balanced diet which will not break (my) bank and they will like it?!
They have got a tub of fresh water and some gras, I intend to let them out after they get used to sleeping in their duck house ( right now, I have to “put them to bed” every day) , the first day” they didn’t get it, so I had to catch them and put them in myself, ever since that , I have been the “bad person”

 

[room onthebroom]

Hello, I just got a 3 year old pair of Hungarian ducks from a friend who has quitt keeping ducks and chickens, she used to feed them free leftover stuff from a chinese take out and some chicken scratch, I would really like to give them a balanced diet ( I also don’t have a chinese take out nearby which gives me freebies) but when I tried to give them quality duck feed, they didn’t like it, even when I mixed it up with freshly ground up fish ...any ideas how to get them to like the duck feed , or what to give them as a balanced diet which will not break (my) bank and they will like it?!
They have got a tub of fresh water and some gras, I intend to let them out after they get used to sleeping in their duck house ( right now, I have to “put them to bed” every day) , the first day” they didn’t get it, so I had to catch them and put them in myself, ever since that , I have been the “bad person”

Keep giving them just the duck food (no snacks for now) & they will start eating it. It will be much healthier for them than what they’ve been getting from their old owner.

It usually takes me about 4 frustrating nights to get a new duck into the habit of going in the coop. I don’t try to catch them. I lead them with my walking stick. I don’t ever touch them with the stick, I just use it as a guide to herd them in the right direction.

Also ducks have better vision than chickens do & will stay out a little later. Its very frustrating to be out practically in the dark herding them, but keep up the good work & they will eventually get it.

 

[MotherofOrpies]

Ok, thxs, the thing is, my chickens do not eat crumbles, they prefer eating each others feathers ( after 3 days of starving, cos, no , crumbles are NOT edible ) than eating crumbles , so I am afraid the ducks will take after the chickens

 

[room onthebroom]

What about layer pellets? My ducks prefer pellets over crumble.

 

[MotherofOrpies]

I did put layer pellets into the ground fish, either, they didn’t like the fish, or the pellets , there were also oats mixed in, the previous owner said they loved rolled oats, but obviously not with fish or layer pellets

 

[room onthebroom]

It’s going to take some time to undo the bad habits of the last owner. Imagine if you were raised on Mc Donald’s then someone tried to give you broccoli. If there is nothing offered but duck food they will start to eat it. Just give it a few days.

 

[MotherofOrpies]

Ok, I am worried, cos they haven’t really eaten anything the past 2 days, I did collect a jar of snail at their old home and fed them on sunday and monday, but nothing else has really passed their bills since then

 

[neo71665]

You have to break the bad habits and retrain them. If they are all hens layer pellets are fine.

 

[MotherofOrpies]

They are a pair

 

[SolarDuck]

They are a pair

Does the hen have some of her neck feathers pulled out? Kind of looks like she does in that 3rd pic. If she does that is a sign of over mating and you will need to get more female ducks