New Runner Ducks

[Wheeks]

My runner ducks should be here early next week, along with some new chicks. The ducks are a first for me and I'm getting conflicting information on what to feed them. What do others feed their runner ducks/ducks I'm general.

 

[cogoose]

18%-21% chick feed.
Congratulations on your ducks.
You're going to be a great duck mama/papa.

 

[Amiga]

Some ducks are sensitive to the relatively low amount of niacin in chick feed. Since for many, that is all that is available, adding a tablespoon of brewer's yeast (not baking yeast) per cup of food the first two months is the way to supplement. It also contains other B vitamins.

Storey's Guide suggests 100 to 150 mg niacin (plain, not no-flush, not timed-release) per gallon of drinking water.

A few people use Super B Complex.

Here is a good initial instruction link

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/750869/raising-and-caring-for-ducklings#post_10611711

I have Runners and Buffs. Love them.

Ducks are waterfowl and they have different water needs than do chickens.

Please look through these


https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/641902/created-a-water-saver-for-my-duck-brooder

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/679433/water-water-everywhere/10

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/858161/feed-water-solution-for-brooder#post_12901321

http://frankiemakes.blogspot.ca/2012/06/watering-solution-for-ducks.html

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/259876/do-your-ducks-have-water-at-night/10#post_13568197

post number 8 from this
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/959603/ducklings-getting-stuck-on-their-backs#post_14939819

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/969751/help-baby-ducklings#post_15125952

 

[Wheeks]

How long should they be on the chick feed for? I have a breakdown by certain week what to do for the chicks, but can't find anything for the ducklings. The food I have is 20% crumbles. Will start reading through those links now, thank you!

 

[Amiga]

Storey's Guide has some information on that - great resource. But the short answer is, between 2 and 3 weeks I started adding grower to the starter, in increasing quantities of grower, till there was no more starter and they were on 100% grower.

 

[Wheeks]

All I have found re: niacin is timed - release 250mg. Would that still be okay to use?

I'm torn which Storey book to get, I have chicks and ducks right now and I wonder if the poultry one is good overall for both or acquire two different books.

 

[Amiga]

There are some significant differences between chicks and ducklings, from what I have seen here (I don't have chicks).

If you cannot find plain niacin, I would then go for brewer's yeast (not baking yeast, brewer's yeast a nutritional supplement) or B Complex, and then base the dosage of the B Complex on the B3 (niacin) in it - in other words, enough to make for 100 to 150 mg niacin per gallon of water. The rest will be in balance with that.

 

[Wheeks]

Thank you Amiga for all of your help! The ducklings are doing great and I would say I'm a bit more partial of them than the chickens lol.

And I've now read different articles about when/what to feed next. I was planning on feeding a 15-16% chicken feed at 3 weeks but read somewhere that since the starter feed is.only 20% they should be fed it longer.

 

[Amiga]

At around 2 weeks I started adding grower/maintenance to the starter, and within a couple of weeks we had used up all the starter and they were on the grower.

 

[julesv86]

I have also read a lot of conflicting information on what to feed my runners. We got them at 2 weeks and gave them the crumble the woman gave us but then switched to pellets that we got at our feed store. They only had 22%starter and because it was a huge bag we went with the 18% grower pellets. We spent 2 days breaking them up into smaller pieces but now we're giving them in full size except the really long ones that i still break up (they are almost 3 weeks and one is 4 week) any thoughts??? They are finishing their bowl twice a day (a little less than before when they were on the starter.