Newbie seeking food suggestions

[Quackalack]

Hi, I just adopted three male ducks with the main intention of letting them eat all the slugs in my garden. Right now it's pretty cold though and not many slugs to be found. I got a standard crumbly duck food, mealworm treats and wheat berries to sprout for fodder. However, I hate the crumbles! I have it in an open container and their water is also in a shallow bucket. They like to go back and forth between their food and water which then gets the food all soggy and they don't like it anymore and ask for more! Are there any other options for foods that don't get soggy but still give them a complete nutrition? Is fodder an adequate food source on its own? And is it possible for them to eat too many slugs?

Thanks!

 

[indianaducks]

I feed pellets (I use a variety depending on what's available and how the ducks are doing). It seems to cut down on the mess a bit. I also make sure the food is farther away from the water so that the water dripping can lessen before they make it back to drip in their food.

I only use crumble for ducklings. Once they move outside, they get pellets.

 

[DukesDucks]

My 10 Muscovy duck get free access to duck pellets, from a feeder, in their run all day. Same for their water source, and as indianaducks said, the water is not close to the feed. With freezing temperatures here, I replace the water twice a day.
Treats, such as meal worms, are treats not a food source. My 10 get 1/2 cup dried meal worms once a week. If you use the search function, you can find other treats for ducks. It will be trial-an-error as to which your' will like. Mine will not eat a pea although seems many others love them. I do the wheat sprouts which the ducks don't like but the chickens and peacocks do.
You didn't say what kind of ducks you got. With no intention of being rude, I hope you did lots of research before you got them. If you think the food is messy, just wait until you give them a kiddie pool. Because I live in a very cold area, mine only have a pool from about May to Sept. This means their water source must be deep enough for them to dunk their whole head.
Please read about housing, runs, and predator proofing. If you intention is for slug control in a garden, you could also do some research on free-ranging.
Enjoy them. My ducks make me smile every day.

 

[fatty and friends]

mazuri and kalmbach are the best for ducks, i personally use kalmbach since one of my girls won’t eat mazuri. but mazuri is floatable in water so may be less messy lol

 

[Quackalack]

Thanks all! They are Anconas and for now I have them in an 8'x16' run that has some predator proofing but I need to improve the top cover as I think coyotes could get in if they really tried. They go in a 3'x4' box at night that is covered on all sides but they don't like that so I'm hoping to secure their run a little better so we can try keeping them out. I don't mind the mess per se, just hoping for less waste. I will look into the pellets and the floating ones suggested, I think they will enjoy that! I do change their bucket daily, or twice depending on how messy or if it freezes. Luckily our below freezing weather only lasts a day or so.

 

[ruthhope]

Thanks all! They are Anconas and for now I have them in an 8'x16' run that has some predator proofing but I need to improve the top cover as I think coyotes could get in if they really tried. They go in a 3'x4' box at night that is covered on all sides but they don't like that so I'm hoping to secure their run a little better so we can try keeping them out. I don't mind the mess per se, just hoping for less waste. I will look into the pellets and the floating ones suggested, I think they will enjoy that! I do change their bucket daily, or twice depending on how messy or if it freezes. Luckily our below freezing weather only lasts a day or so.

The run is a good size and it is good that you will predator proof it. However, the box is barely large enough for 3 drakes--that maybe why they don't like it!! Each drake needs a minimum of4 square feet at night. My coop is 4x8 and currently houses 3 drakes. My son's is 4x8 and currently houses 4 ducks.

 

[Quackalack]

The run is a good size and it is good that you will predator proof it. However, the box is barely large enough for 3 drakes--that maybe why they don't like it!! Each drake needs a minimum of4 square feet at night. My coop is 4x8 and currently houses 3 drakes. My son's is 4x8 and currently houses 4 ducks.

Thanks! I'll focus on redoing the roof tomorrow and if I don't have time tomorrow, I'll expand the coop on the weekend!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I don’t know all the predators you have but if you have coyotes you probably have raccoon, weasel, mink and foxes all love to dine on duck. Please predator proof the sides too if it’s open fencing because raccoons will reach in and grab and try to pull a duck through the fence. Not a pretty sight to come out too.

 

[Quackalack]

I don’t know all the predators you have but if you have coyotes you probably have raccoon, weasel, mink and foxes all love to dine on duck. Please predator proof the sides too if it’s open fencing because raccoons will reach in and grab and try to pull a duck through the fence. Not a pretty sight to come out too.

We do have raccoons and possums so the sides will be extra secured as well before I let them stay out at night. I have cameras and motion lights so I know when they come around, too. The raccoons are pretty skittish and one came by very early this morning but got scared when the light popped on! The ducks were in their coop so they were safe.

 

[bhaugh]

Because of wild birds in my yard, my duck feed sits at the bottom of a bucket of water. I feed what they will consume in about 15-30 minutes. Such messy eaters they are and the wild birds have to wait for any sloppy feed that's left