Recipes for homemade duck food

[nayeli]

All those "chemical" names are the vitamins and minerals.

If you mix your own grain, you will need to add a vitamin mineral supplement and then you will have the same "chemical" names in your home made food.

All of the home grown veggies are really good for them, but not a complete diet.

I get my feed from a local mill that uses whole grain, plus the vit/mineral. There are no mill ends or hulls or spent anything. So if you look around, you might be able to find something where you like the ingredients.

Don't forget to add calcium, phosphorus, vit D if anyone in your flock is laying.

How do they survive in the wild then? WIthout Purina etc? It should definately be an option to make a "home made" duck feed.

 

[Speceider]

How do they survive in the wild then? WIthout Purina etc? It should definately be an option to make a "home made" duck feed.

Maybe they can survive in the wild because their daily travels to find food often exceed 50+ miles....captive ducks ate limited to what, maybe 500 feet if they are lucky to find a balanced diet day-in-day out?

Clint

 

[nayeli]

@Speceider If something can grow within 50 miles of me I can grow it here! Not to mention she is asking how to MAKE a balanced diet meaning she would grow/procure ingredients.

I wasn't trying to be nasty but I don't like people saying that there is NO way to healthily NATURALLY feed birds, where if you make feed yourself they need additional synthetic chemicals.

 

[nayeli]

@Speceider this should contain what you asked for http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/poulsci/tech_manuals/feeding_ducks.html

To the Author of this thread here is a recipe made by a dietician that should be good http://www.beksbackyard.com/2013/04/how-to-make-your-own-homemade-duck-feed.html#.U2egUvldXDY

 

[Speceider]

Can you grow enough of ALL the different foods they need? You were commenting on wild birds finding food....

Clint

 

[nayeli]

My comment on wild birds finding food was that they find NATURAL food, meaning they don't need synthetic chemicals in addition.

 

[nayeli]

I'm sorry, you misunderstood.

 

[Doctor Pammie]

Wow, I came here looking for the same information and am very disappointed by the nastiness of the comments without any help being offered. Not all of us want to continue feeding pellets, which have been processed. I guess I'll have to head out to the wider web to see what I can find. Would love to hear from the OP what she finally decided to try.

 

[Amiga]

Doctor Pammie,

This archived thread is indeed an unpleasant first taste of what the Duck Forum can offer. And it is not representative of probably 90% of what is here. I send you a PM with some information I have collected over the last few years.

Anyone else reading this - please feel free to start a thread asking for information you need - I expect you will see a better result.

 

[swarm]

I came here looking for the same sort of information but specifically for ducklings. I can find plenty f recipes in books for feeding adult ducks The Resilient Gardener has the information that feels the most comfortable to me.

we had to take a duckling to the vet today thinking he had foot curling but the vet says it is a fracture and caused by a calcium deficiency and to not make little shoes for him. The duckling is already looking better on his own and the vet said he had already half healed which certainly seems to be true. The vet also said we need to feed them different food though and I can't find any food online that seems to be the right food. I will call the vet in the morning to get more information because it was the husband that took our duckling in and it is seeming like there may have been some miscommunication. the veterinarian did say that duckweed makes very good food for baby ducks and grown up ducks and I have some in my pond.

in The Resilient Gardener it says that potatoes can be part of a ducks diet and that they work well. Potatoes and plenty of bugs and the ducks have littler interest in any pre-made feed whether purchased or homemade. that has me pondering raising bugs for when they can't forage enough to find plenty and growing potatoes. that is for when my ducklings grow up though.