Riddle me this (food and poop)

[loofa]

So when we first got ducks I did a bunch of reading about feed, and decided to feed my ducks Mazuri as it was highly recommended by so many people (here and elsewhere). I give them calcium on the side, they have a large green foraging area with lots of slugs and grubs, and I give them garden greens. They have always for the most part had pretty watery poops.
This week we ran out of Mazuri before the delivery of more so I went to a local farm store and got them cheap Flock Raiser pellets to tide them over until the next bag of Mazuri gets here.
Today I noticed that my ducks poops are much more well formed than usual.
Seriously? the cheap food that's not recommended on any of the serious duck feeing discussions I've seen gave them better poops?

What do you all make of this?

I'm planning to do a bit of experimenting - keep them on Flock Raiser for a handful of days and see if they continue to have better poops, then maybe mix the Flock Raiser with the Mazuri and see - because I do want them to have the nutrient goodness of the Mazuri that everyone sings about.

 

[KaleIAm]

That's fascinating. My vets told me to feed Mazuri, so I do - but I don't know how much nutritional education they have or where they got their information. I wonder if the new food you are using could have a less complete nutritional profile, and still have more stool forming ingredients (like grains.) I'm just speculating. Or maybe it is actually better. More formed duck poop would be great.

 

[loofa]

That's fascinating.

I'm so happy that someone else finds my duck poop changes fascinating

 

[Pollo Blanco]

No such thing as better duck poops

Color from blonde (grain based duck food), green from foliage, black from slugs and insects.

Texture from sand castle, (grain based non natural sack foods) to wet greasy from insects and plants.

The best duck poops are the ones in the garden pond that you pour over your garden.

Rhubarb with a 50 pound dog for size comparison

 

[loofa]

No such thing as better duck poops

Color from blonde (grain based duck food), green from foliage, black from slugs and insects.

Texture from sand castle, (grain based non natural sack foods) to wet greasy from insects and plants.

Okay, so what you are saying is that their poop being watery is not an indication that anything is amiss, but rather just a reflection of what they are eating? As in, the Mazuri food is indeed nutritionally better even if they are having watery poops on it? More solid poops are not indicative of better digestion?

 

[Isaac 0]

There is a range of what duck droppings should look like, and what is abnormal; the range of normal can vary from solid droppings to loose droppings depending on water, and feed intake, and various other factors.
Just because the droppings look different does not indicate the feed is of any less quality.
Besides feed, and water intake, other issues such as stress, heat, egg-laying, can affect how droppings look.
I would not look at watery droppings from a duck as I would from a cat/ or dog.
I think I recall some members saying that Mazuri will make the fecal matter looser ( the reason I have no clue), there are some obvious differences in the feed, but I think you will find most veterinarians recommend the Mazuri as it is highly formulated for waterfowl.

 

[Pollo Blanco]

Okay, so what you are saying is that their poop being watery is not an indication that anything is amiss, but rather just a reflection of what they are eating? As in, the Mazuri food is indeed nutritionally better even if they are having watery poops on it? More solid poops are not indicative of better digestion?

My description of duck poops is based on eleven months of observing fourteen ducks. They have been in a 480sqft natural run over the last two weeks, but once I get my eagle problems under control, they will go back to having acreage to forage on again.

Sack food is a compromise for birds that cannot forage under any circumstances, like factory farms.

Ducks are insectavores that also eat weeds and other plants.

Ducks also pee out of their vent tubes, but it's not always obvious