Soft Duck eggs

[tbitt]

I have 2 female Pekin mix ducks, one female has quit laying a while ago but the little female (I call her little momma) still lays an egg EVERY day. I have noticed that her eggs are not as strong/thick shelled as they used to be.

They free range all day long and when we lock them up at night we feed them a chicken layer feed. (supposedly acceptable for ducks also. purchased from Farm and Fleet)



What should I get to help supplement our ducks feed?



Or is there a proven all in one product that I should get?

 

[ducks_rcool329]

Quote:
Read the feed label that is attached to the bag, it will list every species it can be fed too. It could be that they are not getting enough or they are getting to much protein. I personally feed my ducks Nutrena Meat-Bird Grower, its has 18% protein, and can be fed to just about any poultry ( Including ducks and chickens), and I'v never had a problem with soft eggs, and they lay every day.

As far as supplementation goes, you could put a 1 part cracked corn to 3 parts feed to add more protein. or just give it to them as a treat, they love it!

Hope that helps

 

[duckluck]

I'd give them a brand name duck or game bird feed personally and supplement with oyster shell free choice.

 

[Oregon Blues]

That's probably a calcium deficiency. It takes a lot of calcium to manufacture an egg shell every day.

I suggest that you buy a bag of oyster shell and put a bowl of it out where the birds can access it. It's not spoiled by weather, so it can just set out.

 

[tbitt]

Where do you find the Oyster shells? Do regular feed stores sell it?


I think I am going to change the feed to a duck feed, I just found out that one of the local stores sells feed for just waterfowl. I think this will help.

I guess I can ask her if she sells oyster shells, but if not, then where is another place to look?



Thanks for the replies!!

 

[ducks_rcool329]

Quote:
Our PetCO ( or it might be Petsmart) has them in the bird isle. But i ahve not seen them in other stores. You could always just call and ask them.

 

[tbitt]

I did not even think of PetCo/PetSmart.... I never shop there so I have no clue what they carry.

Thanks for the info, they are convenient for me to get to - and that is saying a lot!

 

[Amiga]

One of my ducks had a calcium deficiency and we are giving her Neocalglucon which we got from the vet. The dosage is based on her weight, so it's heavy duty supplementation.

The rest of the flock - just to be on the safe side - is getting some calcium gluconate in the evening.

My guess is that since they forage around the garden, they may have gotten into something that blocks calcium uptake. I have also shifted their diet, and suspect that the duck may not be eating the oyster shell. It could be a number of things. Ducks react slightly differently to some circumstances. Most everybody else is doing fine, and there's one iffy possible case aside from the diagnosed patient.

Clean eggshells can be ground up and given to the ducks in their feed, I have been told. Also dandelion greens are supposed to have calcium. There are poultry vitamins that may help, too.

 

[tbitt]

My ducks can not get into our garden..but they can get into the corn and bean fields..... I wonder if anything out there is causing this? Goodness I hope not, I'd hate to restrict their foraging.

If giving them better feed and some shells does not help, I might have to consider that.