Tell me about oatmeal

[Stoney Meadow Maple]

I hear people talk about giving their ducks oatmeal, i see rolled oats at the feed store, are these served wet? Dry? As a treat ? As a supplement?
I had wondered about giving it to them hot in the evening with their peas, i dunno why I guess it sounds fun and perhaps my Harlequins would get involved. I know i like oatmeal, but i have mine with maple syrup not peas, maybe ducks are different?

 

[ruthhope]

Try it warm with peas and see how they like it!

 

[Stoney Meadow Maple]

Can i over do it? They have access to all flock all the time so…

 

[KaleIAm]

My understanding is that you can overdo it, and oats should be fed as a treat since they aren't nutritionally complete.

I used to allow my ducklings to eat oatmeal from my bowl. I just boiled mine with water, put a little fresh home made almond milk on it, and a few diced strawberries. My baby ducks thought it was awesome, but I was careful to let them have just a few bites each.

 

[Weeg]

Sometimes I've heard that people add oatmeal to the feed to lower the protein if angle wing is an issue. Unless thats an issue for you, make sure its only fed as a treat. My ducks and chicken love it in the winter!
I like to add dried herbs to it to make myself feel like its somewhat nutritious. I usually make my own little oat/herb mix for them when I feed it, they seem to like it!

 

[fatty and friends]

i give mine oatmeal as a treat and they love it! not more than a couple times a month, but i just make it with oats and water then add whatever treat i’m giving them at that time

 

[NatJ]

I had wondered about giving it to them hot in the evening with their peas, i dunno why I guess it sounds fun

You could use their normal duck food, and add warm water. That would probably be easier and more nutritious than using oatmeal, and you won't need to buy & store another bag of stuff. (Will they like it? I don't know for sure, but if you try it once or twice I'm sure you will know the answer!)

 

[ruthhope]

Can i over do it? They have access to all flock all the time so…

Yes, as peas and oatmeal are not nutritionally complete. It's often said in this forum that treats should be limited to 10% of ducks' diet. Mine free range and I have no idea what they are eating all day. They rarely come back to the coop for food during the day. When it comes to peas, two of mine know when they have had enough. The third would eat a whole packet given the chance. With my son's 3 Pekins, they will all eat a whole packet and still be begging for more, but his muscovy knows when she has had elegant sufficient!

 

[Stoney Meadow Maple]

I think I will give it a try to see how my Harlequins react, they get 2 scoops of peas between 8 ducks every night, so I don't think it will be a major issue in terms of too much, while they do slow down on feed intake, they get mealworms in the morning both as a treat and to offset the lousy forage in the winter. they get 18% all flock free fed all day and night, I feel like they get all the opportunity they need to get the good stuff.