Topic of the Week - Feeding Ducks

[chickens really]

I do like the idea of sprouting grains and sunflower seeds...Great greens for Chickens and Ducks...

 

[Miss Lydia]

No one said it is needed but I have had a good experience using it with my flock so I keep it up if I didn't see it was beneficial I would not go to the trouble of making it up.

If someone mentions they would like to try it with their birds I'll give them some links about it and let them make up their own minds on if they want to feed it or not just not come out and not say it isn't good for our birds. Or you have to feed FF because this is what I think.

 

[chickens really]

No one said it is needed but I have had a good experience using it with my flock so I keep it up if I didn't see it was beneficial I would not go to the trouble of making it up.

If someone mentions they would like to try it with their birds I'll give them some links about it and let them make up their own minds on if they want to feed it or not just not come out and not say it isn't good for our birds. Or you have to feed FF because this is what I think.

same goes with saying it's beneficial...

 

[Crazy lady 2]

Your talking Ducks right?..Not Pigs?

Lol yes Ducks, I don't always sight in sorry, late response but yes Ducks, female has 8 eggs right now, hasn't started brooding yet, this is her second batch I collected the others because of her first lay

 

[Crazy lady 2]

I have no idea what fermented feed is, but try dry cat food for ducks, they love it, and boil spaghetti, I have two ducks, they eat a pound of spaghetti in a weeks time I refrigerate in plastic bag, they eat just about anything I give them, and are very healthy

 

[Miss Lydia]

same goes with saying it's beneficial...

It is beneficial to me to feed to my birds.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ter-easy-fermented-feed-method-w-video.65375/
lots of good info on nutritional reasons for feeding FF.

 

[Patrick McKee]

No one said it is needed but I have had a good experience using it with my flock so I keep it up if I didn't see it was beneficial I would not go to the trouble of making it up.

If someone mentions they would like to try it with their birds I'll give them some links about it and let them make up their own minds on if they want to feed it or not just not come out and not say it isn't good for our birds. Or you have to feed FF because this is what I think.

chickens really has valid points. miss lydia has valid points. we all have opinions and they are all worthy of merit. There is a common thread here...we all love our birds and want to do the very best for them. I realize this may be a somewhat long post, but this is important to me and I have researched the heck out of this topic.

For ease of raising your flock, fermenting feed is not the way to go. As the only source of feed, fermented feed is not the way to go. As part of a balanced and healthful Home Duck diet, fermented feed has its uses, albeit not as the only source of feed.

There is science to support the claim that fermenting feed releases more nutrients and makes more of the good stuff bio-available, however, as stated in several studies, a simple wet mash can increase bio-availability so the only true benefit to FF is the probiotic and increased digestion health and reduction of bad bacteria in the digestive tract.

https://scratchcradle.wordpress.com/2012/09/22/science-of-fermented-feed/

Fermenting feed is being used in the large poultry farms to reduce the instance of salmonella and Campylobacter without resorting to antibiotics.

Here is my goto daily drivers. Dry mash as the foundation. Wet mash as a supplemental. FF as a treat and a medication when they are sick. Free range and veggies as needed.

Now that I have perfected the methods Miss Lydia and others pointed me to, my ff comes out perfect and they will eat the whole plate like it was watermelon. It is also very easy to make a batch every day. Remember one of the most beneficial pieces of advice for new duck owners is the addition of some Apple Cider Vinegar with the Mother to their babies water to help them grow strong.

That mother, is fermentation. Lots of good bacteria.

Fermenting feed is not scary science, but it is science. Some people are uncomfortable with science and the processes and procedures and that is OK, It is not mandatory to feed FF and no one should advocate doing something that makes someone uncomfortable.

Regardless of opinions on feed, we all love our birds, no one will question that fact.

 

[JenInNev]

Our local ranch supply sells Nutrena brand feeds. I buy the specific duck feed or when out, the all flock feed.

For snacks its a package of peas or peas and carrots and soldier worms. I need to up the game for winter. They are working hard at foraging, but not sure what they are finding. They are not wild about the all flock feed, but gotta get whats offered.

Question about oatmeal. How much oatmeal should i fix per bird? I have 5 ducks. Plan on mixing in fruit and veggies to give them a warm meal mid day or later in the day (isnt getting much above freezing). They are constantly quacking for food if they hear the door open. Poor babies. Lol.

Heres to hoping for a 50 degree day soon so they can take a bath!!

 

[Miss Lydia]

My Chickens like oatmeal cooked but not my waterfowl.
Favorites here are dried meal worms, dry dog kibble [ocean catch ]lol same as our dogs eat.
romaine lettuce,
cabbage
Boss.
grape tomatoes.
Feed is NON GMO

 

[raingarden]

I do like the idea of sprouting grains and sunflower seeds...Great greens for Chickens and Ducks...

Sometimes I mix a handful of wild bird seed, a few handfulls of compost or potting soil, enough water to make a mud pie and put it under a grow light to sprout. The birds destroy it in less than an hour.