what can I feed my duckling??

[java girl 2]

is it OK to feed them med chick starter or unmed chick starter?? I have both but not sure what to give my duckling.

 

[zooweemama]

is it OK to feed them med chick starter or unmed chick starter?? I have both but not sure what to give my duckling.

You can give either, but unmed is recommended for ducklings if it's available. You will need to offer the duckling additional niacin because chick starter does not have enough for ducklings. They can suffer from some serious leg problems if they are not given the proper amounts of niacin.

http://www.metzerfarms.com/NutritionalRequirements.cfm?CustID=976615

Niacin in ducks:
http://metzerfarms.blogspot.com/2011/03/are-my-ducklings-leg-problems-due-to.html

 

[moomoodiddy]

do not feed them oatmeal it will swell up in there tummy and kill them

 

[java girl 2]

where can I get niacin??

 

[zooweemama]

Walmart, Target, health food store, well stocked grocery store, Walgreens/CVS type drug stores...it's pretty easy to get. Just be sure to get the kind that is NOT time release and is NOT the no-flush kind. Standard plain old fashioned Niacin. If one store doesn't have it without being no flush/no time release then keep looking.

 

[zooweemama]

Or mix brewers yeast into their food. It's up to you how you want to deliver the niacin.

 

[Kevin565]

Also watch for protein levels. Too much protein can lead to angel wing in waterfowl. To cut down on protein you can add some rolled oats to the feed..

 

[zooweemama]

Also watch for protein levels. Too much protein can lead to angel wing in waterfowl. To cut down on protein you can add some rolled oats to the feed..

True. Watch out for this and the protein levels!

My chick starter (that I feed my chicks) has 18% protein. I've never given it to my ducks. So I cannot comment on how it worked for me.

If you can get a hold of some waterfowl starter- it can have 27%+ protein. That's what I gave my ducklings. Only until 3 weeks old at which time I then moved them to Flock Raiser (an all purpose feed for all sorts of feathered livestock). My Flock Raiser has 20% protein but they have done very well on it and they free range from 9am-9pm. Before they were free ranging this much I added a little rolled oats to their food. They all liked it just fine.

In my area it's chicken country so beyond the waterfowl starter- that's it. The rest of the feed you find is all layer feed. So just read labels and get what you can that fits your needs at their age/stage.

 

[JoMWy]

Should you get the niacin in pill form and crush it up? Also, what strength? And third, where do you get Brewers Yeast? I looked at 2 different grocery stores and found nothing.

 

[birdking11]

dont feed it medicated. medicated will kill it.