well i have a few comments to add to yours... I'm sorry to hear you've had such health problems and bad reactions. here is some more info that might help you...
Any place that tells you how to raise domestic ducks will tell you they need grains. Unfortunetely domestic ducks are not exactly like their wild bretheren. they can't fly to new areas to ensure enough of, and different types of food. the waterfowl feed and grains ensure domestic ducks get enough of the vitamins and nutrients they need while staying in one place for the duration of their lives.
You won't have to worry about negative health effects grains have on people in your ducks. Ducks self regulate what they eat and how much. They don't eat more than they need. (However if you give them treats, they will prefer that to their feed)
But since you have a health problem with grains/carbs, perhaps there is a way around it. If you could pay really close attention to their diet maybe you cold get away with letting them eat very little grains.
I suppose if duck gets all of it's nutrients from other foods, it wouldn't need a lot of grains. When you get your ducks, if they are not mature (babies) feed them how the hatcheries say, with the regular feed and some grains, and increase the grains while they are feathering. Once they start laying, gradullay decrease the grains and add in many other types of food... like a mix of leafy vegatables, fruits, proteins, and a multivitamin for waterfowl (you can get these at feed stores). (if you need a list of accetable foods, let me know and i'll post it, it's kinda long)
Since there is no advice on this subject online (not that i could find) you might have to do trial and error and be vigilant. Prepare your ducks "meals" for them and feed them at certain intervals to see how much and how often they'll want to eat. Pay attention to whatever they don't eat and leave behind (if you give them protein in the form of eggs, they might just not like eggs, but will like nightcrawlers... ducks can be picky about what they like and don't like.) After they eat the diet you prepare for them offer them a small amount of grains. If the ducks eat them it might be because they need them. If they get smaller or get weak, or their eggs come out weird or mishapened, then it's a good sign they need to eat the grains. If you can find a good balance and your ducks are healthy and happy, you might be able to give them a small amount of grains. The first couple if batchs of eggs might give you problems (in terms of your allergies) but you might have to test them to see what bothers you. Maybe your ducks can get by on 15% grains rather than 50% and it won't bother you. I guess you'll just have to keep trying until you find a good balance of healthy eggs for you and healthy duckies. If not, you might have to stop eating eggs.
Now i am no expert so i can only give an opinion that you can try after you do more of your research. If you do find a reputable answer to this please do share
Any place that tells you how to raise domestic ducks will tell you they need grains. Unfortunetely domestic ducks are not exactly like their wild bretheren. they can't fly to new areas to ensure enough of, and different types of food. the waterfowl feed and grains ensure domestic ducks get enough of the vitamins and nutrients they need while staying in one place for the duration of their lives.
You won't have to worry about negative health effects grains have on people in your ducks. Ducks self regulate what they eat and how much. They don't eat more than they need. (However if you give them treats, they will prefer that to their feed)
But since you have a health problem with grains/carbs, perhaps there is a way around it. If you could pay really close attention to their diet maybe you cold get away with letting them eat very little grains.
I suppose if duck gets all of it's nutrients from other foods, it wouldn't need a lot of grains. When you get your ducks, if they are not mature (babies) feed them how the hatcheries say, with the regular feed and some grains, and increase the grains while they are feathering. Once they start laying, gradullay decrease the grains and add in many other types of food... like a mix of leafy vegatables, fruits, proteins, and a multivitamin for waterfowl (you can get these at feed stores). (if you need a list of accetable foods, let me know and i'll post it, it's kinda long)
Since there is no advice on this subject online (not that i could find) you might have to do trial and error and be vigilant. Prepare your ducks "meals" for them and feed them at certain intervals to see how much and how often they'll want to eat. Pay attention to whatever they don't eat and leave behind (if you give them protein in the form of eggs, they might just not like eggs, but will like nightcrawlers... ducks can be picky about what they like and don't like.) After they eat the diet you prepare for them offer them a small amount of grains. If the ducks eat them it might be because they need them. If they get smaller or get weak, or their eggs come out weird or mishapened, then it's a good sign they need to eat the grains. If you can find a good balance and your ducks are healthy and happy, you might be able to give them a small amount of grains. The first couple if batchs of eggs might give you problems (in terms of your allergies) but you might have to test them to see what bothers you. Maybe your ducks can get by on 15% grains rather than 50% and it won't bother you. I guess you'll just have to keep trying until you find a good balance of healthy eggs for you and healthy duckies. If not, you might have to stop eating eggs.
Now i am no expert so i can only give an opinion that you can try after you do more of your research. If you do find a reputable answer to this please do share
