When are pellets OK?

[Lindsy]

Hi everyone
I've got 3 1/2 week old kaki campbell ducks. I started them on chick starter and after 3 weeks went looking for something with a lesser protein content...cause I had read here that that was one way to avoid angel wing.

Well...at my local feed store they had a "grower/finisher" at 17%, which was less than the starter...and it was a crumble. They had a duck/goose feed at 15% but it was in pellet form only. My question....can I put them on the pellets right now? Will they swallow/eat ok? I really want to avoid the angel wing so I am concerned about the grower.

any assistance/thoughts are most appreciated.

Lindsy

 

[Amiga]

Hi,

I started adding pellets to crumbles when mine were about two weeks old. I had also been cutting the protein by adding chopped rolled oats to their crumbles.

As long as they are also getting some chick grit or equivalents, adding oats is fine to cut protein.

There is some disagreement between experienced duck people about whether it is the protein or a genetic tendency or combination, FYI.

Anyway, when I first added the pellets, I did grind them up a little for the first few days to make sure . . . I am overcautious quite often.

But the pellets were not that big to begin with, and the ducklings grew so quickly, it was no big deal.

Also, each day I would add more pellets and fewer crumbles till they were off the crumbles and just eating the pellets.

Any time I introduce something new, I watch for about 20 minutes to make sure everyone is going to be okay with it.

Takes time, but avoids heartache and blaming myself if something surprising goes wrong.