White layer ducks from Metzer

[MerryMeridional]

@WannaBeHillBilly your birds have a nice space and diverse diet! I think I can do better than I have been with mine, even in our much smaller city lot.

They get fermented feed made with Purina flock raiser crumbles twice a day. They have access to oyster shell. About weekly (on my off days) they get weeds such as dandelions and other things that I pull from around the yard and throw into their area. They make really cute happy noises when they are munching on dandelions. I've thrown them vegetable garden plants at the end of the season, such as the zucchini. I could barely keep them out of it during the summer and sure enough, they loved those end of season plants! They have been fed slugs that I've found while gardening too, plus any other bugs I find on my veggie plants, but these are not regular.

I have allowed them to forage in the main part of the backyard a handful of times (they LOVE this) but really don't feel comfortable having them in the open unsupervised for longer periods of time due to hawks. Hawks have plenty to eat around here but I've only got 5 ducks and am not interested in losing any. Plus they always seem to end up pooping all over the concrete patio which I am not crazy about. I could do better about allowing them to forage. I could also do better about giving them kitchen scraps which I tend to just compost. Do you cut your scraps up small or do they figure out how to eat it anyway? What kinds of scraps would you recommend NOT giving ducks? Obviously they like anything leafy and green....and I've fed them tomatoes before....but what about harder things such as carrots, or celery, the hard tops of veggies, etc?

Thanks for describing in depth your routine and diet of your ducks. It is inspirational and gives me some goals to work towards for mine

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I give any kind of scraps to the ducks, that is not explicitly toxic, like Avocado or Spinach.
We go and eat at a restaurant and have a left over salad, fries and some chicken strips: To-Go box, everything is cut up and goes into the supper bowl. What they don't like goes on the compost heap the next morning. My ducks like kale, red and white cabbage , broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower when cut into bite size pieces (I can cut a whole cabbage into tiny pieces in less than a minute now ).
We cook with Peppers: All the undesirable parts, kernels, white stuff trunk is cut and for the ducks.
My ducks don't like carrots, i ground up a carrot for them, they tried, spit it out and ran for the water. They also don't like anything onionish, like leek, garlic or onions.
I was canning pears recently, the undesired parts of the pears were successfully converted into duck-eggs already.
They had zucchini, cucumbers, plums, apples, pears, peach, i don't remember what, both canned and fresh.
If it is too hard for them to get their bills on it, you must cut it into small pieces and they will at least try it. Maybe your ducks love carrots, who knows?
Last year i was panicking, inexperienced as i was, when my ducks ate the tomatoes! - Not only the red and green fruits, but the whole tomato plants, including the roots. Aparently they not only have survived but thrive and i have a really hard time this year to keep them out of the tomatoes! Just another month or so and they can have'em…
Trust your ducks! They know what to eat and what not. - Ok, when it comes to protein you need to have an eye on them, protein makes every duck go nuts and they can easily over-eat, but in general they know what's good for them.

 

[Kailene]

This thread has been super helpful. I have a pen for them but they love being out in my yard foraging. I'll go to work with them in the pen and come home to them wandering my yard. Or I'll wake up and they will be out foraging already. So most times I'll leave them. I just worry about stray cats snatching them up. My Rouen, Howard, flies out of the pen all the time, but she usually lays eggs in or around the pen. My Runner, Kurt hasn't started laying yet and is awkward so I don't think she can fly, but she still gets out. However my girls love watermelon. I'll freeze it and add it to their water on warm days and they go nuts. Not a fan of strawberries. I didn't know about the cat food as treats. Meal worms are so pricey. Now I do have a question. Do they need Oyster Shell or is that more of a treat? I'm new to duck raising and just have my 2 females for now. I want more ducks, and eventually will get some, but this will be my first winter with them and I'll take all the guidance I can get.

 

[MerryMeridional]

Do they need Oyster Shell or is that more of a treat? I'm new to duck raising and just have my 2 females for now. I want more ducks, and eventually will get some, but this will be my first winter with them and I'll take all the guidance I can get.

Give them free access to oyster shell every day. I actually sprinkle some on their food to be sure they are consuming some. You can also feed them back crushed up egg shells from the eggs they lay. If you've noticed, their egg shells are way thicker than a chicken egg. I read somewhere that 50% of the calcium for egg laying is leached from their bones and 50% is from their digestive system. They turn over a LOT of calcium to lay their eggs! You will have reduced production or problems with the eggs altogether with inadequate calcium. Oyster shell is just the cheapest way to give it to them in the quantities they need on a daily basis.