The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: Declan on November 01, 2010, 10:22:59 pm

Title: Duck food
Post by: Declan on November 01, 2010, 10:22:59 pm
Just a quick one- can i feed ducks the layers pellets. If not what should I be getting them?
Declan
Title: Re: Duck food
Post by: sheardale on November 01, 2010, 10:38:44 pm
I give mine wheat.  They also eat the hens feeding too.  When I make soup, I boil up all the peel and left over veg then mash it, they love this.  Also left over bread etc.  Hope you have found this helpful.
Cheers Helen
Title: Re: Duck food
Post by: piggy on November 01, 2010, 11:00:30 pm
Mine have layers pellets and mixed corn as at the moment they are mixing with the hens, had no problems.
Title: Re: Duck food
Post by: katie on November 02, 2010, 08:43:32 am
Mine have layers pellets and mixed corn as at the moment they are mixing with the hens, had no problems.

Mine too.
Title: Re: Duck food
Post by: BlueDaisy on November 02, 2010, 08:44:54 am
I don't keep ducks, but I'm sure my bag of layers pellets says it's a complete food for chickens and ducks.
Title: Re: Duck food
Post by: Hermit on November 02, 2010, 08:52:25 am
Ducks are the greediest creature I know! I feed mine a layers mash made sloppy. Seems to satisfy them in the morning and then they free range on a burn all day.They also get a feed at night to lock them in. But be careful as fat ducks dont lay well.
Title: Re: Duck food
Post by: OhLaLa on November 02, 2010, 09:07:43 am
If you ask your feed supplier they should be able to advise you. You can buy pellets for ducks.

You can feed layers pellets but the nutrition value is diff to that than the pellets for ducks. I find layers pellets a bit cheaper so as I also have chickens I buy a bag of each. The ducks get some of the layers pellets, but I try to stop the chooks pinching the ducks pellets by feeding them both sep.

 :&>  :chook:
Title: Re: Duck food
Post by: doganjo on November 02, 2010, 01:52:03 pm
I have always had healthy ducks - only ever lost any to old age or a friend's dog.  They have always had chooks layers pellets and I've lost more than a few hens!  Maybe I should feed duck pellets to my chooks! ;D
Title: Re: Duck food
Post by: Hermit on November 04, 2010, 09:38:22 am
As I understand it ( and I may be wrong) it is chick crumbs that can damage ducklings if the crumbs are the ones that contain chemicals. Layers for adults I believe are ok. I have never seen duck food up here so I couldnt obtain it anyway.
Title: Re: Duck food
Post by: little blue on November 04, 2010, 09:56:46 am
our supplier also sells a "duck and goose" feed... which is just mixed flakes and mixed corn, but abit more ground up.  and nearly £12 a bag!!

ours have layers pellets and an assortment of corns mixed in, as well as greens
Title: Re: Duck food
Post by: benkt on November 04, 2010, 02:44:41 pm
I was told by our feed shop that its Amprolium and similar drugs used to control cocci that ducks can't have. For their suppliers, that means that we can't feed chicken grower pellets to ducks as they have it in, but layer pellets and chick crumbs are fine but read the labels as different suppliers medicate differently.
Title: Re: Duck food
Post by: northfifeduckling on November 05, 2010, 10:18:07 am
it will say on the bag - if for all poultry they are fine. I ration my pellets as my ducks first got egg bound as they were not used to them. How much they are allowed it also says on most bags. My ducks did not like mixed corn or barley so I don't bother, just give them wheat ad lib, same as the chooks:&>