[Thyme]

If you raise ducklings, what do you feed them?  I hatched two last year and bought Crediton Milling duck starter crumb and grower pellets for them to make sure they'd have the right nutrition, but they both developed angel wing.  I'm not sure whether to blame the feed or the genetics (they were ebay eggs) but I now have six from my neighbours' welsh harlequins in the incubator and I don't feel I can trust the feed I used last time.

[lord flynn]

how long did you have them on the crumb for and what breed are they?

[Thyme]

They were Shetland ducks.  I don't remember for sure how long I had them on the crumb before switching to the grower pellets.  It's possible it was too long.  Probably not too short.

[twizzel]

My ducklings were on Allen & Page Goose & Duck grower/finisher pellets, I think they were the only non medicated grower pellets I could find last year.

[clydesdaleclopper]

I feed smallholder range chick crumbs and I add brewers yeast to up the niacin content.

[HesterF]

I use the A&P growers for about four weeks - basically until they seem so starving hungry they need more. Best avoid chick crumbs if you can unless specifically stated unmedicated. I had one angel wing goose but have never had any other problems so I put hers down to genetics and won't breed from her. In fact I've just sold her to somebody not interested in breeding but desperate for a companion goose for a bereaved gander.

H

[nutterly_uts]

Theres an article in this month's Country Smallholding about this They recommend Crumb for 3 weeks, then onto pellets to avoid angel wing, but also say to give them access to sharp sand not oyster grit, and to get them outside ASAP

[Thyme]

Thanks to everyone who replied.  I'm suspecting more and more that the problem last time was me keeping them on the crumb too long -- as there were only two I probably thought I might as well use up the bag

I like Allen & Page a lot but don't have a good source for them nearby and the shipping cost for mail order is really high.  Thankfully my local mill carries Heygates which does a line of unmedicated crumb and grower pellets.  I think I will try the unmedicated crumb (19%) + brewers yeast for 3 weeks and then I can get Heygates duck & goose pellets (17%).  And the sharp sand. 

[lord flynn]

interesting about the sharp sand, I have some here and there and my muscovies love it! Smallholder range also do duck crumbs, grower and breeder pellets for ducks as do Garvo. farmandpetplace have really low carriage charges as well (just fyi for all sorts of poultry/waterfowl stuff).

[nutterly_uts]

It said sharp sand as oyster grit messes with the calcium/phosphorous ratios

[Thyme]

farmandpetplace have really low carriage charges as well (just fyi for all sorts of poultry/waterfowl stuff).

Thanks for that pointer, that's much much cheaper delivery charge than anywhere I had found.  Might use them to get the growers.

[HesterF]

Yep, I use farmandpetplace too. They've just put up their delivery charges having had them fixed for quite a while. When I queried it, they said they'd be ble to do me a deal if I phone to order but I do order loads from them - probably 80kg a week on average. I tried to get our local feed supplier to order the same feeds in but it took ages to arrive and ended up more expensive than farm and pet place anyway (their prices are discounted which tends to compensate the delivery charges).