[lisacj]

Hi all, the breeder I got my ducklings from told meit was fine to feed them my hens' layers pellets, but I've read on this forum that the medication in the layers pellets can be toxic to ducks? What should I feed them on? I live out in the sticks and my animal food supplier doesn't stock anything for ducks except duck starter crumb! They do have 'poultry and turkey breeder pellets' that don't have the medication in them, and I do want to breed from the ducks eventually.....will this be OK to keep them on all the time?

[Kate and her Ducks]

How old are your ducklings?

I really would start ducklings on duckling and goose starter crumbs or organic chick crumbs which are both medication free. I really wouldn't start them on even medication free layers pellets as they have different needs early in life and layers had too much calcium and not enough protein.

If you can get hold of growers to move them onto (after about 3-6 weeks for me depending how quickly they have got through the chick crumb ) this is much better than putting them on layers so early. That being said my lot are now in with the adults and they all eat each others food. They will all be on growers till the bag runs out and then all on layers.

I really would never feed ducks feed with medication in, it can be very toxic, especially when they are young. You can get specific duck breeder pellets and in all honesty I have no ides what makes them different from normal layers. I use them in the weeks coming up to collecting eggs to set to hatch but a big bit of me suspects they are no different.

I recently started keeping quail and to make life easier I am now going to have them all on organic layers (which is expensive but the other half wants his quail organic  and I am more comfortable with this too).

Ask your supplier if they can order stuff in which they are usually happy to do if they already have an account with the company. Otherwise you can order it off the Internet but postage is usually prohibitably expensive so it is really worth looking around.

Where abouts are you?

[lisacj]

Hi Kate,
Thanks so much for this! I have 2 Aylesbury ducklings on the layers pellets - they are about 3 weeks old, and another 9 ducklings (runners and a couple of magpies) still on duck crumb because they are only about 10 days old. Do you think it would be OK to switch my Aylesburys onto the breeder pellets or put them back on the crumb? I'm worried I'm poisoning them as we speak  I've just rung the food supplier (I'm in Norfolk and this one supplies all the local farms - it's not a pet store or anything) and he says that the breeder pellets are what the farmers use for their ducks?

[Kate and her Ducks]

I think 3 weeks is too young to be on the breeders if you have an alternative so would keep them all on the chick crumb at the moment. If you are going to go straight from crumb to the breeders then I would keep them on the crumb till at least 6 weeks when most of their rapid growth and development is done. When you say breeders, do you mean the Allen and Page Goose and Duck Breeder pellets? It will be fine for them but is really best if you can keep them on something more suitable till they have finished their growth or most of it by 10 weeks or so.

Ultimately you aren't going to kill any of them having them on the wrong (unmedicated) food but they would be better on what is designed for their age. I rarely manage to keep mine on growers till 18-20 weeks as it is always the height of the laying season and they are in with the adults and I worry about having laying females off layer or breeder pellets too long and depleating their calcium stores so it is a balancing act.

[lisacj]

Fab - thanks Kate. I actually went and visited the supplier today and they assured me that the chook layer pellets I had WEREN'T medicalted (phew) but I think I'll do what you suggest and keep them on duck crumb until at least 6 weeks, then put them onto the duck breeder pellets.