Feeding

The ducklings are on chick starter (20% protein) for the first 2 weeks Red hen chick starter is great, then can switch to a starter/grower (15-16% protein) until they are 18 weeks old or switch right over to a regular (16-17% protein) layer feed at 3 weeks. I dont bother to feed grower i go staright to adult feed at 3 weeks,  I use and recommend showbird breeder or xtra egg. Newborns I feed scrambled egg to for the first 2-3 days then change to the crumble

 

Please use non medicated or medicated chick starter a lot of info and research has gone into medicated chick starter for ducklings and it’s safe to give them medicated or non medicated starter duckling can actually also suffer from Coccidiosis although not as common as chicken but the treatment for it is what they use in the feeds.DO NOT feed duck and goose it is a kill feed designed to fatten a bird up for processing  or gamebird starter it is to high in protein and will cause growth issues in our experiences.  Ducklings require more niacin than chicks do to help with bone development and metabolism  especially around the 3 week mark onward  we add human grade B3 to their food I use 500MG B3 Nicain tablets dissolved in water 1-2 tablets in a litre water container every few days until 3 months old this will do 1-5 ducks if you have more just add in another tablet they wont overdose they just expell what they dont use i their little bodies. we no longer use brewers or nutritional yeast as that also adds around 4% protein where as the tablets are zero %

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You can also add raw uncooked oats to their feed working up to about a 25% oat/75% feed ratio. This can help avoid a condition called 'Angel Wing' which is caused by too much protein in a growing duckling's diet.

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Treats such as lettuce, grass, herbs, weeds, and dandelion greens are all excellent sources of nutrients, but ducklings will only eat greens if they are fresh. I find that a handful of greens put into a small dish of water becomes a great way to amuse the ducklings and they gobble the greens up. You can also toss some peas into a tub of water. Anything green will be a huge hit with ducklings (and ducks!) Peas are also a good source of some added niacin, as are peanuts, peaches and sweet potatoes. Warm oatmeal and scrambled eggs are also a favorite treat. Please only feed treats after 3-4 weeks of age as tiny ducklings can choke easily on these 

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Do not feed potato peel or apple seeds

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Mealworms are a great treat on the odd occasion but you need to be careful mealworms add 50-60% protein to the food 

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I have found ducklings to be more picky about treats than chicks, but anything green, mealworms, cooked spaghetti, watermelon, corn and halved grapes all seem to be favorites. I slowly introduce them to new foods, a little at a time, being sure that the starter feed makes up the majority of their diet.

    

Water 

Ducks need to keep the membranes in their nostrils moist at all times, so as they grow they will need successively deeper water bowls so they can submerge their entire bill. A traditional mason jar, nipple or gravity chick waterers won't work well for ducklings. The mason jar design is too unstable and tips over too easily when you have rambunctious, clumsy ducklings and they quickly learn to empty the gravity and nipple waterers. Instead I simply use shallow flat bottom bowls or dishes and switch them out for larger ones as the ducklings grow.

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I put their water dish on a puppy pee tray to help with spillage as they love to play in it Ducklings can drown or get chilled if they sit in the water, so be sure to add some marbles or small stones to the water dish for the first few days(if they can tip it ) or stick with a fairly shallow pan at first.

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Room temperature water should always be available to them

Ducklings drink (and waste!) more than three times as much water as chicks, so be sure and check several times a day that they have clean fresh water. 

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 I add a splash of apple cider vinegar or b complex tablets 1 in  the ducklings water for the first couple of days as a health booster.