Ducklings are precocious and look for their own food shortly after hatching, while their mother feeds them. With an artificial brood, however, the breeder is responsible for providing varied feeding. Here you can find out what ducklings eat.
Feeding with ready-made food
If you want to be on the safe side, give the ducklings so-called chick food from the first day. This is sometimes referred to as starter food or grower food. These feed mixtures are characterized by a balanced ratio of energy, protein and vitamin-rich ingredients, have particularly small grains - making them ideal for tiny chick beaks - and are suitable as complete feed. When purchasing, make sure to order special chick or rearing food for ducks and geese. Sometimes this is also offered under the name “For waterfowl”.
Tip:
Make sure the food stays clean at all times. Therefore, use an automatic feeder and refill it regularly. Food in bowls should be replaced daily as the animals contaminate it with their feces.
Feeding Schedule
Depending on the manufacturer, feed this complete chick food for the first four to six weeks. You supplement it with generous amounts of fresh, chopped green fodder, for example
- young nettles (boil for a few minutes first!)
- Meadow herbs, e.g. E.g. dandelions, daisies, ribwort plantain, ground chickweed
- Flowers, e.g. B. Marigold
- Vegetables, e.g. E.g. cucumber and lettuce, carrot, kohlrabi and radish greens
Other energy-rich food such as oatmeal is not necessary. After about four weeks, begin mixing the chick feed with waterfowl feed pellets. First add just a few of the larger pellets and gradually increase the amount until the change is complete. This transition phase should take place slowly and can take a few weeks.
Note:
When feeding fresh food, make sure not to give any poisonous plants. These include buttercups, henbane, water hemlock, cocklebur, celandine and the leaves of maple and oak trees.
Mix your own chick feed
If you want to mix the chick food yourself, it's best to follow this plan and give ducklings this food:
- serve oatmeal for the first two days
- from the third day, mix oat flakes with cooked corn meal
- gradually add other ingredients: barley and wheat meal (cooked), boiled and mashed potatoes, boiled and chopped eggs, wheat bran, linseed, brewer's yeast
- Wheat bran, linseed, brewer's yeast only in small quantities
Mix the energy-rich feeds together in approximately the same proportion; you just need significantly less of the last three. Also give the ducklings fresh, chopped green food every day. If you like, you can also feed the animals mealworms and food insects - especially in the first few days, small ducks naturally eat almost exclusively insects anyway.
Tip:
Even if it can be read in many guides, you should not feed ducklings or adult ducks bread! This contains too much sugar and s alt and also makes your stomach swell.
Foraging outdoors – when?
If it is warm enough outside, you can let the ducklings outside from the third week of life. Start with short bursts and gradually increase them. Make sure that the chicks have a green run with plenty of green vegetation and at least one watering hole. In this way they learn to look after themselves and pluck green fodder alone and look for insects and worms. If there is enough exercise, you can finally switch the adult animals to supplementary food.
Tip:
To protect against predators such as birds of prey or foxes, the run should be firmly fenced and ideally covered with a poultry protection net.
Ensure water supply
Ducks are water birds and therefore always need access to water from day one for he althy, species-appropriate development. You can set up shallow water bowls in the rearing box that the chicks can go to and leave on their own. In the first few days you can also serve cooled chamomile tea instead of water. Make sure the water is always fresh and clean to avoid illness. Therefore, replace it regularly.
Frequently asked questions
What shouldn't ducklings eat?
In addition to bread, you should also not feed ducklings flour as this can block the esophagus or respiratory tract. Furthermore, citrus fruits - they disrupt the adequate supply of calcium - milk and milk products as well as food leftovers (e.g. from spiced and s alted meals) are taboo. You should also always provide fresh and clean food; moldy and/or contaminated food has serious he alth consequences for the animals.
How often should you feed ducklings?
The food should be available to the ducklings at all times so that they can use it as needed - after all, ducks in nature search for food all day long. Just make sure that any leftover food doesn't become moldy or dirty. Therefore, remove them in the evening and fill the feeding bowls with fresh food.
