Just the other day, I overheard my two neighbors arguing about feeding ducks. One was complaining of how his ducks were dying. He attributed it to food poisoning because he was feeding them with chicken feed, which left me wondering.
So, can ducks eat chicken feed? Yes, they can. Ducks are omnivorous, and if necessary, they can eat chicken feed. However, chicken feed alone cannot sustain ducks. That’s because it lacks sufficient nutrients like niacin to enable them to grow and thrive.
This article talks about the nutritional needs of ducks and chickens, the problems ducks get exposed to when they eat chicken feed, and what to do when these issues arise.
Dietary Needs of Ducks and Chicken
Waterfowl and poultry have different dietary needs.
Before feeding your duck or any other waterfowl on chicken feed, consult your home area veterinarian, who’ll advise you on the additional supplements required.
Although ducks can eat chicken feed, your local veterinarian will tell you it’s not recommendable to feed them on too much of it. Because of the differing nutritional needs of the two birds, you’ll deprive your ducks of vital nutrients.
Nutritional Differences
The first thing worth noting is that ducks need the same nutrients throughout their lifetime to remain healthy. Whether it’s during infancy, adolescence, adulthood, or egg-laying stage, their nutritional needs don’t change. Only the quantities keep changing.
In addition, ducks have amino acids requirements, which they obtain from dietary protein:
- Arginine
- Threonine
- Histidine
- Valine
- Isoleucine
- Tryptophan
- Leucine
- Total Sulphur Amino Acid (TSAA)
- Lysine
While ducks need a diet rich in proteins and fat, chickens need feeds that are high in carbs. It’s less problematic for the chicken to feed on duck feeds, but the reverse is not good.
There’s nothing wrong with ducks and chickens living in the same quarters. However, their sharing the same meals over a long period brings about health issues because of their different nutrient requirements.
What Happens When you Feed your Ducks with Chicken Feed?
Here’s what’s bound to happen when you feed your ducks with chicken feed:
Insufficient Niacin
Niacin, also known as Vitamin B3, is vital in ducks. They need twice the amount chickens typically consume.
While chickens can synthesize niacin from tryptophan efficiently, ducks have no such ability, making them solely dependent on what they feed on to supply niacin to their bodies.
So considering chickens need niacin in smaller amounts, feeding ducks on chicken feeds means they’ll eventually suffer from niacin deficiency. This condition is most prevalent in ducklings on chick starter feed. Some of the health problems you may observe include:
- Enlarged hock joints
- Bowed legs
- Permanent crippling resulting in the inability to walk
The last condition, permanent crippling, usually occurs when the deficiency exists for an extended period, and the bad news is that the condition is usually permanent and irreversible.
Excess Proteins for Ducklings
Although ducks need diets rich in proteins, you should note that this should be in controlled amounts.
Chickens need proteins in higher amounts while growing to make their bodies meatier (for those reared for meat production purposes) and optimize egg-laying.
On the other hand, ducklings don’t require this kind of accelerated growth. Hence, their diets ought to have lesser amounts of protein. That means consuming chicken feeds can harm ducklings, hampering their growth due to excessive protein.
Accelerated growth is known to cause leg and foot problems to ducklings. In addition, excessive protein may lead to the development of angel wings, a condition in which a duck’s flight feathers curve outwards due to fast growth. Angelwing prevents wild ducks from migrating safely during winter because they cannot fly.
The Difference in Feed Consumption
Apart from nutritional variations in ducks’ and chickens’ diets, the birds also differ in the way they feed.
While chickens eat their dry crumbles and pellets comfortably, ducks need to sip water now and then while eating. Otherwise, they cannot manage to swallow the food.
Therefore, if you don’t provide your ducks with enough water during mealtime, they may choke.
How to Feed Ducks and Chicken Together
Although feeding a mixed flock means a bit more work for you, it’s worth the effort.
Therefore, if you have both ducks and chickens living together in your backyard, you can add the following to their diet to make it safe and suitable for both birds:
- Brewer’s yeast: It’s an ideal source of niacin. By adding about 25% of brewer’s yeast to your flock’s daily meal, you make up for niacin deficiency in the duck’s diet. Their bones will grow properly while, at the same time, it’ll not harm your chickens.
- Liquid niacin supplements/Vitamin B3 capsules: These are also a great source of niacin, where brewer’s yeast is not available. Note that you should add the supplements to the water, not the feeds. With liquid supplements, for 500 grams, you need about four gallons of water. If you opt for the capsules, only break down one and spread it into the ducks’ water tub once daily.
- Leafy Greens: Leafy greens in the ducks’ water tub make their diet richer nutrition-wise.
- Water: Make sure water is in plenty for your duck pets during feeding. Your chicken may not necessarily need it, but for ducks, you have no choice.
How to Care for Ducklings Feeding on Chick Feed
If your flocks have little ducklings in their midst, there are a few things you must keep in mind when feeding them on chick feed. These are:
- When purchasing chick feeds for your ducklings, avoid the medicated ones. Most chick feed producers add amprolium to the feeds. It’s a medicine meant to protect baby chicks from Coccidiosis, a parasitic disease they are highly susceptible to.
- Feed your ducklings on chick starter for the first two weeks only. Chicks need to feed on it for longer (about eight weeks) because their growth rate is slower than ducks.
- Switch to low-protein grower feed once your ducklings are two weeks old and keep feeding them on it for 16 consecutive weeks.
- Once they’re 18 weeks old, add them to the group of adult ducks and chickens. They’re now ready to feed on the layer feed.
Wrap Up
Can ducks eat chicken feed? Ducks can feed on chicken feed, although it’s not their proper diet. Sometimes you may be tempted to mix the two feeds to save on a few dollars, but this can harm ducks.
In situations where you’re rearing ducks and chickens together, just follow our tips on mixed flock feeding for the best results. Otherwise, chicken feeds are made for chicken, and feeding them on ducks means you’re not providing them with a balanced diet. It’s recommended that you try to feed your ducks on pellets specifically designed for them. Only then can you provide them with the right nutrients and vitamins that their bodies need.