Raising Ducks & Geese Nutritional Requirements & Treats #duck #goose #nutrition #health #education

Thank you for spending time with us to learn about proper nutrition for your backyard ducks, geese, and muscovies! A few things to note: 1) Ducks and geese need niacin from their first drinks of water after hatch. They may not be interested in eating or drinking for the first couple of days but I usually put starter crumbles and vitamin & electrolyte water out for them as soon as the first one hatches. 2) Do not feed medicated poultry food to ducks at any point in their lives 3) Protein needs to be 18%-20% for the first 2-3 weeks after hatch. Then, you need to mix the 18%-20% with rolled oats (the kind formulated for horses or cracked corn to get the protein down to 14%-15%. never feed "people oats": oatmeal,    instant oatmeal, etc. 4) No treats for human / brooder raised babies until they are 8 weeks old. Their gizzards aren't developed yet and organs are still immature. They simply can't process more than their crumble and the added grain before them. Also, by allowing treats to take up space in their stomachs, they have too little room left to hold and process the food that will nourish them properly so that they don't suffer delayed physical development that can damage them for life.  5) Bread should never be fed to ducks and geese. They love it, but it is near the top of the list of most unhealthy foods that rob them of nutrition and a chance at long, healthy lives. 6) Cat food and dog food are like poison for waterfowl. Please don't feed them these kinds of  "treats" just because they enjoy eating them. UPDATE: Mazuri now has a completely balanced feed available for ducks and geese! It includes the required niacin, so there is no need to supplement with Rooster Booster. Geese do need a little more protein than ducks, so some high protein treats a time or two a week are advised for them, in addition to the Mazuri Waterfowl Maintenance feed. For more guidance, you can join the Raising Backyard Ducks Facebook group where everything you could ever want or need to know is provided by experienced, caring and knowledgeable waterfowl guardians:   / 313159835421872   The Metzer Feed Calculator can be accessed at: https://www.metzerfarms.com/FeedConve... AS ALWAYS  Thank you for visiting our channel. Please like, subscribe, and share to help us grow! Follow us on Facebook   / richkatranchco