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can chicks eat.....

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1can chicks eat..... Empty can chicks eat..... Sat Apr 23, 2011 4:45 pm

triplejfarms

triplejfarms
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can 1-2 week old chicks eat duck starter? i am getting ducklings next week and i want to throw everyone together can the chicks eat duck starter or no? can chicks eat..... Duck

thanks!

http://www.conjuringcreekboardingkennels.com/farm.html

2can chicks eat..... Empty Re: can chicks eat..... Sat Apr 23, 2011 5:56 pm

lanaire-ranching

lanaire-ranching
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well.... I'm not completely sure!

BUT I do know that ducks have to have unmedicated starter.

That chicks can eat unmedicated if is what you want to feed them


SO, I would go out on a limb and say yes?? As long as you knew and wanted the chicks to be eating unmedicated.


having said that, I had ducks last year, from hatching and day olds. and good grief do they ever make a mess!! and I mean a wet, sloppy, horrible mess. They completely ruined one brooder that I had them in that was made of wood because of all the water damage/mess. Best thing I found for them was a metal trough! big enough for them as they get a little older, much easier to clean and sanitize too. Not to mention waterproof. oh yes. You will want waterproof!!!

3can chicks eat..... Empty Re: can chicks eat..... Sat Apr 23, 2011 6:01 pm

mirycreek

mirycreek
Golden Member
Golden Member

For ducks the best thing I have found so far is that strong plastic mesh that comes in rolls from Peavey Mart. I have stapled it to a frame(bottom), it needs to be well supported and it is perfect for little webbed feet to walk on, then you don;t need any bedding at all. I have them on the porch with a wooden board underneath and just lift off the brooder box, spray off the board,and put it back underneath to catch the mess.

I really cannot imagine ever keeping them in a wooden brooder box like i keep my chicks in, their whole mission in life is about playing in water....

Oh and I think chicks could eat unmedicated starter but then they are going to be more at a risk of catching coccidiosis and keeping them with ducks could be a recipe for disaster in my mind.(unless of course they were kept on mesh or wire flooring)

http://www.feathers-farm.webs.com

4can chicks eat..... Empty Re: can chicks eat..... Sat Apr 23, 2011 6:07 pm

triplejfarms

triplejfarms
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well see the thing is i keep them in the house for the first week in a tuperware bin, then they move to the coop a 7x4 pen with heat lamp for another 2 weeks then they move to the rest of the coop 12x7 with the older chicks, i realize they are messy they wont be with the chicks at day one...they will be in the house for a week in their own seperate bin...but i want them to share the same coop"large"one when they are ll 3 weeks old...and can the chicks eat the food? the chicks will be on medicated chick starter for the first 3 weeks of life....then move to duck starter? where they can all be one big happy family together...LOL

http://www.conjuringcreekboardingkennels.com/farm.html

5can chicks eat..... Empty Re: can chicks eat..... Sat Apr 23, 2011 6:12 pm

mirycreek

mirycreek
Golden Member
Golden Member

Im sure they can safely eat it, I think the waterfowl starter may be a higher protein than chick? but should be ok.
they just won;t be getting the protection of the amprolium but since they had it at the start maybe just fine?
I know a fellow who only feeds unmedicated feed because that way he can buy it in bulk and feed it to his poultry and his waterfowl.
I

http://www.feathers-farm.webs.com

6can chicks eat..... Empty Re: can chicks eat..... Sat Apr 23, 2011 6:17 pm

lanaire-ranching

lanaire-ranching
Full Time Member
Full Time Member

Miry, Love the idea about that heavy plastic mesh

the ducks I had were sort of a "help a friend out" sort of thing, and I wasn't prepared for them at all!! But once I got a trough in the house (yup don't ask, but I had two in the basement! my husband just shook his head) I was laughing, and then I had something similar for their water to sit on (it was hardware cloth stapled over a frame, not so much for them to walk on but to keep the water mess away from the rest of the trough)

But I have to agree, to be a happy duck keeper something set up so that they are not even on bedding at all, but a nice plastic mesh like that--- would be ideal!! (do you remember the mesh size of it? was it something like a 1/2? anything bigger, they would probably fall through hahahah)

7can chicks eat..... Empty Re: can chicks eat..... Sat Apr 23, 2011 6:18 pm

triplejfarms

triplejfarms
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mirycreek wrote:Im sure they can safely eat it, I think the waterfowl starter may be a higher protein than chick? but should be ok.
they just won;t be getting the protection of the amprolium but since they had it at the start maybe just fine?
I know a fellow who only feeds unmedicated feed because that way he can buy it in bulk and feed it to his poultry and his waterfowl.
I

o.k yea i will try it thanks, they wont be living together forever just while they are babies to save on heating! and we need to build a nice duck friendly house with no ramp...LOL thanks!

http://www.conjuringcreekboardingkennels.com/farm.html

8can chicks eat..... Empty Re: can chicks eat..... Sat Apr 23, 2011 9:03 pm

SerJay

SerJay
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I know I'm crazy but last year we kept 7 RIR chicks and 3 ducklings from day old to 3weeks together in our livingrm. I used unmedicated food and a chick waterer up on a couple bricks so it was head height. I didn't have water for them to dip eyes in but every other day I'd throw them in the tub with a couple inches of water and let them make a mess there. We just kept them in our clear rubbermaid tub brooder. We did it again the next month with 5 ducklings but with warmer weather they only stayed in the house 2ish weeks Smile. Our RIRs are always out freeranging with the ducks and we never had any probs in fact I'm sure 2 of the weak RIRs wouldn't have survived the first couple days without the ducks mothering them and getting them to water food and snuggling up to them

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