Some breeds of ducks and geese are naturally lean, and some gain weight more easily. For ducks, the Runners rarely carry extra fat. Pekins are at the opposite end of the spectrum and can easily be too fat. Khaki Campbells are closer to Runners in this regard but Rouen, Buff, Blue Swedish and Cayuga are closer to a Pekin.
 |
| An extremely overweight Embden goose. Notice her abdomen between her legs. |
There is less variation in geese. But of all geese, the Chinese are the least likely to gain extra weight but the larger Embden and Toulouse are the most likely to be overweight. Other breeds are in between the lighter Chinese and heavier Embden and Toulouse.
What is the problem with excess weight? The bird's life is probably shortened and may make it more uncomfortable due to the extra weight they must carry. Remember that the legs and feet of waterfowl are not terribly strong. Add an extra 20-30% in body weight and those feet and legs will develop problems sooner due to the extra weight they are carrying.
 |
| A flock of fit Embden geese. Compare their profile with the goose above. |
Farms that have breeding birds must be extra careful in controlling the weight in their breeder birds. Extra weight in a breeding duck or goose can greatly reduce egg production and fertility.
Our commercial Pekin ducks grow extremely fast and can weigh 7.5 pounds or more in seven weeks. However, the breeder birds that produce these fast growing birds must be kept on a diet starting at two weeks of age. Due to this restricted feed, a female Pekin breeder should only weigh about 7.5 pounds at 23 weeks of age. But due to this reduced feed, she will live longer and lay more eggs with increased fertility.
So if you do want to control your birds' weight, how do you do it?
1) Only feed them a certain amount once a day.
Pekin - .33-.45 lbs per day per bird with the higher amount if they are in full egg production
Runners - ..25-.35/day/bird
Other duck breeds - .3-.40 lbs/day/bird
Heavy geese .45-.6 lbs/day/bird
Chinese .35-.5 lbs/day/bird
Other goose breeds .4-.55 lbs/day/bird
2) Only allow them access to their feed a limited amount of time each day
Pekin - 2-8 hours/day (8 hours is for breeders in high egg production)
Runners - no limit needed
Other duck breeds - 3-12 hours/day
Heavy geese - 2-12 hours/day
Chinese - no limit needed
Other goose breeds - 4-24 hours/day
Birds that must forage for much of their feed are less likely to be obese. Some people use a less dense feed (fewer calories per pound of feed) but this usually does not control the weight in a duck or goose as they have the ability to simply eat more.
If you have ducks and geese simply for pleasure, it is not critical you control their weight. But if you are keeping them commercially, it is critical you monitor their weight for increased performance and improved longevity.
Do you have protein percentage recommendations to go along with the other restrictions?
ReplyDeleteGrowing ducks 15-18%, geese 14-16%
ReplyDeleteLaying birds 17-18%
Hi John,
DeleteWhat category does the Golden 300 Hybrid fall under as far as feed requirements (#/bird/day). I am trying to figure cost of feed for our business plan. We have about 2-3 acres grass/forage with a half acre pond fenced in. I was considering buying about 350 Golden 300 Hybrid female ducklings. Trying to determine how many birds to make it profitable. I have read that one bird should have about 15-50 sq feet for forage. I was going to shoot for 50 sq feet. Do you have any recommendations for space requirements? Also, do you know the vaccinations/medications (if any) that need to be considered?
Thanks,
Ashley Silvey
Hamilton, MO
We estimate the Golden 300 and White Layer eat about .4 lbs./duck/day. If you want the grass to thrive, you will need the ability to keep the ducks off the grass if they overgraze it. Keep in mind a sheet of plywood is 32 sq.ft. so a duck can clean up the grass in that area pretty quickly. They love grass but get the necessary nutrients to lay eggs from their feed. No vaccinations or medications are required. If kept in a building at night, they need at least 3.5 sq.ft./bird.
DeleteWhat about ducks and geese that are on green feed daily? I would presume they need just a very small amount of high protein feed to assure proper nutrient balance?
ReplyDeleteAlways wondered.... Guess this is a good time to ask: ducklings that are still growing their feathers... Should we keep food available at all times? Im worried about rapid growth and angel wing for my pet duck. One of his wings seems to be turning out unaturally. Do they have to have food at night at this stage, or would removing the feed at night reduce the growth rate?
ReplyDeleteSimilar question to Katie, any recommendations on providing grass or alfalfa to growing ducks and geese - concerns with angel wing. Great to see some answers about overweight birds! I wonder if I'm providing too much food in prep for breeding season. Now I'm noticing my geese coming off the water for grazing a lot more - is this related to breeding season and looking for nest sites and/or change in dietary needs and wanting to graze more? Thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteMarilyn
Green feed is excellent for both ducks and geese. Geese can almost survive solely on growing, green grass whereas ducks merely use it as a supplement to a grain based diet. So geese need less supplement with grains than ducks if they have all the green grass they can eat.
ReplyDeleteNo, they do not need 24 hour access to feed during feather growth. Removing the feed for the night is fine and may limit their consumption a little bit. I will have to do some research to see if there are any standards that indicate how much consumption is reduced if they only have access to feed for 2 or 6 or 8 or 12 hours per day. - compared to 24 hour access to feed.
I can't answer the question about why your geese are grazing more now. Maybe to find a nest? Or the water is colder now? Or there is a slight change in their dietary needs? The advantage of grass is it provides exercise and is lower in protein. Alfalfa is fairly high in protein so that may not have a net effect of reducing protein consumption. If you are feeding them once a day, they should clean it up within 6-8 hours.
I have a female peking, one year old now and she stopped laying in November 2011, especially after I put the chickens and the pair of pekings on Purena layena instead of the organic home made laying mash from a Farmer in the area. the egg procuction of the hens went down especially during the cold and snow and I still am not seeing any duck egg. I have been feeding a mixture of cooked pinto, brown rice and canned corn (until I can buy better) just before I locked them in thepen at night for about a month and the hens increased egg production and yester I collected 12 eggs out of 14 hens and still not duck eggs. Is there a possibility the female peking, Ms Bo Jangles, might start laying again when I put out their pool of water and they have more pasture to walk on?
ReplyDeleteI am also providing PUrena crumbles 24 hours per day and I noticed your feed schedule for ducks. Should I take the food out just before I locked them in for the night?
ReplyDeleteMy guess is she hasn't fully finished her molt and winter rest. Are the crumbles a layer feed? "Crumbles" just indicates that it is a feed that is ground, made into pellets and then the pellets are broken for easier eating by baby birds. At this age they need a layer feed (proper nutrition for laying including higher calcium for egg shell formation). The layer feed can be a crumble or pellet. Waterfowl can eat a mash but there is more wasted. Why do you make your own feed if they have the Purina feed?
ReplyDeleteLast Spring my goose incubated her eggs and none developed to hatchlings. This year to my surprise I have found that the goose I thought was a gander, is laying eggs as is the other goose of last year. Both are the Toulouse, the gander is a Buff Saddleback Pomeraian with blue eyes, would like to find him a goose of the same breed. However, he has taken up with one of the Toulouse and the other goose walks behind the nearly 20 feet always. Is this common? Also one nest has been built into which both are laying eggs, I think there are close to 30 eggs. I would like to seperate some of the eggs and start another nest could that be accomplished and how would you suggest it be done?
ReplyDeleteIf they are set in their ways, it might be hard to get one to move. But I would make another similar nest beside the first one and put some eggs in each. Hopefully one will decide to move. If you see them both in the nest at the same time, I would cut down the size of the nest box so it is impossible for two to sit in the nest at one time. It is not unusual for one goose to mate with a different breed. They aren't prejudice. Good luck with the nest splitting.
ReplyDeleteI have two 12 day old pekin ducklings and i love them very much and they love me also but how much should i be feeding them i dont want to over feed them or under feed them? any help would be great, kristen
ReplyDeleteI would give them there feed once a day and make sure they clean it up within an hour. Of course any grass or vegetables can be given throughout the day as treats.
ReplyDeleteI have an EXTREMELY overweight Pekin "Big Boy" is his name :) what do I do to help him lose the weight he is with 9 other ducks (1 pekin, 2 blue swedish, 2 cayugas, and 2 rougens, and 1 fawn & white runner) I feed them a full scoop (tsc scoop for grains) once a day also there are 2 chickens in the same area as well sometimes 4. am I feeding them the right amount?
ReplyDeleteI can help if you tell me how much that feed weighs. Do they get anything else to eat? pasture? kitchen waste? bugs in a pond?
DeleteSo if your geese free range all day. They are more likely not gonna be overweight?
ReplyDeleteYes, that is correct. Just like humans - if you are exercising throughout the day, you are less likely to be overweight.
ReplyDeleteI've had two duck die but the weird thing Was the guts came out of the butt. Is it a disease because I went in my ducks pen and they were fine and 2 minutes later my chocolate Indian runner was dead with its guts out. I don't want it to happen to the rest of my flock. Is it a disease or what?
ReplyDeleteIt is not a disease. Might a predator have killed them? How old are your ducks? Was it females that died?
ReplyDeleteMy geese don't have access to greens except for hay for my other livestock in the winter, should I feed them hay pellets with their grain mixture?
ReplyDeleteIf they have access to hay, I would not bother giving them hay pellets, too.
ReplyDeleteOne of my golden 300 ducks is fat. Her belly drags on the ground. I got her yesterday and I didn't notice she was like that until I got home. One of her pads is huge but the other one is normal. I got 6 other ducks along with her and they are all Normal what's wrong.
ReplyDeleteI doubt if she is fat. My guess is it is a fluid buildup in her abdomen. Does it feel like fluid or fat? The fluid buildup is typically due to a low level infection and her liver is damaged and cannot do its job. It is rare and we normally we see it in Pekins but have seen it in all breeds. There is no cure that we know of.
ReplyDeleteI had two goslings who were eating fine and drinking fine, they ate, pellets, grain and lots of grass and then one day the little girl was lethargic in the morning. She got worser as the day went on and then around midday she spasmed and was ... paralysed? It was as if her neck had broken and then she died.
ReplyDeleteHer friend, the boy is now losing weight because he is not eating as much, could this be that he is too sad to eat? He get's really insecure when left alone and gets excited when he sees me, whereas before when his friend was alive, he didn't really care. Is there anything I can do to get his appetite back? I will be getting a new girl soon in a couple of days but I am worried that he won't make it as he is getting very boney. :(
I am sure he will survive until his new friend arrives. Unless they are sick, animals do not starve themselves to death. You can also try a different feed or snack to stimulate his appetite.
Deletemy 5 week old ducklings have tiny scabs on their pads. i dont think its bumblefoot because there is no swelling and there are no scabs anywhere else on their feet. they are very healthy and clean and we change their bedding every other day.i noticed they had the scabs when they arrived at my farm. i ordered the m on the 3rd of dec.
ReplyDeletewhat is going on?
In case anybody else has this problem and needs to know... My ducklings got little scabs on their feet and the feet peeled a bit around this age. I've been told it happens due to the rapid growth spurts they experience. They grow faster than the skin can stretch, so they often peel. I put a bit of aquaphor or Vaseline on them to ease any itchiness. :) They got better in a few days. They're all grown now with healthy feet.
DeleteI have no idea what is causing that. Can you take some pictures and email them to us here at metzinfo @ metzerfarms. com?
ReplyDeleteHi I sent some pictures to you recently, hopefully this will help.
ReplyDeleteHello Mr. Metzer;
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if you know anything about feeding fodder to ducks. How it will effect how many eggs they lay, egg size, if fodder alone is enough nutrients,etc. I would sure appreciate if you could get back to me on that. Thank you very much
When you say fodder, I take that to mean hay, silage, chopped green material, etc. No, this is not enough for a typical laying duck. You can supplement with fodder but most of their nutrients must come from more "solid" feed - grains, minerals, bugs, slugs, etc. You might get away with fodder only from 9-16 weeks, but not any other time.
ReplyDeleteThere is such thing as a flock of geese. There are gaggles of geese however. ;-) Captions to photos state a flock of geese. If they are flying they are a skein. On the ground a gaggle.
ReplyDeleteFive ducks and two geese from your June 24 shipments - all healthy and happy until two weeks ago my female black swedish was a little wobbly one day and the next morning she was dead! All the others were and still are fine. A sad mystery but wondering if I need to be worried about disease still two weeks on? Thinking maybe hardware disease - she was the most curious and best forager and I've only had this place five years - chickens keep digging up bits of glass and metal in their yard but they don't eat it. Any suggestions/hints/clues? Thanks for great service. FYI: I'm a first-timer with waterfowl.
ReplyDeleteI doubt if it was anything contagious or others would be sick by now. Probably hardware disease or she ate a poisonous plant or ingested something with botulism in it. I wouldn't worry - just keep your eye out for pieces of metal or stagnant pools or dead animals in their pen.
DeleteFour months later all birds doing well and started collecting eggs last week. The Rouen pair rehomed to a larger flock as the drake was too big and rough for the smaller females. All healthy and widely admired Thanks for the great selection, strong birds and helpful advice!
DeleteDear Mr.Metzer,
ReplyDeleteI have two pekin ducks, one is a drake and one is an hen. My female duck (the hen) seems healthy and happy, but I think she's overweight since she has fat hanging from her stomach and reaching near her feet, just like the one on the extremely overweight goose. I really like my ducks, and I wouldn't want their lives to be shortened by anything. So is there anything I can do to help my female duck lose her extra fat and help her maintain a good weight? Thank you for your time.
Reduce how much she eats. Just feed them a limited amount once or twice a day. If your female is overweight, your male is probably overweight, too, so limiting them both should not be a problem. Start with about 1/2 lb. per bird per day and go from there. If it sits around for awhile without them eating it, reduce it.
DeleteThank you for replying. Actually, my Pekin drake is pretty thin, he spends more time playing with us when we interact with them then eating, unlike the female. Also, my pekin duck Daisy forages a lot, so if I limit their feed, will it even matter because of Daisy keep on foraging grass and such?
ReplyDeleteThank You For Your Time.
They get very few calories from grass, etc. so she can eat twice as much grass in her foraging and not get many more calories. She will get more calories from bugs and slugs but you would probably appreciate her eating more of those! So I would cut down on the grain/feed and see what happens.
DeleteHello, i would like to add an idea for the overwieght ducks, my one crested white girl gets fat during laying because i seperate the breeds in pens, so she can't go outside and play. But when laying is done she has access to a kiddie pool. If people have space to put a small kiddie pool, the ducks will splash literally for hours on and off. But i find for ducks the smallest kiddie pool is best. With ramps on the outside and inside of pool. Bricks on the inside near the edge so the duck can get out and split logs or another ROUGH surface ramp on the outside so the fat short legged sweetie can feel safe getting in and out. If they are not used to water you might have to help them into the pool, but watch and make sure they can get back out. My crested's i bought as adults, they had never seen a pool before, they thought it was a waterbowl. I helped them in and they learned its a good thing, but i almost lost the drake to drowning, he never had cause to waterproof himself vigorously before and got waterlogged and too heavy to get out. He was also borderline hypothermic, shivering. He has since learned, and grooms prolificly.
ReplyDeleteSo pools are great exercise but use safety and sense, give access to ramps and some supervision untill the bird is up to speed on waterproofing themselves fully.
If your geese have gained too much weight, the reason is often too high supply of carbohydrates in their diet (for example white bread). Geese tend to eat greens too, so it can be a good idea, to switch their food to some of them like cabbage or lettuce. They can survive on a grass only too.
ReplyDeleteI have been hunting online to find what is the total percentage of brewers grain I can feed to my meat ducks and my layers. Things that I have found is that Brewers grain is 1/4 the value of dry grain. I also found that you should not feed them more than 30-40% of their food. One thing I am trying to decifer is does that mean that since Brewers grain is 1/4th the value that I should feed them by weight 60-70% dry grain and the 30-40% Brewers grain by weight or by value. So for every lb of Brewers grain it would be times 4 because of the value?
ReplyDeleteAlso, if feed is high protein like 25% can that be bad? What is the reason for lowering it when they lay.
I feed ducks, geese, turkeys, and chickens.
If they say that you should not feed over 30% of a particular ingredient, that means 30% in terms of weight. If you are mixing 1000 lbs. total, for example, then not over 300 lbs. should be of that particular ingredient. Typically excessive protein is not bad. Sometimes it will cause geese and ducks to get angel wing, a condition where the last wing joint twists out as the ligaments and tendons do not grow as fast as the muscles and bones. If you harvesting them for food, this does not matter. But if you are keeping them for pets, it detracts from their appearance. Excess protein is normally converted to energy if the feed has more protein than what the animal needs.
ReplyDeleteI rescued a 2 yr old pekin female from her slaughter date,,,, who's toosh drags on the ground. I called the owner 2 days later and asked about this and he told me she had always bellied up to the pigs meal on his farm and ate continuously...I am now going to put her on egg layer and in a few days some fodder...I am also adding a spit of niacin to strengthen her legs...is this a good remedy for an obese pekin female? I got her to be friends with my also newly acquired pekin male.......jean
ReplyDeleteYes, this is a good plan. You just have to limit her caloric intake. Make her eat more grass or vegetables. With all that fat on her, she has plenty of reserves. You can weigh her before you get started and then every week or two to see how you progress. Good luck!
DeleteHi, I have just become the owner of a male Pekin duck - I don't want to breed ducks, just keep one or two, so from what I am reading it seems like I now have three options:
ReplyDelete1. Keep a solo drake - I would assume it would like company for when we can't be with it.
2. Adding just one female, but is adding just one female not enough? I have read that it is best to have 1 male to 2 or 3 females.
2. Or can I keep two drakes together for company or will they fight?
I would appreciate you input. Thank you
As they are social animals, they would appreciate a pen mate. A single pair (one male and one female) is normally fine - I would not worry about that situation. Two males is okay, too. They normally only fight if it is over a female. Enjoy!
DeleteWhat is an ideal weight for ten day old lightweight breed goslings? I want to know if mine are too fat or underweight.
ReplyDeleteAt ten days of age, they cannot be overweight. For geese you want to feed them all they can eat until at least four weeks of age. And for lightweight geese, they are unlikely to become overweight anyway.
ReplyDeleteDear John,
ReplyDeleteI am planning to go for a Peking duck farm and I am planning to grow my own fodder (using aquaponics and wheat, rice,and maze) as their feed. Like 6-8 days old fodder which will have the grain with the roots. Do you think it is enough or should I give them grain as well? In the net I found that now a days people are growing and feeding fodder as food for their chickens, ducks, turkey, and other livestock. I am planning for a Peking duck farm and few turkey and guinifowl. Your reply will be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
BR
M Islam
You would have to work with a nutritionist to make sure your proposed feed ingredients will supply all the nutrients that ducks require. I really don't know. You can show the nutritionist the nutrient requirements we have on our website for ducks.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHello John, I have 1 Pekin and 5 Rouens that I got from Metzer Farms about 6 months ago. They have been very healthy, until this morning I found my Pekin unable to walk. I think she's overweight because I have been feeding them more food or snacks to keep them warm this winter. What can I do to help her lose some of that weight so she can walk again? How much feed does she need? I'm really concerned for her. I was also wondering what you know about ducks hardiness in winter? They sleep in an old grain bin we have that's lined inside with straw and filled with a deep pile of wood chips... will this be enough for them or is there anything else I can do to keep them warm enough without overfeeding them again? I'd really appreciate any advice!
ReplyDeleteI doubt if her lack of walking is due to being overweight. She would not go from full walking to no walking overnight due to gaining a few grams of weight that night. My guess it is due to an injury. Your housing seems adequate unless you are in Alaska. The only way you can make them lose weight is to feed them less. Just feed so much a day so they clean it up in an hour. But you do want them to have a bit of fat if you are in a colder climate.
DeleteMr. Metzer,
ReplyDeleteHow do you weight it before starting on a diet plan? Thanks
We use a hanging scale on which we attach a killing cone. The bird is upside down and their head goes through the hole at the end of the cone. They kick a little but normally settle down so you can get a weight.
DeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteI have a pet Muscovy Duck that is having health issues.
She is experiencing the following signs and symptoms:
1)
She just laid her first clutch of a total of 13 eggs. The 1st egg was laid Nov 16th. She continued to lay 1 egg every morning and finished laying the 13th and final egg of this clutch Dec 1st. Almost immediately after finishing laying the last egg... she lost her appetite appetite and would barely eat. It now has been about ten days since the last egg was laid and still no appetite. She probably eats less than 1/4 the amount she used to eat. After looking up info on Muscovy Ducks I have discovered that the food I feed her does not meet the feeding guidelines she needs to be healthy. I have had her since the day she hatched because her mother was hit by a car and killed same day. As far as what she eats, I have given her dried and fresh meal worms and super worms,Crickets, and maybe on 2 occasions feeder fish (all of which were purchased from pet store and not found in the wild),
1-2 slices of wheat bread daily, a sampling of our table scraps (spaghetti, kale, string cheese- her favorite, cereal, rice, fruit- blueberries, strawberries, turkey lunch meat, etc etc. and she has access to
light foraging daily of grass, trees, leaves, bushes in our front yard. I put her in her kennel and bring her inside every night but she is free to roam all throughout the day as I put her outside every morning.
2)
Her stool is very runny almost looks like water. She has had this diarrhea for several days now.
(Sign of possible parasites? Do you recommend that I deworm her myself? I can not afford to take her to the vet. Can you please tell me the name and dosage of a safe accessible dewormer medication?
She is losing weight quickly. PLEASE ADVISE!!
Note: She did not appear to be struggling when she was laying and is not egg bound. She is less active but doesn't exhibit signs of sickness in her temperament (she's not puffed up, she is alert, and still affectionate.
What is proper diet for her and how do I get her to eat?
The next problem is minor compared to the ones listed above:
3) My duck has angel wings. I'm afraid it is prob too late to tape them. Are there any other solutions for this? I realize now this condition is due to improper diet.
Can I clip/ trim the feathers on the wings that are sticking out? Just make them shorter.. Lately she has been getting them caught on things. I know they have blood feathers.. But I don't know which ones they are or how to trim the feathers sticking out without causing her any injury or damage. I'm afraid if I don't trim them she may injur or break her wings if she keeps getting them caught on things. Also, is there any other solution besides surgury?
Please advise! Any information would be helpful and greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
I have included her photos below
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The last photo below was a taken 2 months ago when she had a healthy appetite and before she laid any eggs.
Best Regards,
SN
702-575-0572
Iamfocused2015@gmail.com
Sent from my iPhone
We have a three year old Sebastopol who has not laid an egg in the two years we have had her. She has been vent sexed as female and does not look overweight. She and her mate are fed corn overnight and eats grass during the day.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your time.
I would give her a more balanced ration. It is very low in protein and many vitamins and minerals. The grass is fine but I would give her as much poultry layer feed (crumble or pellet) she wants next spring starting February 1. Until then I would switch from the corn to a poultry maintenance ration that is 13-16% protein. The corn is like you only eating bread. High in carbs and calories but not much else.
DeleteUsing the chart above if I figured it correctly I should feed my 22 ducks about 6lbs of food a day.
ReplyDeleteMy question is since they foragemost of the day on about an acre and a half of grass area which also has a large pond plus they have access to fields of soy beans or corn depending on the year, How much should I cut there food by??? Eileen
You just want to make sure they are hungry, but not starving, when you feed them. They all eat but there is food left over for several hours (assuming you feed once a day). As they get less from foraging during the winter, you will need to increase the feed you give them when they are not laying. If they are laying, give them all they want to eat. It is a bit of an art. Enjoy!
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