Q. What do you feed
waterfowl?Q. What do you feed
waterfowl?
A. You want to provide your birds with the best and most nutrious diet possible. There are diet recommendations for waterfowl published in virtually every issue of the Game Bird Gazette magazine and you can pick up excellent feeding tips there. During most of the year you can give ducks, geese, and swans a simple diet of mixed grains, greens, and Mazuri Waterfowl Maintenance feed or other brand. The Mazuri feed line is manufactured by Purina Mills, Inc. and is used by thousands of waterfowl breeders who are looking for a feed that is specially formulated and of the highest quality. It comes in a crumble that is easy for all waterfowl species to eat. You can call their toll free number that is listed in their advertisement in the Game Bird Gazette (1-800-227-8941) to locate a Purina Feed dealer near you. In addition to their Mazuri waterfowl starter, maintenance, and breeder feed, they also put out the Mazuri Sea Duck Diet which is specially formulated for sea ducks. Sea ducks include such species as golden-eyes, buffleheads, eiders, old squaws and scoters.
During
the breeding season the adult ducks, geese and swans can be given
the breeder feed and when th
e young hatch the ducks and swans are
given Mazuri starter crumbles. Growing geese are fed differently
as the protein level in many species must be less in order to
avoid slipped tendons and other problems that may develop from
too much protein. Chopped greens or tender lettuce leaves along
with a commercially prepared crumble that is low in protein is
the diet provided for the growing geese by many breeders. If
geese are fed a diet that is too high in protein, they can
experience slipped tendons and other problems. We have been very
impressed with the Mazuri for most waterfowl as it seems to have
resulted in a better growth rate and improved feather condition.
You can also throw a few handfuls of small size dry dog food bits
out onto the ponds each day which will bring the birds up and
make them tamer. The mergansers, golden-eyes, and harlequins especially look forward to
this special treat and it makes them very tame! And even dabblers
such as the Cinnamon Teal shown in the picture above really enjoy
it. Fresh lettuce trimmings can be picked up from the local
supermarkets, and most of the ducks, geese, and swans enjoy this
as well. Giving birds plenty of variety in their diet can help
reduce the possibility of boredom and increases their happiness
and overall quality of life. --by J.B.
Q. Can you rat
e some of the more
common varieties of geese as to noise level? I would like to have
geese but have to avoid becoming a noise nuisance in my
neighborhood.
A. In my own opinion, the voices of
most of the geese will not bother your neighbors. In fact, my
experience is that neighbors enjoy lstending to the ducks, geese,
and swans and seeing them can be a wonderful educational
experience. But to specifically 
answer your queestion, it can be
difficult to predict noise levels as the vocalizations of
individuals may vary. I can help by excluding some species that
some would consider a little on the noisy side: Cacklers,
especially in the breeding season, and Barnacles and
Red-breasteds the same but with a little more penetrating yap,
and most varieties of true geese. The mid-sized Canadas are not
too bad about making constant noise. For some reason I've found
that the bigger birds seem to make less racket. Cacklers can be
insistent loud mouths. Giant Canadas are really pretty quiet,
except when they do call, it is with real force. On the quieter
side are the larger sheldgeese. The smaller ones, Ruddy-headed
for instance, are more nervous and noisier. One of the least
vocal and peaceful geese in my experience is the Emperor. I don't
think that Snow geese are not overly noisy . There are many
species of other geese and ducks that make very little noise
and would not be objectionable at all with your neighbors. --by
J.B.
A. This is an excellent question
because how to properly hold waterfowl is very important yet
seldom covered in the literature. You want to catch your ducks,
geese, and swans with great care and, if a net is necessary, use
a soft fish net that is sufficiently large to catch the bird or
use help herd a bird or group of birds from one pen to another. A
safe and effective way to hold a duck is shown in the photo at
right. This is a young golden-eye duck and the picture on the
left is a researcher holding a hottentot teal and two of its
eggs. If the duck to be caught is in a pen or enclosure, catch it
with a soft fish net or other means and then move the "v" between your thumb and index finger up under the
wings and hold firmly at the base of the wings. Because wings are
used for flight, they are generally quite strong and can easily
support the weight of the bird. Never grab a duck by its legs as
this can cause serious injury. 
Q. Does encouraging a duck hen to lay more clutches than her original one by removing the eggs actually "ruin" her in consecutive years as far as egg laying and fertility goes? I would like to think not, as my Mandarin ducks are laying three clutches a season now. I am thinking that a high protein diet during and for two months after breeding season should put the hen back "on the road to recovery."
A. The term "double-clutching" in avicultural circles is a common
one. It refers to the practice of removing the first clutch and
encouraging the hen to replace them with more eggs if she is
inclined. Double clutching is a common practice in waterfowl
b
reeding. The practice is not called triple clutching or
quadruple clutching for common sense reasons. Most birds won't
triple clutch. Your Mandies are taxing themselves in doing so,
and I would predict problems for you fairly soon if you persist
in the practice. Egg formation is draining on a bird's system. I
believe that turning a hen duck, goose or swan into an egg
machine promotes weak progeny and shortened lives.
In the poultry world where breeders selectively propagate for maximum egg-laying potential I believe it is common practice to save only the early laid eggs for hatching. Later eggs, though perfectly marketable and commercial, do not produce high quality chicks. Also breeders of poultry expect and get a shortened life expectancy on heavy laying strains of birds. Your high protein diet is well advised, especially if supplemented with calcium and mineral supplements to help in egg formation. --JB
I am aware
of one breeder of waterfowl who works his stock for every
possible egg and has done so for a number of years. I personally
think that the birds he markets simply do not stand up in
comparison to the size and vigor of birds that are produced by
other breede
rs who let nature take a more natural course.
It should be pointed out that many species of captive birds are now laying clutches that are larger than yielded by their counterparts in the wild. I think this is perfectly okay as these higher yields occurred over a 20 to 30 years period of selective breeding and domestication in many diverse collections and many breeders. --JB
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