11/10/2025
Occasionally we recieve feedback regarding our use of Mini-chunk dog kibble to feed our waterfowl. We have been doing this for over 13 years, as did the farmer who sold us our very first group of 4 adult ducks (Rouens) in early 2012.
SO, as this has come up again, George asked his AI friend CharGPT and this was the full response (long session)
Query: we have been using basic dog food like Retriever brand Mini Chunk for our ducks and they are doing well for years. Am I making a mistake?
ChatGPT said:
Short answer: Not necessarily, but there are some potential long-term issues to be aware of.
Many people with mixed farm animals have fed ducks dog food without obvious problems, especially if the ducks free-range and get supplemental forage. However, dog food is not formulated with birds in mind, and there are a few nutritional differences worth knowing so you can decide whether to adjust anything.
✅ Pros (why it may seem to work)
High protein
Many dog foods are around 20–26% protein, which ducks can use.
Balanced calories and fats
Ducks can digest fats well, and dog food usually has plenty.
Amino acids are adequate
Most dog foods include methionine and lysine, which are important for birds.
Ducks are hardy
Ducks tolerate a wide range of diets better than chickens. They can get nutrients from bugs, grass, and foraging that compensate for deficiencies in the feed.
⚠️ Cons (things to watch)
1. Calcium level is too low for layers
Laying ducks need 3–4% calcium.
Dog food usually has 1% or less.
This can lead to:
soft-shelled eggs
egg binding
weak bones later in life
If you have laying ducks, provide free-choice oyster shell or crushed eggshells. That solves the calcium gap. (so does nutritional bone meal which we use -- oyster shell to me is like feeding them broken glass)
2. Niacin levels may be too low
Ducks especially ducklings need more niacin than chickens or dogs.
Adult ducks can usually compensate by foraging. (and ours all do and we don't have ducklings)
Ducklings fed dog food ONLY may develop:
bowed legs
weak joints
slow growth (none of these are an issue, all were started first 6 months of non-medicated starter then transitioned as adults)
For adult ducks who are healthy, this may not be a big issue.
3. Salt/sodium content varies
Dog food sometimes has higher sodium than poultry feed.
Ducks tolerate sodium better than chickens, but very high levels can increase water intake and stress kidneys.
Usually not dangerous unless using a high-salt brand. (we don't, see below)
4. Dog food lacks some micronutrients
Poultry feed includes a specific vitamin/mineral premix tailored to egg production, feather quality, and metabolism. Dog food rarely matches that profile.
Again, free-ranging ducks cover many nutritional gaps on their own. (ours obviously do)
✅ If your ducks are doing well
If they are:
laying normally (if they’re layers)
have bright eyes and good feathering
walk normally
aren’t overweight
have normal egg shell quality
…then you’re probably not causing harm.
Ducks are very forgiving.
✅ Easy improvements (if you want to keep the system)
You don’t necessarily need to switch entirely to poultry feed. You can keep using dog food and add:
Oyster shell (for layers) — free choice -- we actually supplement with nutritional bone meal and have excellent egg production
Brewer’s yeast or niacin supplement — especially for ducklings (again, no ducklings here)
Scratch grains or whole corn — as a mix
Greens (grass, lettuce, weeds) (they have all the greens they want free range)
These give you the benefits of poultry nutrition while keeping your simple feeding routine.
✅ Bottom line
You’re not doing anything dangerous, and many hobby duck keepers do the same.
Ducks are scavengers and omnivores with broad diets. If yours have been healthy for years, that’s a good sign.
But if you want to optimize for longevity, shell quality, and joint health, adding calcium and niacin would be the biggest improvements. -- again we always supplement with food grade nutritional bone meal (aka not fertilizer grade).
If you want, you can tell me how old your ducks are and whether they lay eggs, and I can fine-tune the recommendations.
Great — with age 1–5 and about 75% laying regularly, (the other 25% are drakes LOL) here’s a targeted evaluation and the simplest way to improve their nutrition without changing your basic feeding routine much.
✅ How well their current diet is supporting them
Because you’re getting good egg production from most of your flock, that tells us:
They’re getting enough protein
Energy levels are good
General micronutrient levels are adequate
They're not suffering obvious deficiencies
Their weight is probably in a healthy range
If the diet were seriously unbalanced, egg production would be much lower, or shells would be weak.
(I forgot to mention >90% fertility rate when we incubate and hatch them each year)
So you’re doing well overall.
✅ The only real concerns at their age range
1. Calcium needs for layers
Ducks that actively lay eggs need a lot of calcium every day, and store it in their bones.
👉 Best solution: Provide a bowl of oyster shell free-choice.
Ducks will eat exactly the amount they need.
2. Niacin balance
Niacin deficiency is mostly a duckling issue, not an adult one.
Since your youngest ducks are already 1 year old, this is not a concern anymore — their bones are fully formed.
Adult ducks can tolerate lower niacin as long as they’re healthy and active.
3. Salt and protein levels
Dog food protein is fine.
Salt in Retriever Mini Chunk is not high enough to harm ducks.
No worries there.
✅ Recommended simple setup (minimal changes)
Here’s the easiest, low-effort, low-cost way to keep your ducks healthy long-term while still using dog food:
1. Keep feeding the dog food
They’re obviously thriving on it.
2. Add oyster shell
Free choice, not mixed in.
3. Provide greens
Even just access to grass or weeds is plenty.
But if your flock has been doing well for years on dog food, they’re likely robust and good foragers.
✅ Bottom line
You're not making a mistake.
Your ducks are healthy and productive.
Just give them:
👉 oyster shell on the side,
and you’re covering the only real nutritional gap.
✅ Bone meal as a calcium booster
Bone meal does add calcium and phosphorus, and it’s useful, especially when:
birds free-range
you’re mixing feeds
you want a simple calcium addition
Still, adding an ounce per batch is absolutely beneficial, and it is not harmful.
✅ Free-ranging makes a huge difference
Since your ducks and geese free-range during the day, they get:
fresh greens
bugs
grubs
grit
sunlight
extra minerals from soil
exercise
This drastically reduces the risk of micronutrient deficiencies and keeps them healthy overall. Free-ranging ducks are far more resilient to imperfect feed formulas.
This is why your flock stays productive even on a non-standard feed mix.
✅ Do the geese eat the same mix?
Geese are primarily herbivores, so a grain/dog food mix is fine in moderation, but they tend to get most of their nutrition from grazing anyway. That's perfect for them.
A bit of extra protein doesn’t hurt adult geese unless they’re overfed and unable to graze.
✅ Overall assessment
Your current feeding system is:
working well
supported by free-ranging
supplemented with calcium (bone meal)
resulting in regular egg production
not showing health problems in your flock
✅ If everything looks good, keep doing what you’re doing
You’ve found a system that works for your birds and your farm setup. Ducks and geese are tough, adaptable, and very good at filling in nutritional gaps when given space to roam.
Your current approach is not a mistake — it’s actually pretty clever for a free-range flock
You said:
What I add is NOW Bone Meal powder with this content: Calcium - 750 mg (58% daily value) Phosphorus - 250 mg (20% daily value) Magnesium - 5 mg (1% daily value)
ChatGPT said:
Thanks for providing the exact nutrient numbers — that makes the evaluation much clearer.
Here’s how your supplement works in the context of ducks and geese.
✅ Bone Meal Content (per teaspoon)
Based on the NOW brand label:
Calcium: 750 mg
Phosphorus: 250 mg
Magnesium: 5 mg
Ca:P ratio ≈ 3:1, which is quite good.
This is actually better balanced than many bone meal products (which are often 2:1).
✅ How much does this help your birds?
A laying duck needs about 2–4 grams (2,000–4,000 mg) of calcium per day.
If you’re adding around 1 ounce of bone meal (≈ 28 grams), that’s roughly about 6 teaspoons, or ~4,500 mg calcium + 1,500 mg phosphorus spread across however many ducks are eating the mix.
Since this is shared among the flock, each duck probably consumes only a small portion of the total.
So bone meal is contributing, but not providing the full daily calcium needs for an active laying duck.
But that’s okay — because:
they compensate through diet variety
their needs fluctuate
some days they forage more calcium-rich material
not every duck lays every day
✅ Is the magnesium content OK?
Yes — magnesium levels are very low and safe.
Ducks need small amounts; excess magnesium is easily excreted.
✅ Bottom line on your supplement
Your use of NOW bone meal powder:
is beneficial
is safe
helps provide supplemental calcium
does not risk over-supplementation
provides a good Ca:P ratio
From us, BOTTOM LINE: our ducks and geese adamantly REFUSE to eat any brand of duck, goose, or waterfowl feed, and we have tried many. It just sits there until eventually the squirrels discover it. They are thriving on the kibble w foraging and bone meal supplements. Of 17 laying duck hens, we get approximately 8-12 eggs every day, year round. Female goose lays 3-4 eggs a week in spring and summer then takes the winter off. No soft shells, no bone problems, no feather issues. We're good.
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