# goats eating my duck food



## marilyn1 (Mar 21, 2013)

I separate them to feed but the ducks always leave some.  Their food is the same brand the goats eat.  They always leave some in their pan.  The goats will run over and eat it and the ducks run over to the goats food and eat that also.  Will a little bit of this hurt either animal.  neither food is medicated.  The ducks and goats are on nutrena the goats get the sweet feed and ducks get nutrena pellets or crumbles neither is medicated.


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## Pearce Pastures (Mar 21, 2013)

No ducks here but if duck feed is anything like chicken feed, you need to make sure they don't get a hold of anymore.  Chicken feed can cause serious problems.


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## marilyn1 (Mar 21, 2013)

Pearce Pastures said:
			
		

> No ducks here but if duck feed is anything like chicken feed, you need to make sure they don't get a hold of anymore.  Chicken feed can cause serious problems.


It is poultry food, Nutrena crumbles or pellets non medicated.  I'll have to pick it up before I open the areas back up after feeding.  What kind of problems will it cause the goats.  They didn't eat a lot just a bit.


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## Goatherd (Mar 22, 2013)

> What kind of problems will it cause the goats.  They didn't eat a lot just a bit.


It's not going to cause any problems for your goats.  Chicken or duck feed isn't much different than goat feed other than it is "fine tuned" with vitamins, minerals, etc. specifically geared towards poultry.

You can experience trouble with goats when they eat EXCESSIVE amounts of feed, but this could be chicken, duck, or cat food for that matter.  Most goats have insatiable appetites and it has nothing to do with hunger.  They will eat for the sake of eating.  Large amounts of food can cause bloat in your goat and this is a situation that can be a problem for your goats.  Nibbling or eating small amounts of duck food isn't going to make a bit of difference and I tell you this from experience. 

Every day, and this is not an exaggeration, my goats eat chicken food from the chicken food feeders when they are left out of their stalls and we're on our way to the pasture.
And if that isn't bad enough, they all nibble on the azaleas and rhododendrons along the way.  

You'll find in time that goats are far more resilient than you think.  You don't want to tempt fate, but most things in small amounts aren't going to make a difference whatsoever.


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## Pearce Pastures (Mar 22, 2013)

If it is just a tiny amount, you probably won't have issues but the differences in chicken feed and goat feed are significant enough that if they were to have themselves a nice meal of it, not even necessarily gorging themselves on it, you would have some sick goats (scours, bloat, and yes, they can die especially little ones).  Goats are tough for the most part, but there are some things that can quickly become issues and a lot of them revolve around diet.


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## marilyn1 (Mar 23, 2013)

Thanks,  I let the goats out of their pen and feed them in yard and the ducks stay closed in for a chance to eat alone.  I only have 2 ducks so there is not a lot of food put out at a time.  I usually pick it up after a while and let the ducks out into the yard also.  The goats will rush in and eat some of what is left.  If there is any amount I pick it up.  So there is not a lot left down.  The ducks will do the same with the goat food.  So no one gets a large amount of the other one's food.


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