You can not use chick starter for waterfowl. The medications are toxic to ducklings / goslings and the protein is about 12% less in the chick starter. Proper developement will not occur in the young birds.
Ducks are efficient foragers, so once they reach maturity feed bill is greatly reduced. They do an even better job than chickens at insect eradication.
$7.50 is about average for adult birds that have molted 2 or more times. They are not as productive (egg laying that is ) after the molts. Breeders can't justify the reduced production for the same amount of feed. Localized market also plays a big part. Pekins and rouens go for about $5 apiece here for adults.Everybody and their brother raise them. No one raises mallards around here, so I have no problem selling flight birds for $15.
