What should ducks eat

Please also note that feeding ducks is not the same as feeding chickens. Reference Inner South Veterinary Centre. How should I keep and care for my pet ducks? Tagged: Feeding animals Pet care. Was this article helpful? Yes No. Find your perfect volunteer role today. Could you join your local Towpath Taskforce team and help us to keep our canals looking lovely?

Want to make a real difference to your community? You could join over groups who volunteer with us every year. Becoming a Friend by making a monthly donation is one of the most effective ways to support our work. Will you leave a gift in your Will to keep the canals and rivers you care about alive?

We are caring and open and aim to put our supporters at the heart of everything we do. We're on a mission to improve the health of our wild birds across the country. Do you know what you should feed ducks to keep them healthy?

There are actually a few reasons why you should avoid feeding ducks bread. For starters, bread is not very nutritional for ducks. Can you imagine the health implications if you only ate bread as your diet? Not only is it not nutritious, bread will attract many other birds and cause overcrowding, which in turn results in an increase in droppings.

This can cause further disruption, such as slippery surfaces and possible damage to habitats and waterways. To find out more, read our article on why is bread bad for ducks? We've put together a list of six different foods that you can use as duck feed, instead of bread. It turns out that ducks are quite partial to sweetcorn. Tinned, frozen or fresh. Obviously, remove them from the tin first. Instead of consigning it to the bin, rip it into pieces and treat your local ducks.

Rocket, kale and iceberg are all great choices. Whether you buy bird seed or just seeds from the fruit and nut aisle in the supermarket, the ducks will be very grateful for these nutritious nibbles.

Ducks will appreciate a handful of leftover rice from a takeaway. Just remember to keep the crispy duck all to yourself. You can also use uncooked rice, both are fine.

In conclusion, is it okay to feed ducks bread? No, there are many other types of food you can use instead, which will cause less overcrowding and a less stressful environment for ducks and swans. A healthy duck is a happy duck. Even though bread is typically made from grains, the breadmaking process renders it very filling with a relatively low amount of nutrients, two factors that can lead to malnourished ducks.

For vegetables, the most important consideration is making sure that the bits and pieces you offer are small enough for waterfowl to handle.

Cut salad greens, vegetable peels, nuts, grapes, and other produce into small pieces before you toss them to these birds. A bag of frozen mixed peas, corn niblets, and carrot pieces is one of the best options for waterfowl: these veggies are nutritious, affordable, and small enough for ducks to eat whole.

Grains like oats, rice, and seeds make good waterfowl chow for the same reason. In reality, they are capable of fending for themselves, finding their food in the wild, and do not require human handouts to survive, no matter the season or how much they beg for treats. One thing the experts all agree on is that too much feeding is unhealthy and can create excess waste and pollution that can destroy habitats and harm birds and other wildlife.

Also, leftover, uneaten food can attract rodents, create unpleasant odors, and spread diseases. Some birds that are fed too often can become aggressive, and may become a nuisance if they overpopulate a small area. Birders also agree if you must give ducks or any other wild birds a treat—and no posted notices or local ordinances discourage the practice—then nutritious treats are the best choice to offer.

The most common items people feed to ducks and waterfowl are often the least nutritious and most unhealthy. Bread, chips, crackers, donuts, cereal, popcorn, and similar bread-type products or junk food scraps are not the right foods for birds. The uneaten remnants often pollute waterways and attract vermin and other pests.

Some people may feed ducks their leftover stale or moldy bread, which should never be fed to the birds: Several types of mold can be fatal to waterfowl. Fortunately, you can offer many other healthy, safe, and nutritious foods to omnivorous birds like ducks, geese, and swans.

The best foods have nutrients, minerals, and vitamins that the birds need for healthy growth and development.