Mostly you have seen ducks in wild areas and where their common duck food are seeds, grass, insects, small plants and worms. Nowadays, some of the people have started keeping ducks in their home as a pet. They have friendly, gentle and playful nature. As a duck owner, the first and most important thing is to know what kind of food you have to feed them and how to maintain a proper diet to keep them healthy and grow fast.
In this article, you will learn what foods to feed your duck, what to avoid, and how to feed them properly.
Ducks natural diet depend on the type of environment they are living. Ducks are omnivores they often eat both plants (like grass, weed, grains, roots and aquatic plants) and small living things such as (insects, worms, snails and small fishes in pond or lakes).
In wild environment with the changes of seasons, duck food also changes as they have to depend on the nature and have to eat what they find. During warm season they eat small insects and worms while in cold season they totally rely on grains, seeds and plants, to maintain their natural diet.
If we look on pet duck food, it depend on the owner, how they are feeding their duck. Owners usually feed grains (like corn, wheat, oat, barely and rice), Ducks also enjoy green leafy vegetables such as lettuce, Spinach, peas and cabbage. You can also feed small insects, mealworms, apples, watermelon, banana, berries, and even boiled eggs in small amounts. Commercial duck foods are also best for feeding your ducks because it’s a mix of important vitamins and mineral to keep your duck healthy, happy, helps to grow fast and lay eggs.
Domestic Foods for Ducks
Being a duck owner, first thing that came to mind is what is the best food for duck to feed? Because they cannot find enough food themselves. They need a proper diet as human to live healthier and happier.
Here are some food you can feed you duck for maintaining a proper nutritional diet:
1-Duck Pellet and Crumbles
Duck pellet and crumbles are special type of feeds, rich in all the nutrients, needed for a balanced diet. They are small hard and soft pieces of feed usually contain grain, protein, vitamins and mineral to support healthier growth. They are manufactured in way that both adults and ducklings can easily eat them and digest them.
Below are some kinds of Duck Pellets and Crumbles:
. Starter Feed
It helps baby duckling to grow fast and provide basic nutrients.
. Grower Feed
A balanced diet for young ducks as they are in growing phase.
. Layer Feed
It’s a calcium rich feed for adult female ducks, to produce strong eggshells.
. Maintenance Feed
This feed is for adult ducks to keep them healthy, who are not laying eggs.
2-Fruits
Mostly Ducks enjoy to eat fruits, but they should be in small amount without seeds and pits because they are toxic and harmful.
Here are some fruit that are part of duck food:
. Apple
. Bananas
. Water melon
. Grapes
. Berries
. Pears
3-Vegetables
Leafy green vegetables are an important part of duck food to provide essential nutrients like fiber, vitamins and minerals to maintain a healthier lifestyle and a balance diet.
Safe vegetables for ducks:
. Lettuce
. Cucumber
. Corn
. Carrot
. Kale
. Spinach
. Peas
Before feeding them, cut the vegetables into small pieces, so ducks can easily eat them.
Avoid feeding onion, raw beans and garlic, these can be harmful for ducks.
4- Grains and Seeds
Grains and seeds are the important part diet to provide energy, carbohydrates and essential nutrients that helps duck to maintain a healthy life. As grains and seeds are easy to eat food.
Common grains for Duck:
. Wheat
. Barely
. Oat
. Corn
. Rice
Seeds for Ducks:
. Sunflower seed
. Mixed Bird seed
. Pumpkin seeds
Always offer grains and seeds in small amount because grains and seeds can in excess amount can create problems during digestion process.
5- Protein
Protein are essential part of duck’s daily diet, as it is required for repairing the body, growing strong muscles, building healthier feathers and produce strong eggs.
Here are some common duck food that provide protein:
. Mealworms
. Boiled Eggs
. Duck pellets
. Fish meal
. Soybean meal
Foods Ducks Must Avoid
As a duck keeper, you have to feed ducks in the proper way by providing healthy duck food. However, not all foods are safe and can cause serious health issues. Feeding your ducks wrong food can cause obesity or dangerous diseases.
Here some of duck food to avoid
. Bread and Junk foods
Break and junk foods such as crackers, cookies, chips, bread and fast foods are unsafe, feeding them in excess amount can cause ‘Angle wings’, where there wings grow abnormally and they can’t fly.
. Toxic foods
Food like Avocado, Citrus food, Onion, Garlic, raw beans, chocolate and caffeine are unsafe for ducks, as they are piousness and toxic.
. Salty and Sugary
A duck immune system can’t handle salt and sugar in high amount, as salt damages their organs while sugar causes weight gains and weakness. Avoid feeding them salted seeds, fries, popcorns and candies.
. Moldy or Spoiled Food
Never feed you duck moldy, rotten and spoiled food, as they are harmful, make ducks very sick and sometime even kills.
. Large Seeds and Pits
Apple seed, cherry pits, peach pit, plum and apricot pits are contain harmful chemical. As ducks enjoy fruits but make sure to remove seed before giving them.
Birds and Cats foods for ducks
If you want to add birds or cat’s food to Ducks diet, you have to be extra careful and know exactly what you are feeding.
Birds food contain seeds such as sunflower, cracked corns, millet, sorghums are good for duck but avoid these seed mixes with high salt, artificial colors and preservatives. Which can cause health problems.
Cat foods are high in protein, as they are made from meat. Since ducks are good with meat but feeding regularly can cause health problem like Obesity, nutritional imbalance and kidney problems.
Duck food should be according to their diets and they do their best on duck pellets, vegetables, fruits, safe proteins and grains.
Feeding Tips for Ducks
Feeding duck in right ways help to keep duck healthy, happy and safe.
Here are some tips for feeding you duck:
. Always make sure to provide a balance diet of protein, pellet, grains, vegetable and fruit.
. Keep fresh and clean next to your duck during feeding, as the need to swallow food properly.
. Mix different foods and maintain fixed ratio in daily diet because too much food can cause digestive problems and lead to overweight.
. Feed them according to season. In summer, provide them leafy green vegetable and fruits while in winters, use grains and seeds as duck food.
. As duck duckling are in growth phase, they need special starter feeds with high protein for fast growth. Feed them 3-4 times a day.
. Avoid harmful foods and always prefer nutritious duck foods such as pellets, protein, grains, fruits and vegetable.
Last thought
As a caretaker your first and most important responsibility is to feed your ducks in a proper way so they get enough of nutrients. Nutritious duck food include green plant, vegetable, fruits, grains, pellet and a balance diet ensure that your ducks are happy, healthier and energetic.
Ducks can’t get enough nutrients from at their own and rely on owner to get enough of nutrients they require, to maintain a healthier and strong lifestyle. By understanding the proper way of feeding and ensuring all the important nutrients, helps your duck to stay strong and grow fast.