The sound of quacking near ponds is an indication of the presence of ducks.Ducks and other waterfowl birds are a common sight at local parks and lakes near you. They are seen often being fed by people visiting the area, but is it a good thing?Unlike chicken and pet ducks, there are certain practices that are better to be avoided when it comes to wild ducks, feeding them food being one of them. When it comes to your pet ducks too, there are some food practices to avoid. Your chicken might be fine with it but there is a high chance that some foods are causing trouble to the ducks, such as bread, which is detrimental to their health. Here we can dive more into the dietary needs and requirements of ducks to see if we are going wrong somewhere. Read on to know all about what do ducks eat.Afterward, learn more about how to raise ducks and how long for duck eggs to hatch?What is the best thing to feed ducks?Ducks and other waterfowl birds like geese and swans are a common sight in the pond near a park. It is typical to tend to feed these wild ducks and other waterfowl. Do we need to feed the birds in their wild habitat? Probably not. But as humans, we love giving treats to the swans, geese, and ducks in the pond.Children love to throw bread to ducks in parks, but it actually is harmful to feed to ducks. Some of us have a duck pet in our household too. This raises the question, what do ducks eat, and what is better food to feed them? Being aware of this will help us feed much more nutritious food to the waterfowl birds in the pond.The food that you will feed your ducks has to be nutritious, which will make them healthy. The nutritional value of the foods will be similar to the ones that wild ducks forage for themselves in the natural environment. Ducks will forage insects, worms, seeds, grains, and plants from the wild. As for treats, we can give them corn, grains like wheat and barley, oats, rice, birdseed, grapes, frozen peas, frozen corn, greens like lettuce, and so on. The rice can be uncooked or cooked. Plain white and brown rice are both good food to feed ducks.Foods like these are very nutritious for the ducks. This way the treats become healthy rather than unhealthy junk food, which can lead to many health issues in these birds. Ducks eat these foods easily too. So, instead of giving your children junk food to feed the waterfowl bird flock in parks, give them small pieces of this range of healthy foods to feed the wild ducks.What should ducks not eat?We have discussed the various food items that are packed with nutritional value that are better for the ducks to eat. Humans feeding the waterfowl birds is different from the bird eating by themselves from the wild.The wildlife is accommodated in a way by which no harm comes through the food. That is why while feeding ducks, it is important to be aware of what ducks eat and what they shouldn’t eat. There might be some leftover food in your house that might seem like a good option to feed the duck, but it may not be so.The most common items that we feed the ducks cause more harm to their health. Bread, chips, crackers, donuts, popcorn, and other junk foods are fed to the waterfowl birds more often. This is probably because we see such a flock of birds when we are normally outside. Bread items, crackers, and junk food are items we generally have in our house, so it may be easiest and most common to think these are safe for ducks.Other than junk foods, citrus fruits and spinach should not be fed to your ducks. This can affect their eggs. The shells of the eggs will become thin. If you want ducks to have healthy eggs, do not feed ducks this type of food. All plants and plant parts of the nightshade family like tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants are toxic to feed ducks. It is better to be safe when feeding ducks. More than the question, what do ducks eat, we should be aware of what can ducks eat. Better to know the good diet for the waterfowl birds than to feed them something harmful.The Problem With Feeding DucksIf you are feeding treats to a duck, it is important to know some facts. They will eat almost anything that is given to them. That doesn’t mean that the food fed to a duck is healthy. Feeding ducks such unhealthy foods can result in many problems.If there is no proper awareness of these problems, this can lead to more harm to these birds. Truth be told, even if the ducks and geese are in the wild or in your house, they should be fed a proper and healthy diet full of nutritional value. When we feed ducks and geese junk foods like chips and crackers, it can be detrimental to their health.Imagine feeding a duck or geese bread and other unhealthy food all the time. After some time, the ducklings and ducks will end up suffering from malnutrition. Their diet lacks the essential nutrients for them to grow. More than ducks, the ducklings will suffer. The increase in feeding can also result in an increased population of ducks and geese in that area. If humans start feeding ducks and geese in parks these waterfowl birds will increase in number causing a crowd.With the increase in birds, territorial clashes can also happen. Not all the food that is fed to the ducks and geese in the pond is completely eaten up. The remains of the food can cause animals like mice and rodents to come. This will cause more pollution in the ponds, which means more diseases to the birds. While you can feed ducks, it shouldn’t go overboard. Anything in moderate amounts is better than everything altogether.What to feed ducks instead of bread?Ducks eat a lot. You can see a duck in the wild eating insects, small fish, and other greens. In their natural wild habitat, they mostly eat greens and small worms.But when it comes to feeding these ducks and geese, their diet gets disrupted, especially because most of the food items that they are fed turn out to either be bread or prepared from bread. Bread doesn’t contain the basic nutrients required for the growth of these waterfowl birds.We should feed them healthy foods instead of bread. Vegetables and fruits that contribute to their health should be given priority. We have seen them eating birdseed in the park. Bird seeds are good for ducks and geese. Along with that, they should be eating fresh foods too. Peas, lettuce, oats, seeds, and corn can all be part of their healthy diet. Ducks eat grains a lot since they love them. In the case of grains, it is more important to make sure that they are fed a range of whole grains.They can gain weight easily and feeding them grains other than whole grains can cause such weight gain. Whole grains like corn and oats are all duck favorites. Fruits like grapes should be cut in half and fed to the ducks. Ducks also like to eat fish. A large fish is out of the question. But fish in smaller sizes will be a treat that will make the duck happy.When and how often do ducks eat?Your duck can eat a fresh and good range of corn or other food. But what worries most people is the chance of overfeeding these ducks. You should avoid food like bread and popcorn from their diet and include more fresh greens, but that doesn’t change the fact that too much of this can also result in harm.Ducks are grown for a variety of reasons. Some grow them for the meat. Other times, it is for duck eggs. Some people simply like having ducks as pets. Ducks need to be fed twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. They can go without food for 8-9 hours. But ducklings cannot survive this long without food. They need to be fed regularly. Your ducklings don’t need a variety of food either.Normally, we feed the duckling waterfowl starter or chick starter. Water is an essential item for ducks, even if they don’t eat food. Without food, adult ducks can survive long, but dehydration is a serious threat. On average, they can eat up to 7.04 oz (200 g) in a day. When it comes to wild ducks, they only need to be fed less than this because they are already eating food from the local environment around them. The food that is being fed is a bonus for them.Ethics Of Feeding Wild DucksWild ducks are way different from the pet ducks we have. They belong in the wildlife and thrive there. We can easily feed ducks at our homes because we have the responsibility to do that. But wild ducks are not the same.These ducks are often seen being fed in a park. If we do end up feeding these wild ducks, there are certain practices to follow.Many problems can arise due to the feeding of wild ducks. We have already discussed some of them. We won’t be able to feed wild ducks a well-balanced diet, which is why it is better for them to find food on their own. But if you want to feed ducks in the wild, then go for greens and corn instead of bread and popcorn. That way, we can ensure that they are given something nutritious. Wild ducks also don’t eat a lot. So it is better if you feed them a moderate amount. This can prevent the area from being polluted. If you feed ducks all the time, an overpopulation issue might occur, causing an imbalance in the environment.Many public places prohibit feeding wild ducks due to this reason. If you want to, then you can feed wild ducks. But be extremely careful when feeding these ducks. For them, nature provides enough nutritious food. You can feed your pet ducks better because they require it.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for what do ducks eat, then why not take a look at how long do Pekin ducks live, or Radjah Shelduck facts?
The sound of quacking near ponds is an indication of the presence of ducks.
