Can Ducks Eat Fruits? Duck Asks

Ducks have to be fed or consume enough nutrition to sustain their bodily function throughout the day. Their diet needs to consist of elements that help them produce enough energy to keep their bodies operating at full capacity.

This can include foraging, hunting, protecting, and looking after their young.

But can ducks eat fruits?

Yes, ducks can and do eat fruits. They enjoy many different kinds of fruits, similar to humans.

Related articles:

What Should the Nutritional Value of Fruit Be for Ducks?

Fruits that are to be consumed by ducks as a part of their diet should consist of adequate levels of carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals.

But these fruits should only be anywhere from 15% to only 1/3 of their whole diet because the nutrients found in fruits alone cannot sustain ducks.

Fresh fruits are recommended because cooking can significantly deplete the intended nutrients that the ducks require.

What Should the Nutritional Value of Fruit Be for Ducks jpg

Canned fruits are also acceptable, but sometimes preservatives are added along with high levels of salt and sugar, which should be thoroughly rinsed off before being offered to the duck.

Aside from these, one does not need to think much about counting all the macronutrients that the duck is consuming. Just remember to provide food in ducks-sized morsels and not to compare them to humans in terms of the size of their diet.

What Kind of Fruits Do Ducks Like to Eat?

Ducks love munching on fruits like melons, grapes, berries, bananas, plums, and more. Watermelon, pears, and peaches are also fan favorites.

While these are fine for them to consume along with different types of sweet fruits with small seeds and pits. But why do ducks love fruits so much?

They are so fond of fruits because of their unique organic sweet or tanginess. More importantly, they like a change of pace from their regular diet.

What Are the Benefits of Ducks Eating Fruits?

It is best to provide ducks with fruits that are high in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, along with other nutrients that will help the ducks to grow and sustain their bodies, like fiber.

Fruits have a multitude of nutrients in them. The benefits that come from certain nutrients are listed below.

Vitamin C

This helps to produce eggs of greater quality and improves the rate of egg production.

Also helps to increase immunity, betters stress management and the healing process of wounds. Grapefruit is a great source of vitamin C for ducks in small amounts.

Vitamin A

This helps to reduce the dangers of eye-related health problems and improves the overall growth of the duck. Watermelon is a good source of vitamin A. Watermelons can be a possible source of vitamin A for ducks.

Magnesium

A lack of magnesium in a duck’s system can stunt its growth. This is required for neutral growth and function. Bananas have plenty of magnesium for ducks. Enough for them to not look elsewhere for it.

Potassium

Potassium is the mineral that helps to regular electrolyte balance in the duck. Adequate potassium in a duck’s system will help it to fend better when dehydrated. Again bananas come on top as they have adequate amounts of potassium for ducks.

Iron

Iron boosts the duck’s immunity system and helps with the formation of blood and blood cells. Strawberries does the job for ducks if iron is what they need.

Antioxidants

These also help to improve the immune system of the duck. Without this, the duck’s system would not be able to fight free radicals that react with the body cells and can cause serve illnesses in the duck. Strawberries is a good sources of antioxidents if the ducks lack any.

What Are the Dangers of Ducks Eating Fruit?

Regardless of their preferences, some fruits should be prohibited from their diet. These are mostly citrus fruits like lemon, lime, grapefruit, oranges etc.

This is because vitamin C directly counters the duck’s ability to produce eggs with thick shells. Vitamin C interferes with the calcium component of the shell, so the egg walls end up becoming thin.

What Are the Dangers of Ducks Eating Fruit

Acid reflux and stomach issues also occure due to the presence of excess vitamin C in the duck’s diet.

Ducks also should not be allowed to have mangoes because it can cause their throats to itch. This is due to the fiberous nature of the fruit and also the components that give mangos its taste. Other fruits, such as avocado, can be poisonous to the duck.

This is especially true for fruits that contain seeds with small dosages of cyanide. As cyanide is a chemical that is poisonous to human being and other animals alike.

The right dose of thise can kill any living being. It is perfectly fine if they are fed only in large intervals, but regular consumption can make the ducks seriously ill.

How Much Fruit Should Ducks Eat?

Ducks should have fruits in moderation over appropriate intervals. This is because overeating or overconsumption of fruits can cause ducks to become ill.

For example, if ducks eat too much fruit in one go, then they can develop diarrhea from all the flesh and water in the fruit.

Feeding ducks too much watermelon can also be dangerous. This is because depending on how many seeds are consumed, the duck’s digestive system may not have the ability to process all of them, thus leading to illness.

This is why it is important to make sure that a duck’s diet does not consist of more than 15-20% of food in the form of fruit.

It should be noted that when feeding ducks fruit, do not also provide the leaves from the fruit. Meaty and leafy vegetables are fine, but fruit leaves might not be.

Tomato leaves or vines, for example, can be toxic for consumption.

What Fruits Can I Feed My Duck?

It is fine to provide most fruits in moderation. But it is best to make sure that those fruits are fresh and ripe.

Sometimes consuming unripe fruit can be dangerous for ducks. For example, green tomatoes, watermelon, strawberries, bananas, tomatoes, and grapes are all fruits that ducks find delectable.

However, ducks cannot understand as well as humans can when they have had too much of something unless they are full.

The important part is not that they are full but that consuming a certain mineral can be harmful even if the fruit itself is small in volume.

Conclusion

The bottom line is that fruits are relatively safe to consume for ducks in adequate amounts. It is just important to make sure that they are fresh and non-toxic.

Plus, it’s also crucial to make sure that they are consumed from time to time in moderation and not in large quantities altogether.

That’s it for this article! We hope you found what you were looking for. If you did, then share this article. Stay connected with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.