What Is a Duck’s Favorite Food?
A walk in the park is always much more pleasant when there are ducks about, quacking away at their hearts’ desires. They are friendly, adorable, and just soothing to look at as they swim in little ponds with their ducklings.
The best thing about the ducks being around is being able to feed them. They will peck food from your hands too, if you are not afraid to get a little closer to them.
It is a good way to teach kids about respecting and being affectionate to animals.
So if you have been around ducks, feeding them often, we are sure you have wondered, what is a duck’s favorite food?
This is a bit difficult to determine since ducks seem to eat everything with the same level of enthusiasm.
However, it has been observed that they absolutely adore snacking on fruits and vegetables, something they do not usually find in or near their ponds. Wild ducks, on the other hand, have a diet consisting of pond weeds, seeds, worms, and small water snails and amphibians.
But they are not limited to just this small list, as ducks are far from being fussy eaters. Let us dive deep into the pond with our feathered friends and take a look at their dietary habits!
Looking For More Article About Duck Foods:
What Is Duck’s Favorite Food? – A Comprehensive Guide
It is always heartwarming to find animals so enthusiastic about food and a joy to be the one to provide them with it.
Feeding them is essentially a human’s way of taking care of them, and it can’t hurt them too much if they are living near humans and have their company constantly.
Since ducks are omnivorous and have an exceptionally varied diet, prepare for a lengthy list of food.
However, this also means that you are more than likely to find a majority of the items on this list already in your possession or at least easy to get your hands on.
Just be careful to make sure that the portions are cut into small pieces so that our waddling amigos do not accidentally choke on them.
01. Fruits
While ducks do enjoy fruits to snack on, they should not be fed too much of these.
The rule of thumb is to portion the fruity snacks and keep them under 10% of their daily diet, as most of these fruits are high in natural sugar.
They can feed on apples, watermelons, grapes, berries, and plums. Even though most people are not aware of this, they also enjoy munching on bananas, pumpkins, strawberries, and grapefruits as well!
02. Vegetable
Vegetables are right up there on the list of favorite snacks for ducks!
You can feed them peas, lettuce, cucumbers, zucchini, carrots, and of course, sweetcorn.
Squash, radishes, and chards can also be added to this healthy list. Unlike fruits, though, you can feed them these vegetables (and more!) as much as you want.
03. Grains and Seeds
You will be glad to know that oats are a great source of nutrition for ducks, the same way it is for human beings. They can also have quinoa, wheat, barley, and both cooked and uncooked rice.
As for seeds, our foody companions will enjoy any bird seeds that you can find at your local grocery stores, such as pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, sesame seeds, flax seeds, and sunflower seeds.
04. Animals
And now, we move on to living beings. Although this isn’t food you can physically give to ducks, this information will be helpful for duck owners or people whose yards are often visited by these wonderful creatures.
Ducks enjoy hunting animals that live in their local ponds, such as slugs, salamanders, frogs, and even aquatic larvae, small enough for them to swallow.
They also happily devour crustaceans(Prawns) and small fish.
05. Insects
As you can guess, ducks are not exactly picky when it comes to insects either.
They will gladly pursue earthworms, mosquito larvae, water beetles, crickets, and grasshoppers, gobbling them down with gusto.
The flies are also on their list of what they consider ‘Food.’
06. Others
A few items that are a semi-regular part of a duck’s diet can be quite a surprise.
For example, you can actually knock up some scrambled eggs and feed them to ducks! They are a great source of protein for these waterfowls.
Other categories of food that can be fed to them include algae, nuts, and edible flowers such as roses, marigolds, violets, sunflowers, and squash blossoms, amongst several others.
What Food Should Not Be Fed to Ducks?
Amazingly, the list is not even close to coming to an end, but we obviously can not go on forever.
However, we can let you know which items you should NOT feed our feathered friends (yes, there is food that ducks cannot or should not consume).
01. Processed and Junk Food
It is quite dismaying that people do not understand how harmful junk food or any processed food is for animals, including ducks.
They are simply not able to digest food such as crackers, chips, and popcorn, which make them sick, yet people continue to throw these toward the ducks.
As the birds do not know any better, they will eat these items, not understanding the dire consequences.
02. Bread
A few less obvious items that you should avoid are bread. Park visitors assume that just because most birds, such as pigeons, are fed bread, it is okay for ducks to consume them too.
It is the same in the case of pasta. However, it can make ducks overweight and make them ill.
On the other hand, whole wheat bread is completely fine, and so is vegetable or whole wheat pasta. Fancy, right?
03. Fruits That Are the Exceptions
They should also not be given access to citrus fruits, such as oranges and lemons, because it causes acid reflux in ducks.
Mangoes are a bit risky, too, because they can make their throats itchy, just like it does so with some humans. But feeding them just a small amount at first and watching for their reactions should clear up any confusion!
Conclusion
With that, we complete our comprehensive guide on what is a ducks favorite food.
Clearly, this is not the extent of what ducks love to eat, but it does give a good idea of what they can and can not have.
Now you have no excuse but to be responsible when picking food to feed your local quackers!
To find out more about ducks and their care, do follow us on our social media. We are present on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, so we would appreciate your love through likes, shares, and feedback in the comments!
Image Credit:
- Camva.com/photos
Article References:
- https://www.mossyoak.com/our-obsession/blogs/waterfowl/duck-diet-best-foods-for-ducks
- https://pethelpful.com/farm-pets/top-10-duck-snacks
- https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/what-feed-ducks
- https://www.thespruce.com/what-to-feed-ducks-386584
- https://www.hgtv.com/outdoors/gardens/animals-and-wildlife/snacks-ducks-love
