What Human Food Can Ducks Eat? Duck Asks

Ducks are not very picky when it comes to eating. If you are wondering what human food ducks can eat, you will realize that they share a large part of the human diet as well. So, what human food can ducks eat?

Human foods such as fruits, vegetables, grains, seeds, and small fish, which fit the dietary balance of ducks really well, are often enjoyed by ducks. Ducks also love eating corn, rice, and oats, which provide ample nutrition to both humans and ducks alike.

It is very easy to keep your ducks well-fed, especially if they are raised in rural areas where they have a source to hunt and forage for their own food. However, that is difficult in urban areas.

In this article, I will direct you to the kind of food ducks and humans can both eat and what not to feed ducks.

Read more about duck foods:

Can Ducks Eat Fruits?
Do Ducks Eat Grasshoppers?

What Human Food Can I Feed My Ducks?

There is a lot of human food that can be fed to ducks. Ducks grow very fast; hence they require an adequate amount of nutrients to sustain their high growth rates.

Human food is usually very high in protein, vitamins, minerals, and fats, which provides for a balanced diet for ducks as well.

Here are some of the human foods that you can feed your duck –

Ducks love eating corn, and they can easily munch on corn if it is fresh out of the cob and cut down into smaller pieces.

Ducks also love eating oatmeal and other similar grains. This is better if fed uncooked because the nutrients in the oat can then be fully immersed into the ducks when they consume it. Alternatives to oats can be wheat, barley, and other kinds of grains.

You can feed your ducks both uncooked and cooked rice. If you have leftover rice from your last meal, you can easily use it as duck food.

Ducks also love eating fruits that are usually available at your home. These include grapes, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, watermelons and cantaloupes, cherries, plums, peaches, apricots, apples, pears, and bananas.

Vegetables such as peas and also scraps of vegetables such as the skin of the cucumber, radish, and lettuce are one of my favorite duck foods.

What Are Other Sources of Food for Ducks?

Ducks eat a variety of food depending on their habitat and also their age. Wild ducks, baby ducks, and domestic ducks all have different diets.

Here are some other sources of food that ducks avail, depending on their circumstance.

What Do Wild Ducks Eat

Wild ducks get their food by foraging into the ponds and the riverbanks in the vicinity of their habitat. Wild ducks eat a variety of worms, grasses, plants, and fish.

There are many small fishes that swim on the surface of the water bodies that can be easily caught and eaten by ducks.

Plus, the wild ducks have access to the water, so a lot of aquatic plants, including cattails and lotus flowers, can be eaten by ducks.

The most vital source of protein for ducks is earthworms and slugs. Mostly these are found in shallow water and can be dug out of their soft soil habitats by the ducks’ strong beaks.

What Do Baby Ducks Eat?

Baby ducks, also called ducklings, have a special diet. Usually, the parent duck would feed the ducklings by putting worms inside their mouths.

However, if you are raising ducklings, it is good to feed them starting crumbs in the first 4 months and then start feeding them duck feed pellets.

The starting crumbs have the necessary antibodies to protect the young ducks against bacterial diseases. They are also high in nutrient content which is necessary for the swift growth of the ducklings.

What Store – Bought Food Do Ducks Eat

Ducks can be fed much store-bought ready-made food. This food can usually be bought from the vet shop or any animal shop that is nearby.

The store-bought food usually consists of feed pellets specifically catered for ducks. It is very important to feed the female ducks the correct number of pellets for them to give you the optimal number of eggs and also offspring.

You can also buy a variety of seed mixes for your pet ducks. These seed mixes contain millets, sunflower seeds, and other edible seeds that can be fed to birds or waterfowl.

What Not to Feed My Ducks?

Ducks can eat a variety of food, but there is some food that may cause indigestion in ducks.

Here are some of the food that you should not feed your ducks.

01. Rotten And Leftover Food

It is best not to give any junk, stale, or rotten food to ducks. Since ducks will eat almost anything given to them, they are seldom not aware of what food may cause a negative impact on their alimentary canal.

Leftover food or rotten food may be infested with bacteria and algae, which may cause various harmful diseases in the ducks.

02. Processed Food

Avoid feeding your ducks any sort of ultra-processed food. This can be canned food such as canned beans or canned tomatoes. This is because processed food has a lot of sodium, which may increase the thirst of ducks, and they may overdrink water.

03. Bread, Crackers, Cake

It is almost best not to give ducks bread, crackers, chips, biscuits or cake since they do not satisfy much of the nutritional needs of ducks. These foods will only create disturbance in the stomach of ducks and may cause food poisoning.

Bread is specifically harmful to ducks because it can cause a disease called the angel wing syndrome, which deforms the wings of the ducks and limits their ability to glide or fly short distances.

Final Words

Ducks are very lovable creatures and one of the favorite animals for human beings to pet and domesticate. From this article, you must have learned what human food ducks can eat.

Since human beings and ducks share common dietary requirements, it is easy to pet ducks.

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