Black Oil Sunflower seeds for ducks?

can you feed black oil sunflower seeds to ducks or are them a choking danger like legumes?

When in doubt look at the Ultimate Ducky Treat post.....


"Seeds- ***
Some seeds can be given to ducks, like Millet or Sunflower seeds, as a limited rare special treat. While seeds can be used like grit, seeds do not digest well. Too many seeds can impact the crop and fill with material that can not be digested or passed. Then there's less room for good foods and digestive problems can occur. Remember that some seeds, like apple or cherry seeds, are toxic to ducks."

I give them to my call ducks with no problems. They are on the ground not in pens so have lots of dirt and grit.
Aprille

They are so darned expensive, I'm afraid to buy a bag to see if my spoiled ducks will even eat them. What am I going to do with a $35 bag of feed my ducks won't eat?

I give my guys flax seed for extra oils and extra omega 3 & 4. It's expensive, too, but not as expensive as BOS and I don't have to worry about whether or not the shells are good for them.

I used to be able to buy hulled raw sunflower seeds. That would probably be a better choice for ducks, but man, now we are talking about really expensive feed.

Mine aren't interested in the black sunflower seeds (the chickens are a different story...).

My drakes love them....the hens can't be bothered!

Quote:
I don't know who wrote the post in question but if this is a fair sample it should be taken down and edited. Seeds of the type mentioned can/are NOT used like grit. Ducks don't even have crops, and there is nothing toxic in apple seeds. Cherry pits maybe but not apple seeds.

Quote:
I don't know who wrote the post in question but if this is a fair sample it should be taken down and edited. Seeds of the type mentioned can/are NOT used like grit. Ducks don't even have crops, and there is nothing toxic in apple seeds. Cherry pits maybe but not apple seeds.

Not true...there are small amounts of cyanide contained in apple and pear seeds. These generally don't cause harm to those ingesting them in tiny quantities but can in larger amounts if the seeds' shells are breached. This is a reason we core apples when feeding them to horses...there was a display at one of our equine hospitals here of how many apple seeds were retained in a horse's stomach and removed surgically. It was a whole large pickle jar's worth. Such seeds can be retained in the stomach and can release poison when they break down, especially if they are masticated. Luckily for ducks, they don't chew, though I personally would core apples anyway. The average duck keeper will not be losing a lot of food value from the apples they feed by removing the cores and seeds.

There are several fruit pits that also contain cyanide but generally are not eaten because of how large and hard they are.

Mine get Blk oil sunflower seeds in their scratch. they love them.

Quote:
I don't know who wrote the post in question but if this is a fair sample it should be taken down and edited. Seeds of the type mentioned can/are NOT used like grit. Ducks don't even have crops, and there is nothing toxic in apple seeds. Cherry pits maybe but not apple seeds.

It appears that this may be incorrect information. According to Storeys Guide to Raising Ducks, ducks do have a crop and can suffer from crop impaction.

Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks in discussing treatment for "Hardware Disease"
says:
if it is a "crop (esophagus) impaction" (aka "pendulous crop"). "In this case
the crop can be split open and the object removed. Afterwards limit food intake
until muscle tone returns."

Ducks don't have a crop the same as Galliformes. They have a spindle-shaped crop that is more of an expandable esophagus that stores food (Sturkie, 1976. Avian physiology, 3rd ed. Springer-Verlag).

Clint