Will ducks eat field corn and is it okay?

[duckitup]

We have land that we rent to a farmer who grows field corn for his cows. He said we were welcome to take some for our ducks before he cuts it down. He is just a small farmer and doesn't use pesticides. So I have a few questions for anyone out there who may know....

1. If cows eat it ducks can too right? (I've actually tried it.......it tastes horrible! Yuck)
2. I started braiding some corn, which is how some of the local Native Americans dry corn. You braid the husks together and then hang it to dry. Has anyone done this, does it work well and what is a good way to get the kernals off once it dries?
3. Should I turn it into cracked corn or can I feed it to them whole? I've seen conflicting info on this part. Some say cracking makes it lose nutrients and some say you have to crack it so that the ducks can get the nutrients from it.

Any thoughts?

 

[MadAnt]

1. Yes.
2. You can do that with small amount, but if you need 20-30 bushels... And there is few ways, howto peel kernalss off the cob. It depends on amount.
3. You can do both

 

[duckitup]

Is cracked or whole better? I know they could eat it whole I just want to know nutrition wise which would be better for adding to their feed.

I'm not doing a ton of it. I only have 6 ducks and I've probably picked around 100 ears so far. Probably won't do much more than that.

 

[MadAnt]

I don't have ducks(not yet), but my neiborough. They always give whole kernals - easy, you don't need anything to grind it and with your amount you can peel by hands, when corn completely dry.

 

[jducour]

I'm not sure about which is nutritionally better for them, but when some of my corn dried on the cob, I just gave the whole cob to them. It keeps them busy for hours! They love picking the corn off one kernel at a time.

 

[duckitup]

Your ducks can get it right off the cob?!! That would be a site to see. I can't imagine a duck bill being able to do that!

 

[jducour]

Your ducks can get it right off the cob?!! That would be a site to see. I can't imagine a duck bill being able to do that!

The bean on the tip of the bill is pretty sharp, and they use it to tear food apart. They kind of fling the ear of corn about as they rip the corn off

 

[Miss Lydia]

My flock loves whole corn I don't give them alot but it makes a nice treat in winter in the afternoon to keep them warm over night.