Yes! This is how I got my girls to figure out foraging. I bought them second hand and they had been raised in a run with no greens and had no idea that they could eat anything but feed. A little hunger motivation and they turned into real lawn mowers.
I definitely lean on the pasture more than most people. It kinda drives me nuts when people say "that feed is a complete ration" because my eggs look and taste a heck of a lot better than birds that only get commercial feed. I don't give free-choice because my birds are lazy and the poop the...
Agreed. My Muscovies get the majority of their feed from pasture, and that species does better than mallards, but they still need feed. There is no way around feeding ducks unfortunately. You can reduce the need by rotating their pasture so bugs and legumes can replenish themselves (protein)...