Am I giving my ducks too much food?

[Steffanyace]

I have an all-you-can-eat buffet for my 3 adult muscovies. I put them up at night and turn them out during the day. When I let them out, I herd them to the pond. After that, they spend the rest of the day either sitting under the horse trailer or in their duck house. I expected them to be out foraging most of the day, but they just sit in a shady spot all day. They are pretty tame, seem to be comfortable in their environment, and were free ranging before I got them. I've been turning them out for about a week now. I'm guessing they just don't have a need to be out foraging since they have all the duck food they could want to eat. I'd really like for them to put a dent in the amount of grasshoppers we have out here. I worry about them not getting the food they need if I cut back. I would hate for them to get skinny/unhealthy especially since it would be hard to tell under all the feathers. Would someone give me some guidance on feeding them? Thanks!

 

[wildpeas]

My ducks spend a lot of their day being busy. They get in the pool, forage, nap in the shade, get a bite to eat, back in the pool, more foraging, etc. I have 7 right now and I put out two bowls of food every morning. I would guess its a total of 4-6 cups. Some days they eat almost all of it and some days they leave half. When its hot here they mostly lay around in the shade and dont do much of anything except get in the pool.

Do ducks eat grasshoppers?

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

if they arent foraging then yes you answered your question that you are providing too much bagged food.

 

[Steffanyace]

Do ducks eat grasshoppers?

From what I read on the Internet muscovies eat grasshoppers, flies, and other insects.