Anyone feed homegrown greens?

[LaurelC]

I have seen a bunch of stuff on growing fodder for chickens. We generally have a lot of kitchen scraps that go to the compost heap, but I figure would be great for ducks. Anyone grow stuff just to feed the ducks? Are there different nutritional requirements? What grows fastest? I'm imagining that kale and swiss chard would be good options. Any other input?

 

[Amiga]

I have started making wheat fodder and sprouts. It appears to be just as delightful to the ducks as peas. Barley, oats and others can be used. There is some discussion about the optimal day to feed, whether there is much advantage to going a full seven days or so for 3 inches of green leaf, or if just having sprouted, the seeds are at their optimum nutrient point. I don't know.

I have also offered micro greens - sprouted non-grass seeds - and those were met with lukewarm response.

But the wheat berries and fodder have been declared YUM by the flock.

We keep the house in the mid to upper 50sF, and it takes seven or eight days to get a nice fodder. This is at the low end of the recommended temperature range for sprouting and starting the fodder.

And I am finding that on the sixth and seventh day, we get much more biomass if we put the fodder under some light. The window light is just a little weak for that.

 

[pastryman]

I grow apples, pears, plums, cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers and lots of other stuff. We eat the best of it ourselves and give the rest to our chickens and ducks.
It is great to see how they love the bad apples and cabbage leaves.
Nothing goes to waste.

I think ducks like all most all kinds of greens. But I split apples and carrots first.

I find that zuccini gives a lot on a small space.

 

[LaurelC]

Good call on the zucchini. We always grow too much of it, and I tend to bring extras to work, and feed the big ones to the dogs. I'm sure the ducks would appreciate the spongey zucchini more than the pooches.

 

[casportpony]

Mine love kale, swiss chard, spinach, collard greens, tomatoes, peppers, beets, squash of any type, melons, corn on the cob, pomegranates, alfalfa hay and corn on the cob.

-Kathy

 

[Peeko]

For just the ducks I grow kale, red leafy greens and cabbages, peas, carrots, and celery. I keep all of it in pots, out of reach of nibbling bills, and pick off maturing bits as they grow. I left a pot of kale seedlings on the ground by accident the other day. Found it later that same day with only stems left. The ducks claim to not know what happened.

I should really start sprouting, for the whole family.

 

[Amiga]

For just the ducks I grow kale, red leafy greens and cabbages, peas, carrots, and celery. I keep all of it in pots, out of reach of nibbling bills, and pick off maturing bits as they grow. I left a pot of kale seedlings on the ground by accident the other day. Found it later that same day with only stems left. The ducks claim to not know what happened.

I should really start sprouting, for the whole family.

I have had the same thoughts - so I dug out a sprout mix that has been waiting for me in the cabinet for a long time. The ducks have definitely improved my own eating habits, because I realized I was being more careful for them than for myself.

 

[casportpony]

For just the ducks I grow kale, red leafy greens and cabbages, peas, carrots, and celery. I keep all of it in pots, out of reach of nibbling bills, and pick off maturing bits as they grow. I left a pot of kale seedlings on the ground by accident the other day. Found it later that same day with only stems left. The ducks claim to not know what happened.

I should really start sprouting, for the whole family.

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

Outside I have an alfalfa plot that I planted last Fall for my ducks. And in 2013 I grew oats, alfalfa, lettuces, and some beans. I don't know if the ducks are the beans, but they seemed to like the leaves!