Diet Questions

[CayugaDuckMomOfTwo]

I appreciated all the fantastic feedback I received yesterday regarding a behavior question that I wanted to pick everyone's brain again.
I made a treat run at the grocery store for my girls yesterday and picked up kale, romaine lettuce, cabbage/carrot/radish mix, and arugula. Before I gave them their treats this morning I looked up if arugula is safe for ducks, but couldn't find anything. Is arugula ok to be giving them? I didn't give them any this morning just in case it's not.
Also, I wanted to try giving them feeder fish/minnows in their pond this weekend. I know there's been controversy over this, but I'm ok with sacrificing the fish for my ducks. My question is if I need to give them any grit or sand to help digest the fish?
Thank you!

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Arugula would be fine. I didn't realize there is controversy over minnows.
I always provide grit when the ground is frozen, but if they have access to soil, they most likely don't need it. However to be on the safe side, I would leave a container of grit that they can access if needed.

 

[CayugaDuckMomOfTwo]

Arugula would be fine. I didn't realize there is controversy over minnows.
I always provide grit when the ground is frozen, but if they have access to soil, they most likely don't need it. However to be on the safe side, I would leave a container of grit that they can access if needed.

Thank you! I've just read a post where someone said it's cruel to use live fish as entertainment for ducks Entertainment is just an added bonus on top of the fish being nutritious in my opinion. I'll pick some grit up to be safe. They have access to soil when I let them out to forage in my backyard, but not in their duck run.
I appreciate the help

 

[humblehillsfarm]

Thank you! I've just read a post where someone said it's cruel to use live fish as entertainment for ducks Entertainment is just an added bonus on top of the fish being nutritious in my opinion. I'll pick some grit up to be safe. They have access to soil when I let them out to forage in my backyard, but not in their duck run.
I appreciate the help

I don't have ducks now but my family did when I was a child. We never fed the ducks anything but a few handfuls of cracked corn or leftover veggie scraps. The ducks lived in our lively stream and survived on minnows and other tasty bits they could find. We had two hens and a drake and I gathered at least one, but often two, eggs every day. They were incredibly self sufficient. I realize now my parents had no clue what they were doing, but still it's good to know a duck will be fine on its own.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

My ducks LOVE minnows. I fish minnows out of my pond almost every night for them. I believe this is the highlight of their day. It's without doubt their favorite treat and they've never turned them down. It's quick for the fish so it's not like they're being tortured. Plus, their population has to be controlled for the general well being of the fish in the pond. If my ducks free ranged, they'd eat the minnows, water crickets and whatever else they could find out there. As far as the folks that say it's cruel, I wouldn't even reply

Edited to add: It certainly wouldn't hurt to keep a bowl of grit out for them to use if they feel like they need it.

I'm excited for your ducks to enjoy minnows

 

[CayugaDuckMomOfTwo]

I don't have ducks now but my family did when I was a child. We never fed the ducks anything but a few handfuls of cracked corn or leftover veggie scraps. The ducks lived in our lively stream and survived on minnows and other tasty bits they could find. We had two hens and a drake and I gathered at least one, but often two, eggs every day. They were incredibly self sufficient. I realize now my parents had no clue what they were doing, but still it's good to know a duck will be fine on its own.

I've learned so far that they are quite hardy! I had an African Grey parrot, and had to be super vigilant about everything. It took me a while to calm down about the ducks possibly getting cold. I watched them jump in their mini pools in 34° weather, and that's when I knew they were much hardier and I didn't need to worry so much.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

I've learned so far that they are quite hardy! I had an African Grey parrot, and had to be super vigilant about everything. It took me a while to calm down about the ducks possibly getting cold. I watched them jump in their mini pools in 34° weather, and that's when I knew they were much hardier and I didn't need to worry so much.

My dad was born in 1950 and told stories of their family ducks. He said the ducks would sleep in the creek which would freeze over night. In the morning he'd go out with an ax, chop out a block of ice with a duck in the middle of it, and put the duck in its ice block in the bathtub to thaw. When it was thawed, he'd put it back outside and repeat the next day. He *said* they were fine lol. I often wonder, would they have been fine?

 

[CayugaDuckMomOfTwo]

My ducks LOVE minnows. I fish minnows out of my pond almost every night for them. I believe this is the highlight of their day. It's without doubt their favorite treat and they've never turned them down. It's quick for the fish so it's not like they're being tortured. Plus, their population has to be controlled for the general well being of the fish in the pond. If my ducks free ranged, they'd eat the minnows, water crickets and whatever else they could find out there. As far as the folks that say it's cruel, I wouldn't even reply

Edited to add: It certainly wouldn't hurt to keep a bowl of grit out for them to use if they feel like they need it.

I'm excited for your ducks to enjoy minnows

Awwww that's awesome! I'm excited to see their eyes light up when there's minnows in their pond! I don't have a natural pond so I was going to get the minnows from a pet store unfortunately. I might be able to find a natural pond around town to pick out minnows, but I only know of lakes near me.

 

[CayugaDuckMomOfTwo]

My dad was born in 1950 and told stories of their family ducks. He said the ducks would sleep in the creek which would freeze over night. In the morning he'd go out with an ax, chop out a block of ice with a duck in the middle of it, and put the duck in its ice block in the bathtub to thaw. When it was thawed, he'd put it back outside and repeat the next day. He *said* they were fine lol. I often wonder, would they have been fine?

That's a good question, but you obviously have a good dad to help them out just incase. Ducks are beautifully crazy

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Awwww that's awesome! I'm excited to see their eyes light up when there's minnows in their pond! I don't have a natural pond so I was going to get the minnows from a pet store unfortunately. I might be able to find a natural pond around town to pick out minnows, but I only know of lakes near me.

If you're allowed to fish at the lake, I bet you'll find minnows there. I always do this at night whenever the minnows come to the edge of the water and use a net to scoop them out. I haven't ever been able to catch them during the day but it's probably possible. Good luck