Food for ducks

[ducks4me]

Why is bread bad for ducks?

 

[DutchBunny03]

I am not a duck person, but hear about them alot from friends who are duck people. Really, it depends on the bread. Too much white bread can cause a vitamin B12 defeiciency, which can be fatal. But if the bread it whole grain, i see nothing wrong with feeding it is small amounts.

 

[Kevin565]

It's completely fine in moderation but it doesn't provide much nutrients for ducks. You'll also want to make sure the ducks have access to plenty of grit and water when feeding it.

 

[lomine]

Think of feeding bread to ducks like feeding cookies to kids. It's fine if they have a cookie once in a while but they shouldn't be eating them at every meal. And if you give them the choice between a cookie and some veggies, they'll probably go for the cookie.

The problem with people feeding wild ducks bread is that they fill up on the empty calories. Then they don't go foraging for the food they need to meet their nutrtional needs.

 

[purslanegarden]

I'd guess there would be a difference between white bread and wheat bread (and other grain bread). However, we just see "bread is bad" without much more details about a particular kind of bread.

If the reason is for nutrition, then perhaps the other kinds of breads are OK. Any comments on that?

 

[lomine]

Well yes, whole wheat breads and the like are going to be a better choice than white. But you still want to give it sparingly. It has more carbs than a duck really needs. The duck can get fat on too much bread.

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Well yes, whole wheat breads and the like are going to be a better choice than white. But you still want to give it sparingly. It has more carbs than a duck really needs. The duck can get fat on too much bread.

Arguably, people can, too.

Our ducks love bread, but get it rarely. I'd rather give them healthier snacks of watermelon rinds or BOSS, instead.

 

[lomine]

Arguably, people can, too.

Our ducks love bread, but get it rarely. I'd rather give them healthier snacks of watermelon rinds or BOSS, instead.

Ha ha we sure can. My ducks favorite snacks are peas and mealworms.

 

[purslanegarden]

I found out about the watermelon rinds by accident. I usually cut the rinds so that there are still some red parts left, so that my quail can peck on them. However, I had prepared too many rinds so I put some out for the ducks. When I came back later, the ducks had done a great job of eating all the red parts as well as a decent portion of the white part. Now I know that, no only do the ducks like the watermelon red part, but they'll work through some of the rind white parts, too, which makes me feel good to not waste so much watermelon rind.

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

It's pretty amazing to watch them work those rinds over, isn't it? They use this twisting motion to rip the flesh off - very effective. We have some goofball drakes that will carry the rinds over to the pools or the watering bowl and drop them in there...seems like they're hoping a soak will soften them up!

Between the ducks and the chickens, only the green part of the rind is left. No waste there!