fruit trees and ducks

flynntheduck

Chirping
5 Years
Mar 30, 2014
371
27
98
I have several fruit trees in my yard and my ducks will be outside soon. Will dropped fruit cause any issues? We have a full grown apricot tree that drops a lot of fruit. And baby trees that are not producing yet, plum, cherry, and apple. Will the ducks eat the pits of fallen fruits? I'm concerned they might try and choke. Thoughts? There is no way that I can guaranty there wont be pits around since my dog eats the fruits and randomly spits/poops the pits wherever he feels. The apple tree is near the coop also.
 
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I've always hear that ducks are very good to have in orchards because it keeps the grubs, worms and pest down, and the ducks love the extra protein! I've never heard or even thought about ducks getting into the pits of fruits. I hope someone who has an orchard will be able to give you insight, as I don't yet have that privilege, but I am intrested too!
 
i see a lot about apple yard ducks created by Mr. Appleyard, who used them in his orchards. also brown Chinese geese best said for orchard mowers and along with silverappleyard ducks best insect control, and they benefit from fallen over ripe fruit. so guessing ducks ok in orchard.
 
Thanks. Last summer my dog would pile up the apricots and then sit and eat them and spit the pits in a pile. We found several piles of about 30 apricots! He pooped orange the whole time the tree was dropping them. Hahaha! I'm just really worried about a duck being dumb and eating the pits and choking. :( that would be horrible!
 
I have crabapple trees growing over my duck pen for extra food and the blueberries in their run get huge!!! They love fruit!
 
I read about someone that had a grapevine over the coop. The ducks enjoyed the shade during hot days, and enjoyed the grapes when they ripened. The vines also protected them from hawks and such, while in the winter the sun could get through the bare vines so they could enjoy that too. It sounded like ducky heaven.
 
I think dates figs avacado potato. morning glory seeds are a psychotopic or something and humans can only eat three maybe five before you'd die (though supposedly three will have you high as kite), and last year my scovy ducks ate and then freaked out for while then wouldn't go near morning glories since going well around that part of dog pen. the dogs at them and they shook whined and wouldn't stop snarling at the fence. the banty chickens kept eating even though made them roll around yard like something seriously wrong, among making this weird sound like trying to sing.. i tore all the vinrs down (with gloves) and kept some seeds to plant later were safe.
 
I always ignore those lists. Many plants listed may be toxic to mammals, but not birds....for example....birds love lantana fruits.... they are a bird dispersed species....if the sugars in a fruit are sucrose...thrushes will starve because they lack sucrase to digest it....give Chinese tallow fruits to bobwhites and they starve....feed yellow-rumped warblers tallow fruits and they get fat, they have a very different digestive strategy.....so much is species-specific that general lists are often in error.

Clint
 
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