Is it okay to feed ducks meat?

[felicity5]

I have leftover meat and I Was wondering if it was okay to give to them? Such as chicken, sausages, tuna stuff like that?

And what about salami and ham?

 

[4hchickmama]

Salami and Ham might have too high of a salt content. Some ducks like meat more than others. My chickens love leftover meat, but my ducks only take a bite here and there and go for the veggies instead....except for eggs. My ducks love eggs.

 

[jak2002003]

Don't feed your ducks human processed foods. They are very bad for them as they contain lots of salt, fat, and additives.

Why would anyone think about feeding ducks sausages?! If you have that much left over meat about the place, you just need to purchase less.

Human food is no good for animals. Anything is a very small amount will do no harm, but giving them meat produces designed for humans regularly will cause them to get ill.

 

[zooweemama]

If they seem to like it- I would offer it only in small amounts (think treat so it doesn't affect their feed intake and upset the vitamins and minerals they get form it) and only non-processed meats that have not been heavily seasoned with anything (salt, some spices might bother their tummy etc). Like leftover pieces of roasted chicken or something I have tossed to the chickens. My ducks are interested in pond goodies and salad and peas mostly though.

 

[donrae]

My ducks never seem that interested in meat scraps. Might be they never get the chance, as the chickens attack it, but the ducks, esp the drakes, are way dominant over the chickens and I can't imaging they wouldn't take the meat if they wanted it.

I don't think ducks are really meat eaters? Well, insects and slugs, I guess, but I don't hear of ducks eating frogs, mice, lizards, etc like I do with chickens.

 

[zooweemama]

My ducks never seem that interested in meat scraps. Might be they never get the chance, as the chickens attack it, but the ducks, esp the drakes, are way dominant over the chickens and I can't imaging they wouldn't take the meat if they wanted it.

I don't think ducks are really meat eaters? Well, insects and slugs, I guess, but I don't hear of ducks eating frogs, mice, lizards, etc like I do with chickens.

My ducks love frogs. We used to have a ton of bullfrogs. Not anymore. They gobbled up all the tadpoles and the small frogs. Watched them fight over them before. It was gross. But they love it. They also eat the fish out of the pond as well. If they can swallow it- they will eat it when it comes to pond goodies. My ducks have chased lizards- but lizards are faster than they are. Chickens are much better land hunters than ducks, that I have seen. But they are amazing at clearing out and over frog populated pond and we need to restock the pond with more fish now.

 

[JoyAnna]

A couple of mornings ago when I first let them out of their pen, we spotted what turned out to be half of a vole. One of the ducks saw it and down it went in one big gulp. Then the other duck saw the other half but wasn't fast enough. I think the cats probably caught the thing but left it.

 

[donrae]

Guess I haven't watched my ducks as well as my chickens! Then again, I have "dry" ducks, they just have a kiddie pool, not a real pond. That really makes sense about them eating pond critters. Probably a good think my ducks aren't in the pond, I love my frogs! Darn cats already catch too many of them and the ducks are on thin ice as it is. Thanks for the info!

Okay, now I'm thinking, is it geese that are more veggies and don't eat meat as much?

 

[wildpeas]

My ducks never seem that interested in meat scraps. Might be they never get the chance, as the chickens attack it, but the ducks, esp the drakes, are way dominant over the chickens and I can't imaging they wouldn't take the meat if they wanted it.

I don't think ducks are really meat eaters? Well, insects and slugs, I guess, but I don't hear of ducks eating frogs, mice, lizards, etc like I do with chickens.

My ducks love salamanders when they come across one. It takes quite a while for the lucky duck to get it down though. They even caught a little bird once but my husband was able to save it, I don't know if they would have actually ate it, but I think they might try.

 

[zooweemama]

Guess I haven't watched my ducks as well as my chickens! Then again, I have "dry" ducks, they just have a kiddie pool, not a real pond. That really makes sense about them eating pond critters. Probably a good think my ducks aren't in the pond, I love my frogs! Darn cats already catch too many of them and the ducks are on thin ice as it is. Thanks for the info!

Okay, now I'm thinking, is it geese that are more veggies and don't eat meat as much?

Yes. My geese don't seem to eat as many pond goodies as the ducks. They are more like horse- they prefer to graze on grass for much of their food. I am sure they eat some of the pond goodies...mostly the pond grass stuff and they preen a lot. And boss around the ducks. lol The geese are responsible for much of the land foraging my ducks do. The geese herd them onto land and they all forage. The difference between the ducks and geese...the ducks dig their bills into mud and dirt looking for bugs and things, the geese mow the grass down- they do not dig like the ducks at all. My ducks LOVE earthworms.