Please don't give your geese spinach!!!

[TennesseeTruly]

I've been reading a lot of posts on both here and the duck boards where people are feeding their geese/ducks spinach. Please stop! A better green for them to eat is kale!

Spinach has something in it called oxalic acid. It depletes the calcium in bones of all birds. Feeding it in moderation is okay but unfortunately moderation to a goose or duck really doesn't apply because they like to gobble down greens.

Kale is a much better substitute to feed. I feed all my birds...parrots, ducks, geese, chickens, and guineas...kale on an almost daily basis.

I grow white clover in 6 pack soda flats (think the cardboard under a case of soda) for my ducks and geese. They absolutely love it. I always make sure that I have some growing and put a flat of it into each pen daily. You can do the same with kale as well.

Its really easy to provide fresh greens to your waterfowl if you think about it!

So please, lay off the spinach and think kale! BTW. Walmart sells 3lb bags of cut up kale for $3.86. No muss, no fuss, its already cut up for you.

Laurie

 

[The goose girl]

Hi I gave my ducks and geese spinach yesterday for the first time in a long while. Is there any way to “fix” them or is it to late

Don't worry. One meal of spinach won't hurt them. Consistently feeding them only spinach for a longer period could. Dandelions also contain oxalic acid, and geese eat them like candy. I've noticed my goose will happily devour one dandelion, root and all, and leave another one be after tasting one bite. I'm guessing she can taste what's good for her and what's not, so as long as yours have other greens available, they should be fine. Younger leaves in spring contain less oxalic acid; the acid builds up in the plant over time. Just like rhubarb - thet's why it should be harvested in spring.

 

[Pak Rat]

When I was a new duck mom, I made a "banned food" and a "super food" list that I added to every time I heard any info or advice on duck feeding. Now I'm a bit more experienced, and I look into each food to see just how and why it ranks the way it does. Ducks will eat almost anything so the lists are long, with many little notes, and now there's a "healthy treats" list too.
I found a neat article on line while researching the spinach dilema:

"...the oxalic acid in spinach binds with calcium and prevents our body from being able to absorb the calcium as well as it should. In egg-laying chickens and ducks, that’s the last thing you want since eggshells are comprised nearly entirely of calcium. Adequate calcium is also needed for the birds perform the contractions that push the eggs down the oviduct... by adding a splash of apple cider vinegar(acetic acid), the stomach acids are increased, which helps with absorption of not only calcium but other minerals and nutrients...I now feel comfortable adding some spinach, chard and beet greens to our ducks’ diet in moderate amounts as long as I add a splash of apple cider vinegar to their water at the same time."
https://www.fresheggsdaily.com/2014/06/the-danger-of-feeding-too-much-spinach.html

So I put spinach under "healthy treats" with a note about adding a splash of vinegar.
Also, steaming/boiling/blanching the leaves significantly reduces the oxalic acid load.

Here's a neat article about oxalic acid and waterfowl:
http://www.majesticwaterfowl.org/mmissue107.htm

 

[bock]

Thanks for the advice. I was always afraid to feed my ducks and geese spinach.

 

[TennesseeTruly]

I've raised parrots (and bred them) for about 30 years. Although spinach has all kinds of great nutrients in it, its the oxalates in it that robs the calcium out of bones of birds. For humans, its a great source of vitamins K, A, and magnesium! For birds, its just not worth feeding it to them when there are better greens out there.

Laurie

 

[ChickenSal]

Wow! I had no idea. Thankfully I haven't had a chance to buy spinach for them yet.
Thanks!

 

[redhen]

Thanks for the info! I'll save the spinach for me..

And i always grow lots of kale plants every year for my critters.. (chickens/ducks/geese/pigs)
Its amazing how much kale you can get from ONE plant... it just keeps growing and growing...
the trick is to keep removing the bigger outer leaves ..it keeps the plant producing...

 

[SkyWarrior]

Thanks for the info!

 

[ArizonaNessa]

Once again I have learned something new right here on byc. This forum has not let me down even one day since I joined. I learn something new every single day. Sometimes it's about birds and sometimes it's about something completely random. I just love this place!

 

[calmlake]

Kale is not only good for ducks and geese it is cheap when purchased from a local vegetable wholesaler. People with large flocks like mine can easily use a bushel of kale in a few days but it has to be kept cool to avoid spoiling. Btw a bushel of kale is about 11 dollars, whole seeded watermelons (20 pounders) in summer go for 3 dollars at a produce wholesaler. Visit one, you will be amazed at what you can find. Bill http://mthollyducksanctuary.com