What about raw peas? It's nearing the end of pea-picking season here. Were I raising chickens, I'd just pull the vines full of over-mature peas and toss them in the run. Not so sure about ducks; I know they need their soybeans cooked.
soy beans are a whole different beast! They are toxic to humans raw too. I don't know about peas for sure but I wouldn't compare them to soy...
My 4 week ducklings have been loving celery, raw and chopped up. Especially the leaves
And I had forgotten that we used to plant parsley before the ducklings hatched because they loved jumping into the pot to eat it SO much! When it was attached to the plant, even the littlest duckies liked it because they could easily tear off a piece and not have a huge stem to deal with
I tried out green peas on the ducks--small quantities at first, just a few spent plants, to see how they'd go. They stripped the stalks of foliage, and expertly shucked the peas. Now they line up against the garden fence in the afternoon, a dozen amber bills poked through the gap between the boards, watching for any signs of activity in the pea patch, and loudly demanding their share in the spoils.
Quote:
Belated, but FWIW, I'm gonna quote Storey's Guide, chapter 14, page 205* under 'Growing Duck Feed':
"Our favorite perennial plants for producing significant quantities of food and shade in our duck yards include mulberries, Siberian pea shrub (Caragena arborescens), and grapes...The fruit and seeds from these plants require no harvesting because they fall to the ground when mature and the ducks eagerly consume them."
*I believe I have the second-to-most-recent edition, so page number may vary.
If they're one of Holderread's favorites, seems to me it's probably safe!
I have a question about hot peppers. I know birds do not produce a lot of saliva which we do so peppers are hotter for us bc the oils get distributed all across our tongues...i know parrots like hot peppers, but can ducks eat them?
And what about mushrooms? They grow all over our yard and i worry they will eat them while they are foraging.
dandelions!!!! per Dave Holderread's STorey's guide to raising ducks. they love them. As many as I can pick cut up and floated in their pan with a handful of frozen peas!!!