What is a good diet for mute swans?

[TIckingThymeBomb]

I will officially adding swans to the property in 2025!! (Mute swan pair)

Never owned swan and I wanted to know what food you have had success with. they will have access to a pond with small fish and we will be adding eelgrass and duckweed. what other plants should we add? I have seen some commercial swan feed but I have had people tell me it isn't needed.

 

[chickachicka12345]

as long as you have enough fish in the pond they will probably be fine. but still feed the swan food just in case.

 

[Lovegeese]

as long as you have enough fish in the pond they will probably be fine. but still feed the swan food just in case.

Swans do NOT eat fish

 

[Lovegeese]

How big is your pond? That will help determine if you will have SUV's to support a pair of mute swans. They can eat up to 8lbs of "weeds" a day. Very few ponds can supply enough for their well being. I always recommend supplemental feed year round. they will tend to wonder if they aren't well fed. Commercial feed blends tend to be too high in protein. I have always used a combination of cracked corn, scratch grains and 16% chicken layer pellets. Mixed together this brings the protein down to about 11%. Their natural diet is very low in protein, hence that's why they have to eat so much. Makes sense to keep their protein level low when feeding. There is an article in this months backyard chickens about swans. Any more questions, check out Grand Swan Farm

 

[PekkaL84]

If you are keeping only Swans (no ducks or geese in same space)... Feeding is very easy, they moderate their eating and you can (and should) keep food available 24/7...

Our diet for our 2 black swans:

Everyday:
- A LOT of salad(s) and all kind of "green leafs" (always available)
- Sliced cucumbers (we give 4 big cucumbers per day, we peel them and give the peels separately)
- Few crushed tomatoes (slice the tomato in 2 or 4 pieces, and then just "crush" by hand so its easier to eat)
- Duck pellets / granules... These might need to be moderated if they go insane with them, our girls arent so fond of these so we keep these always available too.

In addition (changing "menu")
- Peas, Corn, Carrots, Potatoes (not raw)... These are easy to buy frozen, if you buy a mix that have potatoes, the potatoes are always "half cooked" and ok for swans straight from the bag.
- shredded carrots, shredded pumpkins
- Almost all kind of edible berries, these we give very rarely, tend to be very expensive ... But if you can get good healthy berries for cheap, thats a great addition to even daily diet.

Treats
- Mango, Papaya, Apple, All kind of melons, Oranges... They love fruits, but its not good in their daily diet. We give a bigger portion of fruits to them maybe once a week, few pieces per day would work too of course.


And what goes to the fish, Swans are opportunist eaters, they will eat fish if they can catch it and its small enough. BUT they dont need the animal protein and you should never offer them any meat(s). If they catch few bugs, small lizzard or something like that by themselves, its ok and wont hurt them, but its bad diet for them.

In wild Swans can eat 4kg (8-9lbs) per day, but of course in wild they also use a lot more energy vs in captivity. Our Black Swan girls seem to eat around 4kg (8-9lbs) total in day, They have around 5kg of food available and there is always something remaining after 24h. But this is up to individuals, species, their size etc, you need to test this by yourself... Start by giving A LOT of food and then reducing the amount daily until there is always something remaining when you give their next food in 24h.

Amount of food needed varies a bit by the time of year too, while they are molding they eat a big more. And i would imagine if you have a Male+Female pair, they would eat quite a lot more when they go hormonal. Our Female+Female pair goes hormonal too, but of course not that "bad" as they would if they were Female+Male.

One more point, we use these big "dish bowls" as their cups, and wont feed them in their pond... Eating in water (pond) is the natural way for them, BUT if you do that... You will be changing the water DAILY, no amount of filtration can deal that, you would need industrial water purification plant for the amount of poop and pieces of food =)

Getting them eat "on ground" wasnt hard at all, they just accepted it immediately and with this, we can change the water "only" once a week.

 

[Lovegeese]

If you are keeping only Swans (no ducks or geese in same space)... Feeding is very easy, they moderate their eating and you can (and should) keep food available 24/7...

Our diet for our 2 black swans:

Everyday:
- A LOT of salad(s) and all kind of "green leafs" (always available)
- Sliced cucumbers (we give 4 big cucumbers per day, we peel them and give the peels separately)
- Few crushed tomatoes (slice the tomato in 2 or 4 pieces, and then just "crush" by hand so its easier to eat)
- Duck pellets / granules... These might need to be moderated if they go insane with them, our girls arent so fond of these so we keep these always available too.

In addition (changing "menu")
- Peas, Corn, Carrots, Potatoes (not raw)... These are easy to buy frozen, if you buy a mix that have potatoes, the potatoes are always "half cooked" and ok for swans straight from the bag.
- shredded carrots, shredded pumpkins
- Almost all kind of edible berries, these we give very rarely, tend to be very expensive ... But if you can get good healthy berries for cheap, thats a great addition to even daily diet.

Treats
- Mango, Papaya, Apple, All kind of melons, Oranges... They love fruits, but its not good in their daily diet. We give a bigger portion of fruits to them maybe once a week, few pieces per day would work too of course.


And what goes to the fish, Swans are opportunist eaters, they will eat fish if they can catch it and its small enough. BUT they dont need the animal protein and you should never offer them any meat(s). If they catch few bugs, small lizzard or something like that by themselves, its ok and wont hurt them, but its bad diet for them.

In wild Swans can eat 4kg (8-9lbs) per day, but of course in wild they also use a lot more energy vs in captivity. Our Black Swan girls seem to eat around 4kg (8-9lbs) total in day, They have around 5kg of food available and there is always something remaining after 24h. But this is up to individuals, species, their size etc, you need to test this by yourself... Start by giving A LOT of food and then reducing the amount daily until there is always something remaining when you give their next food in 24h.

Amount of food needed varies a bit by the time of year too, while they are molding they eat a big more. And i would imagine if you have a Male+Female pair, they would eat quite a lot more when they go hormonal. Our Female+Female pair goes hormonal too, but of course not that "bad" as they would if they were Female+Male.

One more point, we use these big "dish bowls" as their cups, and wont feed them in their pond... Eating in water (pond) is the natural way for them, BUT if you do that... You will be changing the water DAILY, no amount of filtration can deal that, you would need industrial water purification plant for the amount of poop and pieces of food =)

Getting them eat "on ground" wasnt hard at all, they just accepted it immediately and with this, we can change the water "only" once a week.View attachment 4045073
View attachment 4045067

What an awesome setup ! You obviously love your swans! I breed/raise mutes, trumpeters and Australian Blacks. I do not go this extreme. In their natural settings the SUV's are enough to sustain them quite well. Being in captivity is quite a different story. Currently I have (10) 9 month old trumpeters that are already sold but my customers are not quite ready for them so I have to keep them over the winter in northern Indiana. The trumpeter is the heaviest flighted bird in north America. When you say your blacks (1/3 the weight) eat 8-9 lbs per day, that sounds like alot. I bring my blacks inside a heated building when it gets real cold here.(below 20 degrese). So I know exactly how much they eat. Currently I have (5) 2 year olds that have the split mutation. I feed them a mixture of cracked corn, scratch grains and 16% chicken layer pellets. I supplement that with 2 heads of romain lettuce each day. All 5 together will eat about 5 lbs of feed per day. Much of that ends us in the bottom of their water bowl as well. I guess my point would be they don't necessarily need all the "extra" food that you are feeding them to be healthy and happy. It's awesome that you have the time and financial means to provide this but not everyone who has swans have the same resources. I have only known cygnets to eat small bugs/minnows. I have not seen an adult swan eat anything but grass and the feed that I provide for them. And true, feeding them in the water is a challenge if you have a pool as their pond. I have an actual pond so mine eat out of a feeder that is mounted on the edge of the pond that they have access to 24/7. I've know of intstances where swans will come on shore whenever they see a human expecting to get fed. In certain settings, restaurant, golf courses, this is not desirable. When a 30 lb trumper, or mute, comes toward you while you're eating outside at a restaurant, it can be quite intimidating and even dangerous. Their is also the possibility of parasites being on the ground which could get ingested by the swans. I will NOT sell anyone a swan unless I talk to them first to make sure they have all the information, and finances, to properly take care of the swans regardless of breed. Once again, I commend you for your love of swans and wish everyone who has swans did the same. An excellent source of information can be found at swanlovers.net. These people have been raising and caring for swans for over 30 years. Linda and her husband only do rescue so they have a great deal of knowledge about swans. They mostly do mutes but I've found all swans have basically the same needs. Sincerly, Grand Swan Farm.

 

[PekkaL84]

Yes of course, the "total consumption" of food is around 4kg per day, and that of course includes all the "soup" in the water bowls etc ... They arent the cleanest eaters.

Our girls are quite active and have a lot of space to walk around (and swim), that of course makes them eat a bit more too. It's "always summer" here (Canary Islands, Tenerife), so no difference on their enviroiment, all the same 24/7/365

We run a parrot sanctuary and never planned to have any waterfowl until these 2 girls were offered to us by Loro Parque. All my "swan knowledge" also comes from them (Loro Parque), so far seems like all info from them has been great (and correct).

And yup, our black girls are spoiled and very loved

https://imgur.com/MiArHPT

^evening "cuddles" with the girls.

 

[lagrange chicks]

What an awesome setup ! You obviously love your swans! I breed/raise mutes, trumpeters and Australian Blacks. I do not go this extreme. In their natural settings the SUV's are enough to sustain them quite well. Being in captivity is quite a different story. Currently I have (10) 9 month old trumpeters that are already sold but my customers are not quite ready for them so I have to keep them over the winter in northern Indiana. The trumpeter is the heaviest flighted bird in north America. When you say your blacks (1/3 the weight) eat 8-9 lbs per day, that sounds like alot. I bring my blacks inside a heated building when it gets real cold here.(below 20 degrese). So I know exactly how much they eat. Currently I have (5) 2 year olds that have the split mutation. I feed them a mixture of cracked corn, scratch grains and 16% chicken layer pellets. I supplement that with 2 heads of romain lettuce each day. All 5 together will eat about 5 lbs of feed per day. Much of that ends us in the bottom of their water bowl as well. I guess my point would be they don't necessarily need all the "extra" food that you are feeding them to be healthy and happy. It's awesome that you have the time and financial means to provide this but not everyone who has swans have the same resources. I have only known cygnets to eat small bugs/minnows. I have not seen an adult swan eat anything but grass and the feed that I provide for them. And true, feeding them in the water is a challenge if you have a pool as their pond. I have an actual pond so mine eat out of a feeder that is mounted on the edge of the pond that they have access to 24/7. I've know of intstances where swans will come on shore whenever they see a human expecting to get fed. In certain settings, restaurant, golf courses, this is not desirable. When a 30 lb trumper, or mute, comes toward you while you're eating outside at a restaurant, it can be quite intimidating and even dangerous. Their is also the possibility of parasites being on the ground which could get ingested by the swans. I will NOT sell anyone a swan unless I talk to them first to make sure they have all the information, and finances, to properly take care of the swans regardless of breed. Once again, I commend you for your love of swans and wish everyone who has swans did the same. An excellent source of information can be found at swanlovers.net. These people have been raising and caring for swans for over 30 years. Linda and her husband only do rescue so they have a great deal of knowledge about swans. They mostly do mutes but I've found all swans have basically the same needs. Sincerly, Grand Swan Farm.

My dad has been gone since 2001 but raised Trumpeters in the 80s and 90s, heres a pic.