They have Lots of Info! They Say: You Can Feed Them These Alternatives to Bread - As a kid, we regularly got rid of stale bread by taking it down to the pond and feeding the wild ducks. Unfortunately, it is really bad to feed bread to ducks, geese, swans, waterbirds and other wild birds. Beyond the harm it causes the birds, it also pollutes the environment. Here’s what to feed ducks instead of bread, and these alternatives are much healthier for both your feathered friends and the planet.
For Too Long, I Didn't Read
Bread is bad for ducks, geese, and other waterbirds. Like really bad. So just don’t.
I have always loved ducks, from when I was a preschooler to the flock I strolled by every day on campus during graduate school. As a kid, my sister and I thought we were being good citizens of the planet by taking our old bread to the ducks at a nearby pond. In school at the University of New Mexico, I often ate my lunch by the duck pond on campus, sharing a few chunks of bread from my sandwich or a few potato chip crumbs with the braver web-footed creatures who approached me.
It turns out, it’s incredibly dangerous to feed ducks, geese, swans, and other waterbirds bread. And, the bread not consumed by wild birds pollutes waterways. This threatens the other wild animals in the ecosystem like fish, turtles, and other wildlife that depend on aquatic vegetation and clean water supplies. So if you love to observe the wildlife in your community (and didn’t know this important information), please stop feeding the ducks bread and junk food!
Fortunately, there are many other foods that are safe to feed ducks at the local park. And, feeding ducks these foods reduces the amount of food youhave to throw out.
What Do Wild Ducks Eat?
A balanced diet for wild ducks include grasses, earthworms, slugs, aquatic plants, small fish, and similar nutritious food sources available in their habitat. Wild ducks also eat grains, but in its raw unprocessed state and certainly not ground into flour and baked into bread.
Bread has also been linked to a condition called angel wing syndrome that causes a deformity in the bird’s wings, reducing its ability to fly and increasing its vulnerability to attack or other injuries.
So What Can Ducks Eat?
Instead of bread, healthy food for ducks includes fruits, vegetables, and grains. It’s also safe to feed ducks specially formulated pellets and to let them forage for their own worms and bugs. Here is a more detailed list of foods that are safe to feed ducks.
What to Feed Ducks Instead of Bread
- Birdseed
Whether it includes millet, sunflower seeds, or another mix, any type of birdseed is safe to feed ducks instead of bread. - Duck Feed Pellets
Specially formulated for ducks, duck feed pellets are a common duck food for female ducks that are raised for their eggs and meat. These duck feed pellets float for over an hour reducing the waste that sinks into the water. - Sweetcorn
You can feed ducks fresh or dried corn. Fresh corn can be defrosted frozen corn or freshly cut from a cob. When it comes to dried corn kernels, be sure to coarsely grind dried corn kernels before you feed ducks cracked corn. By breaking the dried corn kernels into smaller pieces, it’s easier for the ducks to eat. - Oats and Similar Grains
Whether its steel-cut, rolled, or quick, uncooked oats are a better alternative to bread to feed ducks. You can also feed ducks wheat, barley, and similar grains. - Rice
Ducks love grains of rice. It is safe to feed wild ducks both cooked and uncooked rice. - Grapes
Be sure to cut grapes in half- or quarter-size pieces so that they are easier for the duck to eat. - Berries
Ducks love a wide range of berries including strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. - Melon
From cantaloupe to honey dew to watermelon, ducks, geese, and other waterbirds love melon.
Peas
Fresh peas and defrosted frozen peas are both safe foods to feed ducks and other waterbirds.
Vegetable Peels and Scraps
Ducks enjoy carrot and cucumber peelings, radish tops, and lettuce trimmings. Just be sure to chop the vegetable scraps into small pieces before feeding the ducks.
Can You Feed Ducks Leftover Food?
It depends on the type of leftovers you have in mind. As a general rule, both backyard ducks and wild ducks enjoy grains as well as fruit and vegetable scraps. But some human foods are better than others.
Can You Feed Ducks Bananas?
Yes, like most fruits, banana pieces are safe to feed ducks.
Can Ducks Eat Crackers?
No! Like bread, crackers and other processed grains have little nutritional value. Do not feed these junk foods to ducks!
Can Ducks Eat Cucumbers?
Yes! Ducks, geese, swans, and other waterbirds enjoy a wide variety of vegetables and vegetable scraps. Whether you feed the ducks cucumber peelings or pieces of cucumber, be sure to chop them into small pieces first.
Is it OK to Feed Ducks Peas?
Yes! Like corn, ducks can eat both fresh and frozen defrosted peas.
Do Ducks Eat Lettuce?
Ducks love a wide range of vegetables, including lettuce and other leafy vegetables. But just as you should limit the amount of iceberg lettuce you consume (due to its poor nutrition), the same is true for ducks. Feed ducks romaine lettuce, red or green leaf lettuce, or chard instead.
Can Ducks Eat Popcorn?
No! While it’s safe to feed ducks fresh, dried, or defrosted corn kernels, it is not safe to feed ducks popcorn.
Can Ducks Eat Potato Chips?
No! Potato chips are on the list of empty calorie junk food no nos like bread and crackers. Do not feed potato chips to ducks.
Can a Wild Duck Eat Potato Skins?
While ducks enjoy eating a wide range of fruits and vegetables, you should avoid feeding ducks potato skins. Potatoes are part of the nightshade family and toxic to ducks. In addition to potato skins, do not feed ducks tomatoes, eggplants, or bell peppers as these plants are also nightshades.
Can Ducks Eat Radishes?
Yes, like cucumber peelings and cucumber pieces, ducks can eat radish tops and diced radishes.
Can You Feed Ducks Rice?
Yes, it is safe to feed ducks rice, either cooked or uncooked.
Comments Made
What Are ducks eating in their smallish park pond when they just keep dipping their beaks in the green, opaque water? They’re not starving. I don’t see ducks being fed, either.
In the wild, ducks feast on insects, grasses, seeds, and aquatic plants. While paddling in the water, likely water bugs and plants/plant pieces.
All of the alternatives you have offered I’m sure are good for ducks. But all of them make it pretty hard to stop by a pond with ducks and have fun feeding them. I was hopeful when I saw the rice cakes question but no even that something you could break in your hand and give them pieces of us no good. So I guess I can try corn but I’m sure it will get lost in the grass in Florida. Not real helpful.
What’s not really helpful is you feeding ducks bread out of convenience to you.
Its very bad for them and can cause defects like angel wing and they cant fly.
Corn is really easy i do it all the time. Put it in a dish or yes toss it in the grass. If the ducks see you toss it there theyll go find it. Whats even easier is to just not feed them at all if healthier food for them isnt convenient for you.
Be careful while feeding ducks sweetcorn near the water as it’s not good for the fish.
Article Source HERE
I have another Article about Feeding Ducks in a Park or Riverside HERE
This Article is for Ducks at Home or on the Farm.