The saying, “You are what you repeatedly do,” is also true to the health of your ducks. If you are raising ducks, for example, the food you regularly feed them will determine how healthy your ducks and their eggs will be. So, you can surely rephrase the abovementioned quote as “Your ducks are what they repeatedly eat,” and still, it will be valid.
If you are raising ducks for meat or eggs, it will be best to ensure your ducks eat the most nutritious food you can provide them. They can only be as healthy as what they eat. Therefore, it will be best to refrain from feeding them junk food. Feeding your ducks, for example, with bread will not give them valuable nutrients because bread offers little nutritional value.
Issues Associated with Feeding Bread to Your Ducks
There are problems associated with feeding your ducks with bread. First, giving your ducks bread is a behavior setter among ducks. Mature ducks, for example, might become overly obsessed and dependent on bread that they fail to teach their ducklings how to forage for food.
Once ducklings fail to develop the foraging behavior, they would become like beggars, spending their days begging for breadcrumbs and handouts. Besides, they may behave more aggressively if not satisfied with these handouts.
Furthermore, feeding ducks with handouts and bread might preclude them from migrating, especially if the ducks are wild. Wild ducks usually migrate during the cold season to avoid cold weather.
However, if you provide them ample food, they might lose the drive to migrate. Thus, the duck’s migration pattern gets disrupted, with many ducks not wanting to relocate because of your reliable food supply.
Ducks may also fail to gobble up all the bread you provide them, leaving many leftovers floating in the pond. This leftover bread might accumulate in the pond together with duck droppings.
This accumulation of calorie-rich food can trigger algae growth and bloom in the pond. As algae prolifically reproduce, the pond oxygen gets depleted. Oxygen depletion can cause hypoxia, wiping out life in the pond and depriving ducks of their natural food.
As mentioned above, bread rots in water and can trigger algae bloom. These algae can be detrimental to the health of animals and plants. If your dogs, for example, come in contact with this water, they might get sick.
Inland, uneaten bread might also develop mold that could harm your ducks’ health if they eat it. It can lead to a fatal respiratory disease in birds called aspergillosis.
Aspergillosis is a disease caused by a fungus called aspergillus. This fungus affects the respiratory system and can cause breathing problems in your ducks. This disease isn’t contagious but can be lethal to your ducks.
Tips and Guides for Feeding Your Ducks
Ducks can be voracious eaters. In fact, they can spend four hours of the day eating or foraging for food. As a conscientious keeper of ducks, it will help to know the following tips on feeding your ducks correctly:
Don’t Feed Ducks that Are Not Hungry
Ducks will show whether they are interested in food or not. If they leave their food uneaten, they are not hungry or interested in the food you provide them. So, if you feed them bread, and they don’t eat it, you better remove the bread or any leftover you’re feeding them. Otherwise, they may attract unwanted pests. Besides, the food may rot, causing the growth of mold.
Avoid Feeding Ducks With Too Many Treats
If others have already fed the ducks, you should refrain from further feeding them. Too much food can cause many health problems, leading to disease and illnesses in your ducks.
Dispose of Litter Properly
Ducks may inadvertently get access to litter and waste like plastic, moldy scraps, bags, and many other wastes. It will be best to dispose of these wastes and trash properly to prevent ducks from accessing them.
Offer Food in Bite Sizes
Always remember that ducks don’t chew their food. So, it will be best to ensure the food you provide them are digestible and easy to swallow. Provide them only with food in bite sizes to prevent them from choking.
Prevent Larger Birds From Partaking in the Feed of Ducks
Wild birds like geese and swans may get attracted to the feed you provide your ducks. It will be best to prevent these larger birds from partaking of the food you provide your ducks because they can be pretty aggressive.
Don’t Disturb or Frighten Your Ducks
Ducks are pretty fidgety when disturbed. So, don’t let your pets and children scare or chase after your ducks. Such a chase can be very stressful for ducks.
Be Wary of the Local Ordinances About Duck Feeding
Some local laws and ordinances may prohibit or restrict feeding ducks and other waterfowl. It will help if you are wary of these laws and rules to avoid penalties or fines.
Conclusion
Overfeeding ducks can lead to numerous health problems like obesity and other concomitant diseases. So, when feeding your ducks, it will be best to practice moderation. A little bread might be alright for your ducks, but providing them with all the leftover bread that has grown moldy will be a bad idea. Besides, if you raise your ducks for meat or eggs, you don’t want them eating food that doesn’t provide them with optimum nutritional value.
Conservation groups have been discouraging feeding wildlife with bad food. Nevertheless, if you are inclined to feed wildlife like wild ducks, you might as well provide them with healthy alternative snacks like corn, rice, greens, peas, oats, and seeds. These foods will indeed provide them with better nutrition, making them healthier and more active.
