How to feed wild ducks properly

Wild ducks are the most common birds that massively settle on the shores of urban and natural reservoirs. Enterprising poultry farmers have managed to domesticate some species. These birds are unpretentious and picky about food, but for normal development their diet must be enriched with nutrients and they can be fed additionally.

What do wild ducks eat in nature?

Wild ducks creatures omnivores... In their natural environment, they get their own food, which includes:

• grass and roots;
• small molluscs, invertebrates and crustaceans;
• small fish;
• tadpoles and small frogs;
• plankton;
• mosquito larvae;
• seaweed;
• insects;
• berries;
• plants' seeds.

Dwelling on the shores of calm bodies of water, ducks extract food from silt and water... They filter water through their beak and catch small animals. In shallow water, birds collect food from the bottom. To do this, they immerse their head in water, leaving only a tail on the surface, and sort out the silt.

In summer, birds do not lack food and eat a variety of foods. And in winter they feed more on vegetation: fruits and seeds of plants and berries.

Why feed

The birds pick up everything that falls into the water from human hands. They often eat baked goods, cookies, grains, seeds, chips and even popcorn, so their instincts have dulled and they increasingly settle near people. Once migratory birds, began to lead a sedentary lifestyle and winter in cities.

Ducks need complementary foods during the warm season. only in special conditions:

• associated with environmental problems of water bodies;
• with a large number birds on a small pond;
• if the birds are injured and unable to forage on their own.

In winter, it is more difficult for ducks to find food, especially if the temperature drops below 15 degrees and the water bodies freeze completely. And to help the ducks survive the cold, they need to be fed. But you need to do it right, so as not to harm health feathered.

Ducks can be fed with the following foods:

• curd mixture with the addition of cereals and chopped herbs;
• oatmeal;
• fresh berries and fruits;
• boiled vegetables;
• grated cheese;
• compound feed that can be prepared at home or bought.

All products must be crushed and food should be left on the shore so as not to litter the reservoir.

Is it possible to feed

Bird watchers strongly against feeding wild birds, especially in the warm season. Instincts laid down by nature suggest that wild animals must independently obtain their own food.

Therefore, feeding ducks leads to the fact that their natural instincts are dulled. They stop looking for food and wait for a new portion from the person. And with the arrival of winter, the ducks are not ready to fly to the south and remain in a lured place. And it is very difficult for birds to survive without human help.

Harmful to them moldy bread, which causes the development of aspergillosis - a fatal disease of birds.

What are duck food

Ducks must have feed in their diet. animal and vegetable originas well as chalk, coarse sand and small shells.

All poultry feed can be divided into several main types:

• vitamin or green;
• cereals or grains;
• animal feed;
• mineral supplements.

Each of them must be present in the diet of birds for full development.

Vitamin or green

In the summer, it will not be difficult to provide domesticated wild ducks with such feed, but for the winter diet green fodder should be harvested.

For these purposes, a blank is suitable:

1. Large green leaves and herbs that need to dry properly... Bunches of grasses and leaves should be hung in wind-blown places.
2. Aquatic plants: duckweed, chora, hornwort, algae. Such greens are caught from water bodies and dried.
3. Vegetables: carrots, pumpkins, potatoes, rutabagas, beets. Vegetables are served raw or boiled, and carrots can also be salted.

Cereals or grains

Such foods form the basis of the bird's diet. It can be whole grain or crushed, so it is suitable for birds of all ages.

These feeds include:

• corn;
• millet;
• barley;
• grain waste;
• legumes;
• peas.

Cereal mixes are rich in carbohydrates, which essential for sustainable growth and development... The grain is well digested and does not clog the goiter, so the birds are always energetic and mobile.

Animal feed

This is protein source, which wild ducks get by eating insects, small amphibians and fish fry. At home, supplements will help make up for the lack of such food:

1. Fermented milk products: whey, cottage cheese, cheese.
2. Fishmeal, from which mash is prepared and broths are boiled.
3. Meat and bone meal, which is high in fat.
4. Fish meat - small fish, boneless fillets and fish waste will do.

Mineral supplements

Ducks need minerals for the formation of a hard shell of eggs, and particulate matter helps to grind food. Therefore, feed should be enriched with chalk, crushed eggshells, shells, gravel, coarse sand and small amounts of salt.

Features of the preparation of homemade feed

Homemade compound feed, must be balanced in the correct proportions.

Per one hundred grams of compound feed accounts for:

• 25 g of corn and wheat;
• 5 g peas;
• 20 g barley;
• 5 g wheat bran;
• 8 g sunflower scraps;
• 2 g feed yeast;
• 2 g of fish and meat and bone meal;
• 5 g of chalk or shells;
• 0.8 g salt;
• 2 g of feed fat.

When calculating for a large amount of feed, the mass of the ingredients increases proportionally. Adults are fed three times a day, in the form of wet mash. In the evening, you can give whole or sprouted grains.

Feeding in the summer

The norm of dry concentrated feed in the diet of ducks in the summer is 40%, and green fodder - 60%.

When kept in pen, ducks are fed 4 times a day: twice dry food and twice wet mash, to which aquatic plants and fresh herbs are added. The mash should be given in such quantity that it is completely eaten by the birds, otherwise the feed will quickly deteriorate.

The bird must have access to clean water and gravel.

Feeding in the winter

In winter, ducks should only be fed in the morning and evening. In the morning they give wet mash and combined silage, and in the evening - dry grain-flour fodder. The mixtures should contain fish and meat and bone meal, boiled or raw vegetables, steamed dry grass.

Wild ducks are omnivorous birds. They quickly get used to regular feeding from human hands and stop caring about getting food... As a result, they get the wrong food, which leads to indigestion.

And in winter, birds are not able to live without human help. And if a decision is made to feed wild ducks in winter to help them survive, it must be done correctly - with balanced feed. Improper nutrition will inevitably lead to death.

For domesticated birds, complex grain mixtures are also prepared with the addition of necessary trace elements.