How to Feed Wild Ducks

If you live near water, such as a pond or stream, you might see ducks fly around, walk around and swim in the water. You might also see wild ducks at your local park. Many wild ducks make their homes in these areas because people tend to feed them often. The most common food people feed ducks is bread, but this is not the best choice. Wild ducks need to eat nutritional food to remain healthy.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Bird feed
• Shredded carrots
• Split peas
• Celery
• Brown rice
• Oats
• Wheat grain
• Worms

1. Become familiar with what wild ducks eat. It is recommended that you do not feed wild ducks for health purposes, but during the winter when it is hard for wild ducks to find food such as plants and weeds, you can help provide them with something to eat. Go to your local bird feed store or talk to a local wildlife expert to know exactly what would be best to feed them.

2. Purchase the right foods to feed a wild duck. They can eat greens such as leaf spinach and celery along with shredded carrots, split peas, brown rice, wheat grain and oats. You can also feed them bird seeds.

3. Go to a local pond. Toss the food into the water and not on the ground. This is more sanitary for the wild duck as well as better for their digestive system. With each piece of food they eat they will swallow some water.

4. Chop up any food given to the wild ducks to make it easy for the ducks to eat. They will digest the food more easily if the it is given in small pieces. Foods such as bird seeds and split peas are already small enough to give the ducks.

Tips & Warnings

• You can also feed wild ducks worms if you have nothing else.
• Avoid feeding wild ducks bread. Bread is high in carbohydrates and can clog up their arteries, which is bad for the duck's health.

References

• What to feed wild ducks

Resources

• Information on wild ducks