What Do Ducks Eat

ducks

Ducks are a type of bird that belongs – scientifically – to the duck family (in Latin: Anatidae), and it belongs to the order of geese , and it is distinguished by its relatively small size and short beak. Ducks live around aquatic natural habitats ; It feeds on fish and others, and these birds live in almost all parts of the world , except for Antarctica and the North Pole .

Ducks are distinguished from many birds in that their chicks hatch while they are strong and developing. Where they are covered with light feathers and are able to walk to the water and start searching for food – with the help of their mother – within a few hours after hatching from the egg.

types of ducks

Biologists tend to classify ducks with geese and swans within one order called geese; Where this group includes 147 different species of these birds, about a hundred of which belong to ducks alone. Duck species share that they are creatures that live in aquatic environments, and humans have domesticated them to benefit from their meat and eggs for thousands of years. Among the types of ducks are what is known as marine ducks or diver ducks, and river ducks or freshwater ducks, including also black ducks, and red-breasted balqas; As this last type is considered one of the fastest birds in the world, it can fly at a speed of more than sixty kilometers per hour, and there are also types of ducks: beautiful forest ducks that hunted in huge numbers until they were on the verge of extinction in order to benefit from their colored feathers in decorating hats, and black-headed ducks; Who is known to intrude on the nests of other birds and leave their eggs in them, so that others can take care of them.

The wild duck , which is also called the vegetable duck, according to the belief of many scholars, is the actual ancestor from which all domesticated duck strains that now exist in the world descended. Where this wild bird was domesticated for the first time in China two to three thousand years ago, and among the most prominent types: the white Peking duck (from China), which is the most common type of duck in the United States at the present time.

Ducks breeding

The breeding of ducks is widespread in farms or small pens in most countries of the world, and trade in it is usually limited to small farms and not to large production companies, which rarely care about this bird except in specific places, such as England, the Netherlands, and the United States.

The breeding of birds is not entirely easy; The person in charge of her upbringing should pay attention to her health and the condition of the disease . Animals of all kinds transmit diseases to humans, including ducks. Ducks are generally a strong and hardy bird, and therefore they do not need vaccination or close medical attention in most cases, and they are not very attractive to pests – such as mites and lice – as much as other domestic birds (chicken, for example), thanks to their spending a lot of time in the water, However, he may catch some harmful diseases.

One of the worst diseases that ducks may be exposed to is duck hepatitis; This disease usually affects young chicks aged between one day and one month, after which their immunity against it becomes strong. Where this disease strikes the liver first, and then spreads in the body quickly, causing death, and if this disease hits one of the ducks, it spreads quickly in the flock or barn, so that it infects up to nine-tenths of it and eliminates large numbers of ducks, and the duck epidemic is considered a virus. Another danger, and it may affect both adult or mature ducks, and when the duck is infected with it, it shows signs of dullness and lethargy, and may die shortly after, and such cases can be avoided by vaccinating the birds against these diseases and keeping them in a clean and sterile environment as possible .

eating ducks

Ducks food in nature

Duck food varies according to its type; Where ducks in the wild eat a variety of creatures that they find in the natural aquatic environments that they inhabit, and these organisms may be fish or shellfish, and they may feed on plant food, such as green tree leaves and seeds.

The beak of the ducks may be wide and equipped with strong edges capable of sifting grains, insects and oyster snails from the waters of the lakes, and some types of these birds have beaks designed to enter the cracks between the rocks and catch crustaceans, and their beak may be wide for catching fish, and the ducks may need to dive to great depths underwater in search of its food; Where ducks can swim in the water very gracefully thanks to its equipped feet for rowing, floating and diving, and this allows it to reach its food easily.

Feeding domesticated ducks

Packaged foods for ducks and other waterfowl are available in the shops, and these ducks can also live naturally on chicken food. When raising ducks to obtain their eggs, it is possible to feed them the regular grains that are given to chickens and other poultry, but if the domesticated duck has young children who take care of them until they grow up, then they need more nutritional content than usual. It is noteworthy that domesticated ducks need more vitamin B3 than chickens, and this need can be compensated by adding brewer’s yeast to their food by up to 5%.

It is recommended that food be served to the domestic ducks in bowls that cannot be turned upside down (in case the ducks misuse them), and it must be large enough for all the barn ducks to eat from at the same time, and it is necessary to add a quantity of green leaves to the ducks’ food, such as Lettuce, herbs, and others. Corn, peas, cucumber pieces, tomatoes, and other vegetables can also be served to it. It is necessary to provide water near the ducks on a permanent basis.