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A ducky question

nota bene said:
Does anybody here have experience raising ducks? I've had a frequent visitor for the past 6 weeks, and he's decided, despite the cats, to hang out with me. What do I feed him? Do I need to buy duck feed if it's available at the co-op?

Took me eons to ID him as a white Muscovy duck (he's enormous and except for the shorter neck is the size of a goose), and I don't know whether he's feral or nearby teens' FFA project. I've been feeding him bread but learned yesterday this is bad. Recommended was thawed peas, so I tried mixed veggies this morning, but he doesn't like them. Kale? Lettuce?

Despite the poop on the porch and the feathers, having him around is a thrill. He waddled into my house yesterday, and although he hasn't let me touch him, he comes right up to me for the bread.

Any and all advice appreciated, and thanks in advance. I know nothing about ducks.
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Ducks hang out at a local small lake. They dive and eat....something in the water. Little fishies? Ducks eat protein, I guess. They pick at trash that people leave, like leftover burger parts and such. Have you googled it?

BE CAREFUL NOT TO FEED HIM ANYTHING until you know what's safe. Some things can be toxic to non-humans (grapes are toxic to dogs, as well as chocolate).
 
notquiteright said:
Ducks are omnivorous. Most commercial food- like dry dog food- get close to what ducks need. They also graze on grass. Most larger pet food stores have a commercial duck/goose pellet. Corn is a good treat for ducks, fattens them up. They are quite the 'buggers' come summer. A small wading pool is good for them otherwise they will muddy up a spot when it rains (they may anyway).
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This. Over the years, two of our neighbors had long-term duck guests in their swimming pool/pond. Both times, their catfood bill went through the roof because ducks love kitty kibble!
 
nota bene said:
I am not sure I can entirely not feed him, but now I'm motivated not to be quite the happy hostess I have been. Besides, he's been rooting around my succulents on the porch, and now I have to transplant one this morning. :(
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Much as I love ducks, I've seen first hand that they can turn a sparkling swimming pool into a sludge-lined toxic dump in a surprisingly short time! Oh, and they were probably looking for snails, slugs, bugs. They like all that stuff. :)
 
nota bene said:
Does anybody here have experience raising ducks? I've had a frequent visitor for the past 6 weeks, and he's decided, despite the cats, to hang out with me. What do I feed him? Do I need to buy duck feed if it's available at the co-op?

Took me eons to ID him as a white Muscovy duck (he's enormous and except for the shorter neck is the size of a goose), and I don't know whether he's feral or nearby teens' FFA project. I've been feeding him bread but learned yesterday this is bad. Recommended was thawed peas, so I tried mixed veggies this morning, but he doesn't like them. Kale? Lettuce?

Despite the poop on the porch and the feathers, having him around is a thrill. He waddled into my house yesterday, and although he hasn't let me touch him, he comes right up to me for the bread.

Any and all advice appreciated, and thanks in advance. I know nothing about ducks.
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I thought it was an NCIS cast question.
 
JumpinJack said:
Ducks hang out at a local small lake. They dive and eat....something in the water. Little fishies? Ducks eat protein, I guess. They pick at trash that people leave, like leftover burger parts and such. Have you googled it?

BE CAREFUL NOT TO FEED HIM ANYTHING until you know what's safe. Some things can be toxic to non-humans (grapes are toxic to dogs, as well as chocolate).
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You're right. Chocolate is poisonous. I did some reading up after finding a poultry forum. Yikes, some foods cause cardiac arrest. Apples are okay; apple seeds kill. Dried corn can become stuck in the crop and kill. Uncooked beans are poisonous as are avocados. (I now have a 10-page list.)

I'm feeding him only a once a day, so he's not coming around quite as much, and my porch is glad. Ducks poop a LOT.
 
radcen said:
I thought it was an NCIS cast question.
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Funny. When I think of David McCallum, I always think of him as Ashley-Pitts in The Great Escape.
 
nota bene said:
You're right. Chocolate is poisonous. I did some reading up after finding a poultry forum. Yikes, some foods cause cardiac arrest. Apples are okay; apple seeds kill. Dried corn can become stuck in the crop and kill. Uncooked beans are poisonous as are avocados. (I now have a 10-page list.)

I'm feeding him only a once a day, so he's not coming around quite as much, and my porch is glad. Ducks poop a LOT.
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What to Feed Ducks (Nutritious Options & Tips)
Talks about what to feed ducks. The chopped lettuce and other greens sound good. Ducks will eat greens in the wild.
 
Thank you for the link. I keep kale in the fridge now, and I chop it into its morning oatmeal with a little cracked corn.

I probably should've listened to RAMOSS about not feeding this duck. The pooping is just unbelievable. I had to hose down the porch again today and get after it with a scrub brush.

Ducks are dumb (not nearly so dumb as turkeys and guineas, though), but this one doesn't plan to leave the Good Eats Café. He goes home but mainly hangs out here. It was 29 and windy Friday night, and I dragged a box out for it. Ha, he immediately pooped on it.

But I love him. He eats oyster crackers out of my hand now, and I've stroked his back several times. He HATES it, but that's too bad. That's the price of the gourmet eats!
 
nota bene said:
Thank you for the link. I keep kale in the fridge now, and I chop it into its morning oatmeal with a little cracked corn.

I probably should've listened to RAMOSS about not feeding this duck. The pooping is just unbelievable. I had to hose down the porch again today and get after it with a scrub brush.

Ducks are dumb (not nearly so dumb as turkeys and guineas, though), but this one doesn't plan to leave the Good Eats Café. He goes home but mainly hangs out here. It was 29 and windy Friday night, and I dragged a box out for it. Ha, he immediately pooped on it.

But I love him. He eats oyster crackers out of my hand now, and I've stroked his back several times. He HATES it, but that's too bad. That's the price of the gourmet eats!
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Once it gets summer time, there will be plenty of bugs and ticks for the duck to eats.

Ducks like bugs and ticks. When they eats the ticks, much less chance of lyme disease.
 
nota bene said:
Funny. When I think of David McCallum, I always think of him as Ashley-Pitts in The Great Escape.
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He was also pretty good early on, as the young British officer in Billy Budd who rebels against the idea of hanging an innocent man.
 
RAMOSS said:
Once it gets summer time, there will be plenty of bugs and ticks for the duck to eats.

Ducks like bugs and ticks. When they eats the ticks, much less chance of lyme disease.
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There are all sorts of yummies out here in the country. I hope it likes grasshoppers too.

Right now there are only 20 or so plants on the porch; I've moved many, many more indoors for the winter. Duck likes succulents and sticking its bill into my miniature roses. :(
 
nota bene said:
The pooping is just unbelievable.
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I have a pond next to my nursery that is a favorite hangout for geese, which can congregate there by the hundreds at times. As geese are prone to do, they often take off at once and fly overhead.

This would probably be an opportune time to mention that I wear a hat.
 
I have nothing to offer on feeding or raising ducks (I was one of the horrible ones who used to feed bread to the ones in my back yard when I lived next to a man made pond) BUT I did want to say good luck. It sounds like you are having fun and made friends with your waddling local :)
 
Although I've lived in the country for 30+ years now, I was reared in one of the nation's largest cities, and so a fat white duck sitting on my porch railing is a daily miracle of joy for me every day.

It's just that with joy comes poop, sigh.

I also have a white heron that comes by occasionally, and his wing span is amazing.
 
nota bene said:
The pooping is just unbelievable.
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Ducks, like most birds, poop constantly. Birds poop every 20-30 minutes wherever they happen to be. If the duck was sitting in your lap, it would poop in your lap. It's just part of having a bird hanging around, I'm afraid, they don't make little ducky diapers.
 
Actually, there is a lady named Nettie who makes and sells duck diapers. Not kidding. Learned this when I was studying up at a poultry forum on what to feed ducks.
 
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