Sweet, full of fiber, and chock full of vitamins, apples are as healthy for ducks and ducklings as they are for humans. When added to a diet of feed, vegetables, greens, and grains, apples can be a part of a healthy, balanced diet for ducks and ducklings.
Can Ducks Eat Apples?
If you are asking yourself if ducks eat whole apples, you probably know that they are not able to bite into a fresh, crisp apple as we do. But that doesn’t mean that ducks can’t eat apples. They love apples as a sweet treat. Ducks don’t know about vitamins and fiber – they just know that apples are tasty.
You understand the importance of having fiber and vitamins in your ducks’ diet, so providing apples as part of a balanced diet is a great idea for the ducks and ducklings at your home or farm.
Aside from the sweetness and touch of tartness that apples have, these fruits have plenty of benefits for ducks when they’re enjoyed in moderation.
Do Ducklings Like Apples?
Just like children take to lollipops, ducklings love apples. Make sure that those red and green orbs don’t pose a choking hazard. Ducks and ducklings can choke on hard pieces of fruit, so make sure the apples you give them are in a sugar-free apple sauce form or cut into tiny pieces.
Water Content
A small apple is about 83 percent water, so giving your ducks apples boosts their hydration in a tasty way.
Quercetin
Apple peels contain quercetin, which helps in cell regeneration and keeps healthy bacteria in a duck’s gut thriving. This promotes healthy digestion and absorption of nutrients.
Carbohydrates
Apples are fairly high in carbohydrates, which will give ducks a big energy boost. Just make sure you don’t give your ducks too many apples since those carbs can pack on pounds quickly. Keeping ducks at a healthy weight is important.
Fiber
Ducks need fiber to stay healthy and regular just like people do. Apples and apple peels provide the fiber ducks need to stay healthy and regular, along with antioxidants and vitamins.
Vitamins and Minerals
Apples may be a sweet treat, but they contain a list of vitamins and minerals including vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin B6, potassium, manganese, and copper. This makes apples a snack you can feel good about giving to your ducks.
How to Prepare Apples for Ducks and Ducklings
You can’t just throw whole apples to your ducks and expect them to eat them up. Apples need to be prepared for ducks to enjoy them. Fortunately, a strudel, pie, or cobbler isn’t required.
If you have apples that have fallen from a tree at your farm or homestead or apples in your kitchen you’d like to share with ducks, you’ll need to take a few steps so ducks will enjoy these fruits safely.
What about the seeds? And can ducks eat apples’ cores? This part is important: they cannot eat these parts, especially the seeds. Apple seeds as well as the pits of stone fruits such as peaches and plums contain trace amounts of cyanide. This can be harmful to ducks, other animals, and people. Seeds can also get stuck in ducks’ throats, so removing them is best.
Ducks can choke on big pieces of fruit, so make sure to cut apples in tiny pieces for them, puree fresh apples or mash cooked and cooled apples for your ducks. If you have a high-speed blender or food processor, add cored and sliced apples and pulse until you have finely chopped apples, or even pureed.
Ducks can have apple sauce, but don’t add sugar or citrus to it. The sugar will add extra pounds to your web-footed friends, and citrus can hinder calcium absorption and make their egg shells thin.
Adding cinnamon to apple sauce isn’t a problem, as ducks enjoy the slightly sweet, spicy taste and can benefit from cinnamon’s antibacterial and antioxidant properties.
How Many Apples Should Ducks Eat?
Even though ducks love apples and would eat as many apples as you would give them, apples are a treat food for ducks. Although apples have plenty of health benefits such as vitamins, fiber, water content, and antioxidants, they also have plenty of carbohydrates and sugar. Eating a diet heavy in apples will, in short, leave your ducks heavy.
To be at their best, ducks need a healthy, balanced diet that includes feed, grains, greens, and vegetables as well as fruit and whatever they can forage. Keeping the high-sugar foods in ducks’ and ducklings’ diets to 30 percent or less of the calories they consume will keep them thriving and help them maintain healthy weights.
Apples Are Appealing to Ducks
They don’t sit down to a slice of apple pie or take a big bite out of a whole apple, but ducks do love these fruits. If you have an apple orchard on your farm or homestead, then you have a supply of apples that can be healthy treats to supplement your ducks’ diet.
You can also use any leftover apples in your kitchen as treats for your ducks. Bruised apples or ones that are overripe are just fine for feeding to ducks.
Macintosh to Granny Smith, Rome to Pink Lady, they’re all delicious treats for ducks that can also be healthy for them in moderation.
Take care in preparing apples for them, making sure to remove any seeds, which can stick in ducks’ throats and contain trace amounts of cyanide. Ducks and ducklings can choke on large pieces of fruit, so you’ll need to chop apples finely, puree them or mash cooked and cooled apples before giving them to your brood of ducks and ducklings.
Supplementing your ducks’ diet with apples will add nutrients and fiber but also sugar and carbohydrates. For this reason, don’t give ducks and ducklings too many apples or you’ll run the risk of giving your ducks indigestion and problems maintaining a healthy weight.
Keeping all that in mind, apples can be a tasty treat that will bring your ducks running.