If you raise and keep ducks and ducklings, you might be asking yourself, can ducks eat cracked corn?
Cracked corn, and almost all other corn varieties, can be an excellent food choice to feed your ducks. Not only is it perfectly safe for ducks to eat corn, but there are a variety of benefits to feeding your ducks corn.
Keep reading to find out the benefits of feeding your ducks corn, how to prepare it safely, and in what amounts.
Is Cracked Corn Good for Ducks?
If you keep other kinds of livestock that eat corn, it would, of course, be beneficial and easier to feed your animals almost all the same types of food.
Corn is one of those foods that are easy to source and quick to prepare, saving you time and maybe money.
Eye Health
Corn is an excellent source of needed nutrients for birds of almost all kinds. Specifically, corn is great for the eye health of ducks and other birds.
Corn contains various vitamins and nutrients such as magnesium, phosphorus, calcium, and manganese, which help keep your ducks’ eyes healthy.
Whole Grain
Corn is a whole grain that has excellent health benefits, not only for humans but ducks as well.
Feeding corn can improve your ducks’ heart health, lowering any chance of heart disease.
Nutrients
Corn is jam-packed with other essential nutrients needed to keep your ducks happy. Aside from being full of vitamin B and potassium, corn has a very high concentration of vitamin A.
Vitamin A has many benefits for humans and ducks, such as supporting brain function and boosting the immune system.
Digestive Health
Feeding your ducks corn can aid with their digestive system as corn is an insoluble fiber that enters the bloodstream. Fiber can help with issues such as constipation and hemorrhoids.
Disadvantages
While corn is considered a benefit, there are many things to look out for.
Antinutrients
While corn is also heavy in nutrients, there is such a thing as antinutrients. These antinutrients can stop your ducks from absorbing the nutrients they need, like zinc and iron, leading to vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
You can usually avoid this by feeding corn in moderate proportions with a balanced diet.
Mycotoxins
Mycotoxins can be a severe problem. Mycotoxins come from mold growing on food in damp and humid areas. Unfortunately, they are pretty stable and survive most chemical and food processing.
Mycotoxins can be highly harmful to humans and ducks alike and cause severe illnesses such as cancer and even damage DNA.
Corn Intolerance
Just like humans, ducks can also have a gluten intolerance, which means they wouldn’t be able to eat corn.
Gluten intolerance can be challenging to spot in a duck, but common symptoms include bloating, lethargy, and weight loss.
Preparation
Generally speaking, ducks, including Pekin ducks, can eat a large variety of different types of corn. However, the most common type of corn used to feed ducks is cracked corn, as it is easy to buy and easy for the ducks to eat.
There are a variety of ways you can feed your ducks corn.
It’s best to scatter the corn on the ground where you keep your ducks. However, some people also mix in the corn with the other duck feed they have prepared if they don’t want to scatter the corn on the ground.
What Types of Corn Can Ducks Eat?
Is cracked corn or whole corn better for ducks? You must grind whole corn kernels into smaller bits – where cracked corn comes from – as ducks would have difficulty eating and digesting the whole grains.
In short, ducks can’t eat whole corn as-is, so cracked corn is better. Ducks can eat almost any kind of corn. However, some types of corn aren’t safe, such as canned corn and popcorn.
So, what kinds of corn can ducks eat?
Cracked corn is the most common type of corn for feeding ducks. Your fowl can easily pick up the tiny pieces with no choking or digestive issues. Ducks can eat dried corn as well, as it is very similar to cracked corn.
You might be surprised to know that ducks can eat corn husks. They contain plenty of healthy carbs and fiber. However, just like it is essential to grind down whole kernels, the husks must also be chopped into tiny bite-sized bits so the ducks can eat them easily.
What about corn on the cob or sweet corn? While ducks can eat corn on the cob, they might have trouble swallowing and digesting the large kernels. Despite its higher sugar content, sweetcorn is perfectly safe to feed to your ducks. Sweetcorn is simply a variant of “normal” corn, in which there is a gene mutation that causes the sweetness.
It’s also perfectly safe to feed ducks deer corn as there isn’t much of a difference between deer corn and feed corn. The only difference is that deer corn has been cleaned twice.
What Types of Corn Should I Not Feed My Ducks?
Feeding ducks canned corn is generally ill-advised. There are chemicals and additives added to canned corn that is typically only for human consumption. These additives, like extra salt, can be harmful to ducks and make them sick.
Popcorn is another food that you shouldn’t give to your ducks. Unlike actual corn, popcorn has very little nutritional value and a lot of unneeded carbs. Feeding your ducks popcorn would be giving them unnecessary filler.
As far as kernels go, ducks can technically eat corn kernels, but it’s not as easy to digest as cracked corn. A bit like kernels, it would be unsafe to feed your ducks frozen corn. It would be too hard for the ducks to swallow and digest properly. In addition, Indian corn is tougher than regular corn. If you are going to feed your ducks Indian corn, it’s best to grind it down so they can digest it properly
You may be thinking that corn chips are made from corn, so why not feed them to your duck? It would be unwise to feed your ducks corn chips. Generally, chips aren’t for animal consumption.
How Much Corn Can a Duck Eat?
While corn is generally healthy, overfeeding your ducks corn can cause health issues. It is essential to feed your ducks a balanced diet that includes corn, along with other feed.
Baby Ducks
It is perfectly safe to feed ducklings corn. However, their little digestive systems are a bit more sensitive, so you will have to be more strict with your feeding schedule.
It is best to avoid giving corn to ducklings until after six weeks of age, as corn does not contain many of the nutrients that ducklings need to grow.
Additionally, it is recommended to only feed ducklings corn once every two weeks.
Adult Ducks
Adult ducks require a balanced diet, and corn can be an excellent source of protein and nutrients to keep your ducks healthy.
On average, ducks require their diet to be about 16% protein, which means you can give your adult ducks about a quarter pound of corn every day.
Final Thoughts
Corn can be an excellent part of a balanced diet for your ducks. However, be sure to follow all feeding guidelines and not overfeed your ducks.
Your ducks will appreciate it!