If you’re anything like us, then sometimes you go to the fridge, open it, close it, and then come back and repeat the procedure five minutes later in hopes that something more appetizing has magically appeared in your fridge.
Even though they don’t have fridges to do it with, ducks feel similarly! While they don’t exactly discriminate when they’re hungry, like people do, there are certain foods that ducks can prefer. Beyond that, certain ones add extra health benefits and can vary their diets.
Because ducks tend to forage, many wild-growing vegetables and plants are free game for them to snack on. Pumpkin and squash may not be free-growing in your area, but supplementing your ducks’ feed with these vegetables can have great benefits both for their health and their taste buds!
Benefits
Wait, so can ducks eat pumpkin? Yes! When it comes to pumpkins, squash, and even other types of gourds, these vegetables should be welcome in your ducks’ diet. Of course, your birds will love the taste and be drawn to the shapes of the vegetables, which can yield some entertainment if you stick around to watch them eat.
These foods offer many health benefits for your birds as well. Above all, they’re great sources of vitamin A (beta-carotene) and also vitamins B, E, and C. In addition, these vegetables offer calcium, potassium, and magnesium. In short, they’re packed with nutrients!
Even better, the flesh of these vegetables isn’t high in calories, so you don’t have to worry about over-feeding your ducks in terms of caloric content.
What about pumpkin seeds? Pumpkin and squash seeds do fall on the higher end of the caloric spectrum, as they are high in fats and carbohydrates. Still, these types of seeds are safe and healthy for ducks in moderation. They can have added usefulness in your ducks’ winter diet when they’ll need more caloric intake to keep warm.
Seeds are a great way to add fiber and roughage to a duck’s diet. And although not all kinds of seeds are safe for them, ducks can eat pumpkin seeds as well as squash seeds.
Another amazing benefit of pumpkin and squash in your ducks’ diet is their proposed natural de-worming and anti-parasitic capabilities. Although there has been no formal research on these vegetables’ efficacy in keeping away parasites, they’ve been used in the farming community for decades to help keep livestock healthy.
Since there has been concern in recent years that synthetic dewormers aren’t as effective perhaps due to desensitization, introducing some feed from the gourd family into your birds’ diet can help in keeping them healthy and parasite-free.
Preparation
If you’re looking to start feeding pumpkin and squash to your ducks, then it’s best to avoid any canned or processed kinds. However, you don’t have to buy raw pumpkins or squash from the grocery store just to feed your ducks.
During the fall season, collecting your friends’ and neighbors’ leftover autumn decorations can help supply the feed. Additionally, you can grow pumpkins and squash at home relatively easily.
When feeding these vegetables fresh, cut them open so that your ducks can easily get to the flesh and seeds. If you don’t want them to consume the seeds, you can scoop out some or all of them before feeding. Ducks can eat pumpkin guts, so you’re safe there as well.
You also have the option of storing the vegetables for feeding at a later date. Storing pumpkin and squash is simple: make sure to keep it at room temperature for ten to twenty days to cure before transferring to a cooler, more humid place, like a basement or cellar. Store them in a single layer without any vegetables touching to avoid rot.
If you prefer to feed cooked pumpkin and squash to your ducks, then simply cook and puree the flesh. This can then be frozen and thawed for use at any time. Be advised, though, that ducks may prefer the texture of uncooked vegetables, although they can become accustomed to cooked texture in time.
You can safely provide them with the skin, rinds, and even the leaves of pumpkin and squash vegetables and plants, as ducks can eat pumpkin vines and stems as well. These serve as good fiber as well as entertainment for ducks when it comes to figuring out how to eat them!
Amount
Because pumpkins and squash are good sources of minerals and nutrients and can provide much-needed hydration and fiber in ducks’ diet, they are safe for you to give them in moderation alongside an already balanced duck feed.
Since the seeds can be high in calories, it’s important to not overfeed with them. You can save them for feeding during the winter, as mentioned before, or half the quantity given to your ducks with the vegetable or plant.
Pumpkins and squash are still considered a treat for ducks, so be careful to not give them too much. Providing them with a large, halved pumpkin or several halved squashes for your ducks to enjoy both for food and entertainment is a good idea in moderation.
Don’t Forget
If the pumpkin or squash that you want to feed your ducks is molded, salted, or sweetened, it’s a good idea to pass on it. Salt and sweeteners can be detrimental to ducks, and mold can harm their health as well. So if you’re asking yourself “Can ducks eat pumpkin pie?” the answer is, well, they can only eat the pumpkin that’s on it.
If you’re feeding young ducklings, you’ll also want to be mindful of the size of the vegetables you’re providing. While ducklings need extra minerals and nutrients during their growing phase, they can still easily choke on items too large for them.
Large pieces of pumpkin, squash, and even the seeds of these vegetables could present a choking hazard to ducklings. Consider separating ducklings from the rest of the ducks when feeding these vegetables in large sizes, or provide it as a cooked and pureed treat that can be swallowed easily.
Final Thoughts
Maybe your ducks aren’t as open about hankering for treats as we humans are, but they can be vocal about it sometimes! Provide a good, nutritious treat to your ducks by supplementing with pumpkin and squash.
These vegetables and the plants themselves are full of nutrients, fiber, and moisture that ducks need, and the seeds can provide extra caloric content in the winter.
Although it could take your ducks a little while to come around to the new smell and texture of this kind of treat, we know they’ll be clamoring for more in no time.