If you own ducks (or are considering raising ducks), you might have noticed that they eat a lot every day. Even with the adequate amount of duck feed, they can still appear hungry, wandering around their enclosure pecking at whatever grass they can find.
If you have extra broccoli and cauliflower, whether, from dinner or your garden, you might be wondering if you can feed that to your ducks to cut down on waste and save on their food bill.
So, can ducks eat cauliflower and broccoli, or should they be avoided in favor of other food?
Can Ducks Eat Broccoli and Cauliflower?
Ducks can and should eat a variety of vegetables, including broccoli and cauliflower. Most ducks enjoy raw or cooked broccoli and cauliflower and benefit from the nutrients and vitamins within the vegetables.
While broccoli and cauliflower are delicious and healthy snacks for ducks, they shouldn’t eat too much of either. A balanced diet is necessary for any animal, and ducks need protein, vitamins, and nutrients. You can feed your ducks both broccoli and cauliflower with their regular meat or protein.
Ducks should stay away from any food that’s high in sugar, fats, or carbohydrates, which is why feeding ducks lots of bread can be dangerous for their health.
However, vegetables in moderation are great snacks and can help complete a duck’s dietary needs. Broccoli and cauliflower are both high in nutrients and low in carbs.
Ducks are omnivores and can eat anything from grass to meat. While ducks in the wild live off of plants, insects, and fish they catch, domesticated ducks have a little easier. Often they have set feed mixes that combine all the nutrients, protein, and vitamins they need.
Health Benefits of Broccoli and Cauliflower
Broccoli and cauliflower are both cruciferous vegetables. Although they are remote cousins, these two veggies are not the same thing. Broccoli and cauliflower both have many health benefits and are very low in carbohydrates.
Here are some of the best features of broccoli and cauliflower:
Health Benefits of Broccoli
- Full of vitamins, including Vitamins C, A, K, and B9
- Contains some protein
- Has many antioxidants
- Protects heart health
- Can reduce inflammation
- Decreases risk of disease
- Increases digestive health
Health Benefits of Cauliflower
- High in fiber
- Contains multiple vitamins, especially Vitamin B, Vitamin K, and Vitamin C
- Provides antioxidants
- Increases healthy digestion
- Boosts skin and bone health
- Good for heart health
Preparation of Broccoli and Cauliflower
Ducks aren’t picky—not only will they eat pretty much anything, but they also don’t require a lot of food preparation. The only things you have to worry about when prepping broccoli and cauliflower for ducks are choking hazards and lack of water.
Ducks can eat vegetables raw or cooked, although raw vegetables preserve more of the vitamins and minerals. You can feed your ducks leftovers from your table as long as they’re not too oily—general seasonings are fine, but you shouldn’t give ducks too much fatty food.
Ducks have strong mouths but can still get larger pieces of food caught in their throats. Make sure that your broccoli and cauliflower pieces are either too small to choke on or large enough so that the duck has to break them into smaller pieces.
Either method will assure that the duck doesn’t choke on the vegetables.
Always make sure that your ducks have fresh water when they’re eating. Sometimes, despite our best efforts to make food duck friendly, they get overexcited and eat too quickly. Freshwater is a natural way to wash the food down their throats without causing them to choke.
Amount of Broccoli and Cauliflower
Too much broccoli or cauliflower can mess with your ducks’ bodies. If they overeat broccoli or cauliflower, their thyroid glands can start overproducing. It could also lead to a calcium deficiency.
These are extreme cases of overfeeding ducks with broccoli or cauliflower and very rare.
These potential side effects sound scary, but in reality, you probably won’t feed your duck too many vegetables. It takes an enormous amount of broccoli or cauliflower to make a duck seriously unhealthy.
Even if you feed them your extra vegetables every day, you don’t have to worry about overfeeding them.
Ducks should stay away from foods high in sugar, carbs, or fats. While some vegetables tend towards higher levels of sugars or carbs, cauliflower and broccoli are some of the low-carb veggies.
You don’t have to worry about a serving size with these vegetables, as long as the ducks get protein as well.
The key to ensuring that your duck gets a healthy diet is to feed them protein first before giving them other foods.
If you portion out enough protein and nutrient-rich foods (which includes broccoli, cauliflower, and other vegetables), you can rest assured that your ducks will remain healthy and well-fed.
Other Vegetables Ducks Can Eat
Ducks can eat almost any vegetable and don’t need many limits on the amount they’re eating. As long as they get the proper amount of protein in their diet, ducks are safe to eat as many vegetables as they like. Here are some of the veggies ducks enjoy eating:
- Beets
- Bell Peppers (every color but green)
- Bok Choy
- Brussels sprouts
- Cabbage
- Carrots
- Celery tops
- Collard Greens
- Corn
- Cucumber
- Dandelion Greens
- Grass
- Green beans
- Green Peas
- Kale
- Lettuce
- Parsnips
- Peas
- Pumpkin
- Radishes
- Spinach
- Squash
- Sweet potato
- Swiss Chard
- Tomatoes
- Turnips
When feeding ducks, remember to keep the pieces large enough to take some time with or small enough that they won’t choke.
Leafy greens are some of the best feeds for ducks (although spinach and romaine should be taken in moderation, and ducks shouldn’t eat iceberg lettuce at all).
Final Thoughts
Ducks love vegetables and can eat copious amounts of broccoli, cauliflower, and all their other favorites. As long as the pieces are properly prepared, and the ducks are also getting protein, broccoli and cauliflower will make your ducks happier and healthier.