What Do Ducks Eat?

Have you ever fed ducks at a local pond or lake? While often considered a harmless activity, this simple act may harm a wild duck. Like all animals, ducks eat a specialized diet suited to their needs. As members of the family Anatidae, ducks are aquatic waterfowl that live on the plants and animals found in aquatic habitats. While it’s tempting to feed them bread and crackers, their bodies aren’t adapted to process these foods. However, what do ducks eat? 

In this article, we’ll examine what ducks like to eat and how they forage and hunt for food. We’ll also take some time to explore what pet ducks eat. Then, we’ll wrap up with a quick discussion about what baby ducks eat. So, let’s dive in and answer the question: What do ducks eat? 

What Do Ducks Like to Eat?

Ducks have an omnivorous diet full of plants and small animals. Pastured ducks typically eat anywhere from 4 to 7 ounces of food per day. Ducks have big appetites and usually forage and hunt for food throughout the day. Ducks enjoy a wide variety of foods, and their dietary preferences change depending on their species and habitat. However, the foods below frequently appear on lists of items that make up a wild duck’s diet.

Common foods that ducks eat include: 

• Grasses
• Aquatic plants
• Fish
• Insects
• Worms
• Mollusks
• Small amphibians
• Crabs
• Seeds
• Berries
• Grains
• Nuts
• Roots
• Shrimp

While ducks will eat almost anything they can catch, the foods above make up a well-balanced diet for a duck.  

How Do Ducks Forage and Hunt for Food?

More than any other sense, ducks rely on their vision to find food. Compared to humans, ducks can see objects in fine detail two and a half to three times farther away. They can also see a much wider spectrum of colors than humans, including ultraviolet light. This hypersensitivity to light allows them to see extremely well during the day, although their night vision is poor.

Many ducks also use touch to help them hunt for prey. They use their bills to search for food in the grass, mud, or at the bottom of ponds and lakes. Ducks have highly sensitive touch receptors in their bills that allow them to find grasses and other edible plants. However, ducks have fewer taste buds than humans. That said, ducks do find certain tastes repellent, which may explain their preference for specific grasses. To some degree, ducks also use their senses of smell and hearing to locate food. However, they primarily use these senses to communicate and avoid predators rather than to find food. 

What Do Pet Ducks Eat?

Generally speaking, most pet ducks eat a pellet or crumbled diet that contains all the essential nutrients. Ideally, pet ducks will eat a specialized formula designed for waterfowl. If your pet duck spends time outside grazing, it will probably not require grit in its diet. In the event your pet duck lives indoors, you can occasionally add a little dirt to its food. In addition to its normal pellet diet, you can also give your pet duck some treats. Just make sure treats make up no more than 5% to 10% of its diet. Safe treats include:

• Carrots
• Non-citrus fruit
• Corn
• Peas
• Cucumber
• Uncooked oats or rice

To keep a pet duck healthy, it’s important to feed it a balanced diet. Furthermore, a duck’s diet can change based on its age, sex, and whether it is laying eggs. For example, male ducks and non-laying females require a diet that is around 15% protein. Laying ducks, however, require between 16% and 18% protein in their diet.

All ducks — adults, juveniles, and laying ducks — require sufficient calcium and niacin in their diet. However, laying ducks may require extra calcium to lay quality eggs. A common way to add calcium is to include oyster shells in a laying duck’s feed. However, this may not be necessary if the duck is eating a high-quality feed. 

What Do Baby Ducks Eat?

Baby ducks require an even more specialized diet compared to adult ducks. During the first few days of life, hatchlings will absorb the egg yolk from their egg for nutrition and energy. In the wild, baby ducks will then forage for whatever they can find. They predominantly eat algae, insects, and worms.

When raising baby ducks, commercially prepared duck food from your local feed store is a good option. This feed contains the right mix of protein, niacin, and other nutrients for baby ducks. Baby ducks require a starter diet with 20%-22% protein for the first two weeks, then 16%-18% protein as they grow. You can also provide small amounts of treats, including non-citrus fruits, veggies, grasses, weeds, and insects.