Ducks can enrich your experience in your garden and can help the garden flourish. Ducks eat snails and other insects that can be harmful for your crops and plants. If you want to feed the ducks, you can give them fruit, but can ducks eat apples?
Ducks can eat apple. Apple contains antioxidants and vitamins, which is healthy for ducks. Remember to cut the apple to pieces before serving and discard the apple seeds because they contain a poisonous substance called Amygdalin.
Always remember to feed them apple in moderation, because it still contains natural sugar and too much apple in the diet can lead to obesity.
Are Apples Healthy For Ducks?
Apples is a very healthy snack for ducks. Apples are rich in vitamin C, potassium, copper, vitamin K antioxidants like vitamin E, B1, B6 and polyphenols.
Vitamin C is good for heat stress in hot weather and for a better immune system. A study shows it can also increase egg production.
Potassium helps maintain a good fluid balance in the body and healthy nerve function.
Copper helps support immune system and helps protect cells from damage.
Vitamin K help keep a healthy heart and healthy bones.
Vitamin E is an important corner stone in building a good immune system.
Vitamin B1 helps strengthen the nervous system and the heart.
Vitamin B6 is great for keeping the immune system and nervous system healthy.
Can Ducks Eat Apple Skin?
Ducks can eat apple skin. The apple peal contains fiber and way more nutrition than the actual fruit. This can be very beneficial to the duck, just be sure to cut the apple skin to smaller pieces to avoid it getting stuck in their throat.
There is an problem when it comes to the apple peel and that is pesticide. In order for the apple to keep the moister, it is sprayed with wax and the pesticide used in the growing process can be stuck on the apple skin.
Always wash the apple in water, you can also try to wash the apple with saltwater or vinegar. There is no guarantee that the pesticide will be gone, but giving ducks the apple skin in moderation should be fine.
A healthier option is to give ducks organic apple skin, because the pesticide can’t be synthesized and must be derived from natural sources. Some organic apples don’t even have pesticide on the skin.
Can Ducks Eat Apple Seeds?
Ducks can’t eat apple seeds, because they contain a poisonous substance called amygdalin, which turns into cyanide in the gut when chewed and digested. The cyanide prevents the duck from getting oxygen to the cells.
Humans are not effected that much from apple seeds, but ducks has much smaller bodies it could be lethal if given too often.
Can Ducklings Eat Apples?
Ducklings can eat apples, just make sure to remove the seeds and mash the apples to make it easier to the baby duck to eat it.
Their jaws is not strong so feeding them apple pieces would not be easy for them to eat. Like with a lot of fruit, don’t feed ducklings to much apples. Ducklings don’t require much calories and apples does contain natural sugar.
How Often Can You Feed Ducks Apples?
Even tho apples contains great nutrients, you should only feed ducks apples once or twice a week. Apples contains natural sugar and if you feed ducks too much apples, it might make them obese.
As for ducklings you can feed them apple once a week.
How To Feed Apples To Ducks
- Choose Fresh Apples: Pick fresh apples for feeding. Soft and ripe apples are preferable as they are easier for ducks to digest.
- Wash the Apples: It’s important to thoroughly clean the apples to remove any chemicals or pesticides which could be harmful to ducks.
- Cut into Small Pieces: Slice the apples into small, manageable pieces. This helps prevent choking and makes it easier for ducks to eat.
- Remove Seeds and Core: The seeds and core of the apple should be removed before feeding, as these can be harmful to ducks.
- Feed in Small Quantities: Apples should be a treat, not a staple in their diet. Overfeeding can cause nutritional imbalances.
- Watch for Reactions: Pay attention to how the ducks respond to the apples. If they seem to enjoy them and show no signs of distress, you can continue to feed them apples occasionally.
- Provide Water: Always make fresh water available when feeding ducks. This is crucial for their hydration and to help them digest the apples.
Other Fruits Ducks Enjoy Eating
Ducks love eating fruit and there are several other fruits that you can feed ducks such as:
Remember to view our complete list of duck-friendly fruits.
Conclusion
Apples are a tasty treat that ducks will enjoy eating. Even tho it’s packed with healthy nutrients, ducks should consume apples in moderation to keep them healthy. Overeating apples can lead to obesity because of the natural sugar.
Apples are a great snack that they can have in addition to their normal healthy diet.
I hope found this article helpful, thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: The information in this article is for informational purposes only. I'm not an expert or a veterinarian.
