Wild ducks are the most common birds that are massively settled on the shores of urban and natural water bodies. Entrepreneurial poultry farmers managed to domesticate some species. These birds are unpretentious and picky for food, but for normal development their diet should be enriched with useful substances and they can be fed additionally.
- Conveniencewinter time
What wild ducks eat in nature
Wild ducks creatures omnivorous .In the natural environment, they themselves feed themselves, which includes:
- grass and roots;
- of small mollusks, invertebrates and crustaceans;
- small fish;
- tadpoles and small frogs;
- plankton;
- mosquito larvae;
- algae;Insect
- ;
- berries;
- plant seeds.
Forest berries 
Plankton 
Plant seeds Dwelling on the shores of calm water bodies, ducks extract food from sludge and water. They filter the water through the beak and catch small animals. In shallow water, birds collect food from the bottom. To do this, they immerse their heads in water, leaving only the tail on the surface, and pick up the sludge.
In summer, birds do not lack food and eat a varied diet. And in the winter they feed more on vegetation: fruits and seeds of plants and berries.
Why feed
Birds pick up everything that gets into the water from the hands of men. They often eat baked goods, cookies, corn, seeds, chips, and even popcorn, so their instincts are dulled, and they are increasingly settled next to people. Once migratory birds, began to lead a sedentary lifestyle and winter in cities.
During the warm season, ducks need an lure only in special conditions :
- related to the environmental problems of water bodies;
- with a large number of feathered on a small pond;
- if the birds are injured and not able to independently feed.
With a large number of birds in the pond - ducks need complementary foods. In winter, ducks find it harder to find food, especially if the temperature drops below 15 degrees and the reservoirs freeze completely. And to help ducks survive the cold, they need to be fed. But this should be done correctly, in order not to harm the health of feathered.
Ducks can be fed with the following products:
- cottage cheese mixture with the addition of cereals and chopped herbs;
- Oatmeal;
- fresh berries and fruits;
- boiled vegetables;
- grated cheese;
- feed, which can be cooked at home or buy.
All products must be crushed and food should be left on the shore so as not to litter the pond.
In order not to clog water - feed should be left on the shore. Can
be fed? Ornithologists at are strictly against feeding wild birds, especially during the warm season. Instincts laid down by nature suggest that wild animals should get their own food.
Therefore, feeding the ducks causes them to dull their natural instincts. They stop looking for food and are waiting for a new portion from a person. And with the arrival of winter, the ducks are not ready to fly to the south and remain in the lured place. And to survive without the help of a man feathered is very difficult.
is harmful to them mold bread, which causes the development of aspergillosis, a deadly disease of birds.
Mildew Bread is Deadly for Wild Ducks All bird food can be divided into several main types:
- vitamin or green;
- cereal or grain;
- animal feed;
- mineral supplements.
Each of them must be present in the diet of birds for full development.
Vitamin or green
In summer, it is easy to provide such feed for domesticated wild ducks, and for the winter ration of , should be prepared for green fodder.
Dry duckweed can be used as a green top dressing. . For this purpose, suitable harvesting:
- . Large green leaves and grass that need to properly dry .Bundles of herbs and leaves should be hung in blown places.
- Aquatic plants: duckweed, choruses, hatch, algae. Such greens are caught from the reservoirs and dried.
- Vegetables: carrots, pumpkins, potatoes, turnips, beets. Vegetables give raw or boiled, and carrots can also be salted.
Cereal or cereal
These feeds form the basis of the diet of birds. It can be whole grain or crushed, therefore suitable for birds of any age.
The composition of such feed include:
- corn;
- millet;
- barley;
- grain waste;
- legumes;
- peas.
Cereal Cereal mixes are rich in carbohydrates, which is necessary for the stable growth and development of .The grain is well digested and does not clog the goiter, so the birds are always energetic and mobile.
Animal Feed
This is a source of proteins that wild ducks get by eating insects, small amphibians and fish fry. At home, additives can help fill the lack of such food:
- Fermented milk products: whey, cottage cheese, cheese.
- Fish meal, from which mash is prepared and boiled broths.
- Meat and bone meal, which contains a lot of fat.
- Fish Meat - small fish, boneless fillets and fish waste.
Meat and bone meal contains a lot of essential fats. mineral supplements Minerals are needed for ducks to form eggshells, and solids help to grind food. Therefore, feed should be enriched with chalk, crushed eggshell, shells, gravel, coarse sand and salt, which is given in small quantities.
Eggshell Features of cooking homemade food
Compound feed prepared at home, must be balanced in the right proportions.
One hundred grams of compound feed accounts for:
- 25 g of corn and wheat;
- 5 grams of peas;
- 20 g barley;
- 5 g wheat bran;
- 8 g sunflower trim;
- 2 g fodder yeast;
- 2 g of fish and meat and bone meal;
- 5 g of chalk or seashells;
- 0.8 g of salt;
- 2 g of feed fat.
Compound feed prepared at home When calculating for a large amount of feed, the weight of the ingredients increases proportionally. Adults are fed three times a day, in the form of wet mash. In the evening, you can give whole or germinated grain.
Summertime feeding.
. The rate of dry concentrated feed in the diet of ducks during summertime is 40% , and green food - 60% .
With a driven housing, the ducks are fed 4 times a day. : twice with dry feed and twice wet mash, to which aquatic plants and fresh greens are added. Blend must be given in such quantity that they are completely eaten by birds, otherwise the food will deteriorate quickly.
Birds must have access to clean water and gravel.
With driven housing, wild ducks are fed 4 times a day. Winter feeding
In winter, ducks need to be fed only in the morning and evening. In the morning, give wet mash and combined silage, and in the evening - dry grain-mining feed. In the mixtures must be fish and meat and bone meal, boiled or raw vegetables, steamed dry grass.
Wild ducks are omnivores. They quickly get used to regular feeding from human hands and stop caring for food extraction. As a result, they get the wrong food, which leads to indigestion.
In winter, birds cannot live without human help. And if a decision is made to feed wild ducks in winter to help them survive, this should be done properly - with balanced feed. Improper diet will inevitably lead to death.
For domesticated birds, they also prepare complex grain mixtures with the addition of the necessary trace elements.
