Is it possible to feed ducks with bread: what is allowed and what should not be given

The diet of domestic ducks consists of aquatic plants and small animals, fish, green grass, grain and grain waste. Such food is given to the bird by the owners, growing it on their plots. Sometimes they feed kitchen leftovers, among which bread will come across. But is it good for ducks? Consider whether or not you can feed ducks with different types of bread, what you can and cannot feed them at all.

Features of the digestive system of ducks

Ducks are considered omnivorous, they can eat solid food, that is, grain and grass, soft aquatic vegetation. The stomach of birds is designed in such a way that it can digest both plant and animal food.

Ducks have an intensive metabolism, the structure of the digestive organs ensures rapid digestion and passage of food, its assimilation, and in some individuals - and rapid adaptation to new food. Despite the fact that ducks are able to absorb various foods, some are harmful to them. Due to disorders caused by inappropriate or poor quality food, they may die.

Can I give bread to ducks?

Bread is not a regular duck food, but since it is made up of grain, theoretically it is not harmful in itself. The degree of harmfulness depends on the type and freshness. Let's consider whether it is possible or not and in what quantity to give black and white bread, flour products.

White

This is the most harmful type of bread for ducks of any age.It consists of white flour, yeast, which, getting into the stomach, provokes the fermentation of its contents. It swells, can clog the digestive tract, causing the bird to die. In addition, ducks, having eaten a hearty meal, then do not want to eat other food. This leads to a deficiency of nutrients in the body and the development of a disease in which the feathers on the wings grow to the sides. The bird loses the ability to fly.

At home, at the initial stage of the disease, you can correct the situation by feeding with vitamins and mineral elements, but this will lead to death of a wild duck.

The harmfulness of bread also depends on the amount eaten. If the duck has eaten a little, nothing will happen. But it is impossible to specially feed the birds with white bread, loaf, roll, biscuits, all the more so to replace grain and grain waste with them. This applies to both domestic ducks and wild ones, which some people feed on the pond. The harm from feeding bread is not only direct, but also indirect. Leftover food pollutes the water, bacteria and fungi grow.Water stagnates and becomes polluted.

Black

The composition of black bread is more useful than white. But it cannot be given fresh. It is soft, ducks eat it willingly, but, softening even more in the stomach, it swells. If we feed the ducks with black bread, then not fresh, but first dried, and then soaked in water. Homemade, you can add crackers to wet mash, feed wild crumbs. Feeding bread should not be constant, it is enough to give it to poultry once a week.

Moldy

Moldy foods should not be fed to any farm animal or bird, including ducks and indo-ducks. Mold does not carry any benefit, fungal toxins cause poisoning, aspergillosis develops when spores are inhaled. Animals and humans fall ill with aspergillosis, spores, falling on the mucous membranes, germinate and cause severe mycoses.Pathology develops quickly, the duck can die in just 2-3 days from the moment of infection. Therefore, it is forbidden to give bread with mold to domestic ducks, both ducklings and adults, ordinary ducks and mulards.

What else can not be given?

In addition to bread, ducks should not be given sweets and s alty foods, nuts, chips, cookies, popcorn, cake. All this seems tasty to a person, but it is harmful to a bird. And it does not matter whether the duck eats such food all the time or from time to time. It contains ingredients that are alien to the bird's body: s alt in large quantities, spices, dyes, preservatives, and so on. It is better not to give ducks onions, which are useful to humans, but not to waterfowl. It is forbidden to treat with chocolate, sweets and anything that contains a lot of sugar.

The listed products are high-calorie, birds, eating them, quickly become full. The wild get used to the fact that a person can find food, and do not go looking for it on their own. For wild ducks, this is deadly: hoping for human help, they can die of starvation if they cannot find food.

Domestic people also get used to bread quickly, they can prefer it to other food, choose from mash. If there is a lot of it in the diet, the bird will receive only certain nutrients and receive less of the rest. This will lead to hypovitaminosis and further diseases.

It is not recommended to feed a lot of legumes, especially peas. It provokes flatulence, gastrointestinal upset, and if the duck manages to avoid this, it will quickly become obese. Fat females do not rush well, and not everyone likes such meat. Therefore, the proportion of legumes in the diet should be minimal, just to satisfy the need for valuable vegetable proteins.

It is not advisable to give whole dry grain, it is better to grind it and boil it a little. So the product is absorbed almost completely and in a short time. Potato peels, citrus peels and pumpkin ducks are poorly digested, you can also do without them. Do not moisten the mash with fresh milk. Ducks lack the enzymes needed to digest lactose. Milk gives them eating disorders.

What can I feed?

If there is a desire to feed the bird, you need to take with you a little boiled cereal, sprouted grain, cottage cheese, boiled eggs or vegetables. You can take pieces of stale black bread. Ducks can be treated with fruits, young corn, apples, zucchini.

For wild birds, you can buy special food, which is sold in a pet store. In it, the ingredients are selected so that they do not harm the duck body. It is available in the form of granules, it is convenient for ducks to eat it.You can feed them in winter when it is cold or snowy. In such weather, it is difficult for them to find anything, and top dressing will come in handy.

Domestic ducks can be given kitchen waste, which includes cleanings, uneaten food and bread. All this can be put in the mixer, but not more than 1/5 part. Calculate the volume so that everything is eaten. If the ducks leave leftovers, then they are not hungry. Feeding troughs need to be cleaned every day of the remnants of food that quickly deteriorates. Treat with antiseptics once a month.

The answer to the question of whether or not to give bread to ducks is not unambiguous. On the one hand, it does not cause much harm when properly fed in small quantities. Therefore, it cannot be categorically prohibited. The product can partially replace grain in the diet, but it is constantly harmful to feed them. In this case, you can not use fresh, especially freshly baked bread, it is harmful even to the human stomach, and birds are no exception. You can not give old, sour or moldy, so as not to poison the ducks.

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