Do ducks eat frogs: is it possible to give to poultry, pros and cons

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Do wild ducks eat frogs?
Can I give frogs to domestic ducks?

Farmers often wonder if domestic ducks will eat a frog if amphibians are added to the diet. In nature, waterfowl are almost omnivorous: they feed on toad eggs, tadpoles, and willingly eat fish, diving deep. But is it worth it to feed domestic ducks with frog meat? Or can I get by with other protein substitutes? Let's deal with the issue once and for all.

Do wild ducks eat frogs?

Many people could watch how ducks on the reservoirs, within the city, with pleasure feast on all living creatures. They do not disdain tadpoles, adult frogs.For a waterfowl, such "delicacies" are a source of proteins, protein, especially necessary during the period of molting or feather growth.

With pleasure the duck eats and vegetable food - coastal, underwater plants, roots, foliage. Spending almost all the time on the water, adults, young animals periodically dive, plunging to a depth of several meters. There, crustaceans, mollusks, and any small animals become their prey.

Moreover, a duck cannot chew: its beak has special keratinized plates designed for grinding and cutting food. And everything else happens in the goiter and stomach. Under normal conditions, the bird easily digests everything that gets into its esophagus, with the exception of stones.

Birds dive to a depth of up to 7 meters, swimming considerable distances under water. It is believed that the diving duck is able to swallow fish up to 20 centimeters long. Therefore, eating a frog for her is a trifling matter. Adults teach cubs to swim and hunt from an early age.Monthly ducks begin to fish on their own. Before that, caviar, fry, tadpoles are suitable for them.

And yet, the wild duck prefers plant foods found on the shore or in the depths, different roots. Frogs are not a permanent part of their diet.

Can I give frogs to domestic ducks?

The digestive apparatus of domestic ducks differs little from that of wild counterparts. They just as easily get used to eating fish, whole or crushed, various plants.

Some farmers even specially collect algae, coastal plants, to feed the bird.

And you should beware of the frogs. And here are the reasons:

In nature, the duck feeds on amphibians in extreme cases.
Poultry meat will acquire a specific smell of the swamp if you feed it everything.

At the same time, for a change, to increase egg production, during the molting period, it is sometimes allowed to give domestic ducks caught or bought frogs.