Ducks are omnivorous animals that eat pretty much everything that it’s put in front of them, and as an owner is your responsibility to understand what can be toxic or unhealthy for them.
Ducks can eat butter in the sense that it’s not toxic to them but the real question is: should they eat butter? Well, this food is very high in sugar and high in fat. As such it could possibly cause them to develop health problems.
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Is Butter Good For Ducks?
Butter is a dairy product composed of butterfat, milk proteins, and water. It’s a yellow food that is solid at room temperature.
When it comes to nutrition, butter is made up of 86% fat (mostly saturated fat). It has 7 grams of protein and just over 1 gram of carbohydrates per serving. The butter we eat contains zero potassium or vitamin C.
Ducks won’t have any problems eating butter but they can only eat small amounts because of the high fat content. The biggest problem with feeding your ducks butter is that it can possibly lead to diarrhea and other digestion problems because of the high amounts of fat and cholesterol.
So you shouldn’t worry if your flocks have a little taste of it, but you shouldn’t absolutely give them a block.
Can Ducks Eat Dairy?
Dairy products are not exactly the best product to feed your ducks due to their high fat and calorie content, plus the prepacked products with industrial contents of sugar and additives, that can cause gastrointestinal problems.
If you want to give your ducks a little treat of cheese or milk, it’s best to offer these treats in moderation. Avoid giving your ducks large amounts of cheese because it can cause bloating and diarrhea.
What Is Good For Ducks? (Leftovers And Treats)
A lot of what we consider leftovers and table scraps are good also for ducks, here are the most popular and healthy ones:
-Vegetables: Lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, cabbage, broccoli, peas, corn and cauliflower are all great choices.
-Fruits: Most fruits are good treats for ducks, for example Apples, bananas, and grapes are healthy treats to offer them.
-Grains: Grains are one of the most important food to feed ducks, it helps to keep their stomachs full until their next meal. It is also good for their digestion, and it helps to absorb the nutrients in the food they will eat next. Some popular foods are brown rice, oatmeal, quinoa, wheat and it’s are all great options.
What Is Bad For Ducks? (Foods To Avoid)
Not exactly everything that is good, or can be eaten by us, is also recommended for ducks.
It’s always best to check with your vet if you have any doubts about what you should not feed to ducks. The list below is just a guideline of foods to avoid.. But I advise you to avoid feeding them these!
What is the food to stay away from?
– Citrus Fruits: Due to their high acidic levels will cause problems to their digestive system.
– Raw rice: I advise to always give them cooked rice and not raw, it could ferment in their stomach.
– Chocolate: yes, you read it right, chocolate is bad for your ducks because it contains toxic elements (caffeine) for ducks.
– Coffee: I know, it’s a little bit harder to imagine that the duck could eat coffee, but you should avoid giving them any.
– Eggshells: It can be healthy, but that might confuse them and lead to a wrong behavior: eating their eggs after being laid.
– Sugary and/or Salty Foods: ducks have a very low tolerance for salt and sugar.
– Raw Meat/Fish: They can transmit disease and lead ducks to uncharacteristic behaviors like high aggressiveness, always give them cooked!
In Summary
As explained before, butter is not harmful or toxic, so in really small quantities can be consumed by ducks, but it shouldn’t be given to them regularly or in high quantities, because of the high amount of fat and cholesterol contained.
