Can Ducks Eat Quinoa? (With These Benefits!)
Quinoa is rightfully considered amongst the healthiest food, that should be included in your daily diet.
But is it the same for duck? Can ducks eat Quinoa? Yes, not only they can, but I suggest that they should! Quinoa is rich in high quality protein, can be easily digested by ducks, and it’s an overall excellent food source for them.
As a duck owner, you can start feeding your ducks with quinoa in small amounts at first, and once they get used to it, then you can feed them quinoa full-time.
Table of Contents
What is Quinoa?
Quinoa is a gluten-free seed, that literally means “mother grain” in the Quechua language.
It is highly nutritious and considered as one of the healthiest natural foods on the planet.
This simple little seed has many other names like a super food, power seed, and Inca wheat (inca corn).
It is a reliable source of gluten-free protein that contains all nine essential amino acids, including lysine, which is an important amino acid for poultry. It is high in fiber too. Quinoa also provides high amounts of magnesium, phosphorus, iron, riboflavin and vitamin B6 (Bassler et al., 1999). The seeds are much higher in nutrients than other cereal crops like wheat or rice and are typically considered to be more nutritious than any grain that we eat today.
Many people choose this over white rice or other grains and even over meats because it contains all necessary essential amino acids that almost all foods lack one or two of these amino acids.
Quinoa can be eaten raw or cooked but it tastes better when boiled like rice. It can also be used as an ingredient in bread and other products that you can make from flour. But don’t expect quinoa bread to taste like wheat bread; it will taste slightly different (and better!) than flour breads that contain wheat flour already mixed with other ingredients such as sugar, salt, oil etc…
Is Quinoa Good For Ducks?
Quinoa is considered to be one of the best sources of proteins, vitamins, and minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium and phosphorus and contains a high level of protein., but most of all it’s a very good source of fiber, which is great for your duck’s intestinal health.
This product contains all 9 essential amino acids and some other beneficial amino acids that are capable of effectively supplying their body
Also, quinoa seeds are high in protein they also contain significant amounts of fatty acids. These fatty acids mainly include oleic acid and linoleic acid that are considered to be polyunsaturated fatty acids. These unsaturated fatty acids will increase the levels of HDL or good cholesterol inside blood vessels that help fight coronary disease by lowering the bad cholesterol.
Being rich in oleic and linoleic fatty acids helps you maintain a healthy cardiovascular system which then helps them to stay healthy all over the lifetime.
What Food Should Ducks Eat?
Ducks are omnivorous, they can enjoy a pretty diverse diet.
The types of food that ducks can eat are:
Vegetables: Beans, carrots, corn, cucumber, lettuce, peas and Chinese cabbage. Things you should take into account is that cucumbers and beans should not be given whole; the seeds inside can cause problems for the digestive system of the duck. Also, carrots should only be fed in small amounts so that they don’t get too many calories from their diet. The rest of the food items should not be fed in excess either because then your duck will gain weight and some may have problems digesting all those rich foods.
Grains/seeds: Barley, oats, wheat bran, or ryegrass seeds (but only if they are milled or cracked). Foods rich in fat/oils: Sunflower seeds, corn, soya beans, and maize.
They can enjoy any kind of vegetable oil in moderation. Foods rich in protein: Any kind of meat like chicken, beef, fish, and dried insects (insects must be soaked in water to make them more digestible). Foods rich in minerals/vitamins: Soya beans (but only if they are milled or cracked), carrots, parsley, and lettuce (they are a good source of Vitamin A).
Ducks also enjoy eating different kinds of rice. Barley rice is perfect for your ducks because it’s an important source of energy for your ducks in winter time when there is less green food available for them.
The ideal diet for your duck should consist of a combination of the items I listed before:
You must not offer duck just one type of food from the list at any one time. This will lead to a deficiency of certain important nutrients.
The main reason why the ducks live very long in the wild is that they eat a lot of variety and not just one type of food.
Ducks must be fed at least three times a day, although if they have free access to water all day long they can be fed only twice.
Conclusion
Quinoa is great for ducks as it’s rich in proteins, fibers, minerals and vitamins that are incredibly good for their health.
By adding quinoa to your ducks’ diet, you will ensure that they are getting more vitamins and minerals from their food intake.
And last but not least, they will for sure enjoy the tasty treat!
