Duck Food- home grown and foraged?

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Countryside : One Thread

In line with the chicken and pig thread below, what recommendations for duck food? I live in Alaska with a very cool summer (maybe 8 days up at 70 degrees) zone 7 climate. Also, we have a stream and I was thinking of planting watercress, sorrel, mints and other water lovers for us and the ducks. Any thoughts?

Thanks, Seraphima

-- seraphima (djones@kodiak.alaska.edu), March 07, 2001

Answers

I doubt that the ducks will eat the mint. Mine also liked chickweed, white clover leaves, tender grass (fescue mostly), young dandelion leaves; all picked out of the yard, and you can feed them lettuces grown in your garden for green food as well. Mine were never very thrilled with lambsquarters, or spinach, which the chickens would eat in moderation.

I also used to periodically thin out the water sprite growing in my aquariums into a thick mat, along with the snails that had come with it and the ducks never ever turned that down.

We also used to feed them the roe from the suckers we caught to smoke in the spring. No one in the family wanted to eat it, so they got it and loved it. Earthworms are always a big hit, as were June Bugs, if you have those out there, and any grubs I turned up in the garden (and slugs, altho they liked grubs better) were tipped into a container when I found them and taken over to the duck yard.

-- julie f. (rumplefrogskin@excite.com), March 08, 2001.


Moderation questions? read the FAQ