What to Feed Ducks (and What Not To)
A searchable checker plus the safe-and-unsafe lists for backyard ducks.
Ducks are easy to feed and brilliant foragers, but two things trip people up: bread (never) and niacin (they need extra). Get those right, give them a waterfowl or layer feed plus greens and foraging, and they thrive.
Two duck-specific rules:
- Never feed bread. It is the classic duck mistake: empty calories that cause "angel wing" deformities and foul their water.
- Ducks need extra niacin (vitamin B3). Add brewer's yeast to their feed or use a waterfowl feed, or ducklings can develop leg problems.
- They eat wet. Ducks need water beside food to swallow, and they forage slugs and snails better than any other bird.
Can ducks eat...? Search it
✅ Leafy greens (silverbeet, kale, lettuce): Yes. A daily staple for all poultry. Chop large leaves.
✅ Vegetable scraps: Yes. Most peelings and ends. Avoid anything mouldy or salty.
✅ Sweetcorn: Yes. Loved; a treat rather than a staple as it is high in carbs.
✅ Peas and beans (cooked/fresh): Yes. Great protein. Raw dried beans are NOT safe; cook first.
✅ Slugs, snails, worms, insects: Yes. Ducks especially are superb foragers; this is free protein and pest control.
✅ Pumpkin and squash: Yes. Flesh and seeds. Seeds are a gentle natural dewormer.
✅ Berries and most fruit: Yes. In moderation; sugary, so a treat.
⚠️ Cooked rice, pasta, oats: In moderation. Small amounts of plain cooked grains are fine; no salt or sauce.
✅ Mealworms: Yes. High protein treat, loved by all poultry. Great in a moult.
✅ Crushed eggshell / shell grit: Yes. Calcium for laying birds. Always offer shell grit free-choice.
⚠️ Citrus: In moderation. Small amounts only; large quantities are too acidic.
✅ Tomato (ripe): Yes. Ripe fruit fine. Green tomato, leaves and stems are toxic (solanine).
❌ Bread: No, avoid. Junk food. Causes deformities and fouls duck water. Never, especially for ducks.
❌ Avocado: No, avoid. Skin and stone contain persin, toxic to birds.
❌ Chocolate, caffeine: No, avoid. Toxic to poultry.
❌ Onion, garlic in quantity: No, avoid. Large amounts cause anaemia. A trace in scraps is ok.
❌ Raw potato, green potato, peelings: No, avoid. Solanine; toxic. Cooked plain potato in small amounts is fine.
❌ Salty, oily or processed food: No, avoid. Poultry handle salt poorly; causes serious problems.
❌ Dried/raw beans: No, avoid. Contain lectins that are toxic raw. Cook thoroughly first.
❌ Rhubarb leaves: No, avoid. Oxalic acid; toxic.
❌ Mouldy or spoiled food: No, avoid. Mould toxins can kill birds. When in doubt, compost it.
✅ Apple flesh: Yes. Fine; the seeds contain trace cyanide so do not feed the core in bulk.
⚠️ Cooked meat scraps: In moderation. Small amounts of plain cooked meat give protein, but never let it rot in the run.
⚠️ Dairy (cheese, yoghurt): In moderation. Tiny amounts of plain yoghurt ok; birds do not digest lactose well.
❌ Milk: No, avoid. Ducks cannot digest lactose, so milk causes runny droppings. A rare splash on mash at most. See the dairy entry for the small exceptions.
❌ Butter and ice cream: No, avoid. Too fatty and sugary. Keep dairy desserts out.
✅ Banana: Yes. Flesh fine and loved. Sugary, so a few times a week.
✅ Watermelon and rockmelon: Yes. Hydrating summer treat, flesh and seeds.
⚠️ Grapes: In moderation. Halve them, whole grapes can choke. Raisins fine as an occasional treat.
✅ Carrot, beetroot and root veg: Yes. Grated raw or cooked. Ducks manage grated best.
✅ Cucumber and zucchini: Yes. Cool, hydrating and easy to eat.
✅ Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage: Yes. Raw or cooked, chopped small.
✅ Herbs (parsley, mint, basil, oregano): Yes. All fine and often good for them.
✅ Cooked beans, lentils, chickpeas: Yes. Well-cooked only. Excellent protein. Raw or dried beans are toxic.
✅ Cooked quinoa: Yes. Plain, rinsed and cooked. A good grain.
⚠️ Fish and prawns: In moderation. Cooked and plain. Good protein, and niacin that ducks especially need. Watch the salt.
⚠️ Stone fruit (peach, plum, apricot, cherry): In moderation. Flesh fine and loved. Remove the stone, which holds cyanide compounds.
✅ Pear: Yes. Flesh and skin fine. Do not feed cores and pips in bulk.
✅ Kiwifruit, mango and fig: Yes. Ripe flesh fine in small amounts, loved in warm climates.
⚠️ Nuts (peanuts, almonds): In moderation. Plain, unsalted, chopped small. Fatty, so occasional. Never mouldy.
⚠️ Popcorn: In moderation. Plain air-popped, no salt or butter.
❌ Crackers, chips and salty snacks: No, avoid. Salty and processed. Ducks handle salt poorly.
⚠️ Breakfast cereal: In moderation. Plain, low-sugar and dry, occasionally.
❌ Sausage, bacon and processed meat: No, avoid. Too salty and fatty. Keep processed meats out.
⚠️ Dog and cat food: In moderation. A little soaked dry food is a handy niacin and protein boost for ducks. Not a staple.
❌ Olives and pickles: No, avoid. Far too salty and acidic.
⚠️ Honey: In moderation. A tiny smear at most. It is just sugar.
✅ Lawn weeds (dandelion, clover, chickweed): Yes. Excellent free greens. Never from sprayed lawns.
✅ Nasturtium and edible flowers: Yes. Leaves and flowers fine and often beneficial.
✅ Coconut: Yes. Fresh or dried unsweetened flesh, an occasional treat.
⚠️ Capsicum (ripe): In moderation. Ripe flesh fine; leaves, stems and unripe fruit are nightshade.
⚠️ Mushrooms: In moderation. Store-bought and cooked fine. Never wild mushrooms.
⚠️ Spinach and silverbeet: In moderation. Fine a few times a week; heavy daily amounts interfere with calcium.
The never list
Bread (especially for ducks), avocado, chocolate and caffeine, raw or green potato, dried raw beans, rhubarb leaves, heavy onion or garlic, and anything salty, oily or mouldy. Everything else fresh and unsalted is fair game in moderation.
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