Food for Wild Ducks

Out in the wild, ducks forage for their food and get their nutrition from a variety of aquatic plants, invertebrates and grains. Feeding wild ducks should be discouraged as it creates more problems for both man and fowl than it helps.

  1. Aquatic Plants

    • Wapato duck potato, deep-water duck potato, sago pondweed and wild celery are all aquatic plants that many wild ducks are attracted to and will eat.

    Aquatic Invertebrates

    • Wild ducks that eat invertebrates tend to be attracted to aquatic insects like nymphs of dragonflies, mayflies and damselflies, as well as midge larvae. These help provide adequate protein for wild ducks, especially prior to breeding.

    Fish Eggs and Fish

    • Depending on the kind of wild duck, many, especially diving ducks, eat fish and fish eggs, including minnows and other small fish. Ducks dive into the water to retrieve this food source.

    Seeds and Foraging

    • Ducks are natural foragers, often finding the fruits from a harvested field. Wild ducks discover leftover seeds and grains in farm fields, and they consume them with other insects and weeds.

    Unhealthy Choices

    • Some well-meaning people will go out and feed ducks human food. Bread crumbs, cereals and even food like cooked corn can cause an imbalance in nutrition in wild ducks, create reliance on humans and leave them more prone to overpopulation in those areas, as well as vulnerability to predation.