Ducks are natural foragers with a varied diet, and feeding them at the local pond is a favourite pastime. The catch is that the classic pond snack — bread — is one of the worst things you can give them.
What ducks eat in the wild
Wild ducks are omnivores that forage in and around water. Their natural diet includes aquatic plants and algae, seeds, grasses, insects, worms, snails, small fish and frogs. Dabbling ducks tip forward to feed just under the surface, while diving ducks go deeper for their food.
Never feed ducks bread
Bread is genuinely bad for ducks. It fills them up without real nutrition, which can lead to malnutrition and a wing deformity called "angel wing" in ducklings. Uneaten bread also rots in the water, spreads disease and attracts rats. It is one of the most common — and most harmful — things people feed wild ducks.
Better foods to feed ducks
If you want to feed ducks, offer foods closer to their natural diet: cracked corn, oats, birdseed, defrosted peas, chopped lettuce and other greens, and duck-feed pellets. Scatter small amounts on the water or ground, give only what they will eat quickly, and never leave piles that will spoil.