If you keep ducks as pets or you rear them in your backyard garden, then you know that they tend to forage and eat a lot.
And most times, they can be fed from the scraps from your meals.
Can ducks eat potatoes? Ducks can eat potatoes either as part of their main meal or as a treat. Potatoes is a rich source of proteins, vitamins and fiber for ducks. Also it contains a lot of antioxidants which helps to boost their immune system. Since peas can be high in calories, you should not be feeding them many.
What are the health benefits of potatoes?
We are all used to eating potatoes at home and you know that potatoes contain numerous vitamins and minerals that are ideal for the proper growth of your birds.
Here are some
1. Potatoes are packed with important nutrients
Potatoes are an excellent source of minerals and vitamins that are essential for the growth of ducks.
One medium sized potato, including the skin provides
- Calories: 161
- Fat: 0.2 grams
- Protein: 4.3 grams
- Carbs: 36.6 grams
- Fiber: 3.8 grams
- Vitamin C: 28% of the RDI
- Vitamin B6: 27% of the RDI
- Potassium: 26% of the RDI
- Manganese: 19% of the RDI
- Magnesium: 12% of the RDI
- Phosphorus: 12% of the RDI
- Niacin: 12% of the RDI
- Folate: 12% of the RDI
One thing you should know is that the nutritional value of potatoes might vary depending on how it is prepared.
For example, when you fry it, this adds more calories to it than baking.
So you want to ensure that you feed it to them, baked or in the raw form to avoid feeding them excess calories and making them overweight.
2. Potatoes contains antioxidants
Potatoes are very rich in antioxidants and minerals such as flavonoids, carotenoids and phenolic acids.
These are important antioxidants that helps boost the immune system in birds and ducks
They do this by potentially weakening or killing free radicals in the body which can lead to diseases and illness if not properly taken care of.
3. Potatoes can help improve blood sugar control
Potatoes contain a special type of starch called resistant starch.
What this does is that when it gets ingested, it reaches the gut of your birds and helps provide nutrients that are beneficial to them.
This helps to reduce insulin resistance and also to improve the blood sugar control of ducks.
4. Potatoes helps to improve their digestive system
Resistant starch in potatoes is also very good for the digestive system of both humans and birds.
When it gets to the large intestine, it becomes food for beneficial gut bacteria which then digests it and turns it into short chain fatty acid.
This helps to reduce inflammation and also to strengthen the colon and overall digestive system of your birds.
5. Potatoes are extremely filling
If you are looking for something to feed your birds that is nutritious and also filling then potatoes is your best bet.
They increase the levels of fullness hormones which is ideal for feeding birds, poultry and water fowls.
6. They are very handy and versatile
Not only are potatoes filling and nutritious, they are also very handy and versatile
This is something that you can easily get from your local food store and also can be scraped from leftovers during meal times.
It can also be prepared in many ways and used to feed ducks in different ways.
Make sure not to remove the skin when feeding your ducks as this is where the bulk of the nutrients are located.
Here is my comprehensive and detailed list on what you can feed ducks
Are potatoes safe for ducks?
There are some people out there that have some reservations about feeding ducks with potatoes.
They claim that it contains poisonous substances that can be harmful to birds
In my opinion, this is not correct as there have been numerous studies to show that potatoes are perfectly healthy and can be fed to ducks.
What you should be aware of is that most times, farmers use pesticides such as solanine to treat their crops
So if you feed them raw potatoes without washing it to get rid of the solanine, this may be harmful to your birds.
Also when feeding your duck with potatoes you want to avoid giving them the leaves, stems and the vines, as these are hard to chew and digest.
Finally if you still have some reservations and you want to ensure that they are very safe, then cook or bake them before feeding.
This will ensure that any toxic compound or chemicals are totally removed.
Can ducks eat potato peels?
By potato peels, I mean the skin which is the part of potatoes that contains the bulk of nutrients and vitamins.
Ducks can eat the peels of potatoes and the really love it as it provides them with the bulk of the minerals and vitamins that they need
One thing you need to know is that if you are feeding them raw potatoes, make sure it is properly washed.
This is to remove all pesticides and toxic chemicals that might be harmful to your birds.
Can ducks eat potato chips?
Potatoes when fried can be used to feed ducks as treats.
This is because it can be easily broken up into smaller bits and feed to them
Note that when fried, you want to resist feeding them too much as the oil contains extra calories that is not good.
So you can definitely feed potato chips to ducks as treats and they will love it.
Can ducks eat sweet potatoes?
There are different types of potatoes which you can find out there and they are sweet and white potatoes.
White potatoes is from the white shade variety while sweet potatoes is morning glory side of the family
They are both edible and can be used to feed ducks.
Ducks can eat all parts of sweet potatoes and this includes the vines, stems, leaves, and the peels as long as they are fresh and well washed.
Note that you do not want to feed spoilt or rotten foods to your birds. So ensure that if you want to feed them sweet potatoes, they are fresh.
Can ducks eat cooked or baked potatoes?
Ducks can eat cooked or baked potatoes as this is the best way to prepare it.
This will ensure that all chemicals or toxic substances are properly removed.
When preparing potatoes for ducks, you want to make sure that you cut them into smaller pieces before feeding them.
This is because ducks do not have teeth, so cutting them into smaller pieces will ensure that they can easily pick it up and swallow.
Most likely, your chickens will not eat uncooked potato skin because they are too rubbery and thick.
This should tell you that you need to cook potato skins so that your chickens can eat them as well.
As a reminder, you need to feed them potatoes and their products in moderation.
After all, this is not their main diet but just a treat.
In the case of the white potatoes, throw away the green parts, flowers, and vines.
Conclusion
Potatoes are an excellent option to include in your duck’s diet as it contains minerals and vitamins that are vital to the healthy growth of ducks.
They are available, affordable and very easy to prepare.
