Frequently I take my grandchildren to a local golf course to observe
the wild ducks.
The kids like to feed the ducks, and have tried small pieces of bread.
However, the ducks ignore the bread after a bite or two.
What food from an ordinary kitchen pantry, would ducks like to eat?
Perhaps, kernels of sweet corn?  Or what?

It appears that many people and organizations believe that wild ducks
should not be fed bread, or anything at all.
See: http://www.nfwhc.org/nature/question6.htm
Also: http://tn.essortment.com/feedingducksge_ruiq.htm

Here are some alternatives to bread:

"corn or small dog kibble"
SOURCE: http://www.lakecrest.ca/grade4/Bread&Ducks.htm

"They also can't find bugs and seed and things to eat, so they pretty
much have to depend on people to feed them. Scratch is better than
cracked corn. So, if you will help them in the winter, and put out
some feed, and water in a one gallon bucket, it will be a big help.
Always remember, when you see the water is frozen, that means all the
birds and ducks and fowl can not get a drink, so put out bird baths
for the birds, too if you will. Animals can lick the ice or snow and
still get a drink, but, fowl can not do that, so, please always
remember your feathered friends in the winter. Wild bird seed for the
birds too."
SOURCE: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Aegean/4763/health.html

"non medicated feed pellets" (from pet store)
http://forum.birdhobbyist.com/ducks/messages/841.html

You might also want to join this mailing list if you are interested in
wild ducks, I am sure the people in the group could help you:
http://groups.yahoo.com/subscribe.cgi/duckloversoftheworld

If you need any clarifications, please let me know and I will do my
best to further assist you.

tisme-ga


Search Strategy:

"wild ducks" food OR feed
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"wild ducks" "what to feed"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22wild+ducks%22+%22what+to+feed%22

"feeding wild ducks"
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Hello tisme-ga
Thank you.
I have been educated.
Clicker5-ga

Hi,

As timsme so wisely pointed out - quoted from the excellent website:
Feeding ducks and geese is hazardous to their health
http://tn.essortment.com/feedingducksge_ruiq.htm 

[edited]
"Leaving birdseed out for non-migratory birds in the winter isn't
going to hurt, but feeding migratory birds, especially water foul will
only lead to a damaged ecosystem. Show you care. Don't feed the ducks
and geese."

tlspiegel
Google Answers Researcher

Wild ducks will usually gobble up bread and just about anything else
people throw for them with enthusiasm. That doesn't mean it's good for
them, however.  The ducks you encountered probably only turned their
noses up at your offering because they were already well-fed, so
whatever you offered them probably would have gotten the same
reaction.

The larger question is whether people should feed ducks at all, and if
so, what.  It's true that it's a bad idea to feed them, and many
communities actually have laws against it, although weakly enforced in
most cases.  The major problem with feeding wild ducks is that it
encourages them to congregate around the ponds and streams where
people also congregate.  Since these birds are designed to get
nutrition out of not very nutrious stuff like grass and water plants,
they excrete in very large quantities both in the water and on the
land.  This isn't a good combination with human use.  Duck and goose
waste carries bacteria and fouls both the water and the banks around
it.

There are times, however, when the winter is extremely cold and snowy,
when the water freezes over for many days and the ground is covered
with deep snow, when waterfowl can have terrible problems finding food
and get into real trouble.  This is good for the species, as it helps
to weed out the less hardy birds, but it's hard for people to watch.

If you must feed waterfowl, at least feed them something they can
metabolize.  Wheat flour is not one of those things.  They'll eat it
readily enough if there's nothing else available, but it harms more
than helps since it fills them up with something they get little to no
usuable nutrition from-- like starving people eating sawdust to still
hunger pains.

What they can digest is corn.  You can spread cracked corn (available
in most supermarkets in the bird food section) on the ground, or toss
popcorn.  Simply to entertain a child, you could bring along a small
bag of popcorn on an outing where you think you may encounter ducks.

I'd suggest, though, that it might be better to use the occasion to
teach the child a bit about respecting nature, and that it's best to
admire wild creatures from a distance but leave them alone to lead
their own lives.  Even with the best of intentions, human interference
usually leads to more problems than it solves.  For example, wild
creatures can become dependent on human hand-outs and lose the ability
to forage for themselves.  And as was pointed out earlier, hand-outs
can also cause birds that should be migrating south for the winter to
stick around and lose the migratory instinct altogether.

In summary-- better not to feed the ducks, but if you must, a small
quantity of leftover popcorn is more appropriate than bread.