Can Ducks Eat Corn?

As a pet parent to ducks, you might have heard people talk about foods that you shouldn’t be feeding your feathered pets. But if you ask them what the ducks eat, very few of them have an answer besides their feed. Today, we’re here to talk about our most beloved snack, corn, and see if ducks can eat them or not?

Yes, ducks can eat corn. Ducks often eat corn on the cob, boiled or roasted, canned, and even baby corn and sweet corn. Corn is very healthy for ducks since it contains lots of nutrients such as vitamin B12, folic acid, and niacin plus loads of minerals like silica and selenium that are good for strengthening their muscles and bones. 

Corn is indeed an enjoyable treat for your ducks but should only be given once a day and should not make up more than 25% of their diet. As healthy as corn is for your pets, just like humans, too much corn can increase the sugar content in their body which is bad for their health.

If you raise ducks in your home garden, providing them with enough corn can be a cheap and easy way to give them plenty of protein. Ducks aren’t picky animals, they will eat all kinds of corn: raw corn, canned corn, frozen corn; even baby corn and sweet corn can be fed to them. Rotate their feed with other food when feeding them to keep their diet balanced for good health.

This article will talk about everything you need to know before feeding corn to your ducks.

Will ducks eat corn?

Before we begin our discussion, we must ask ourselves whether our ducks even want to eat corn. After all, you wouldn’t want to feed them something they don’t like, would you? So, will the ducks eat corn?

If there’s something we all know about ducks’ food choices, these birds love eating starch grain. And since corn is a starch grain, if you feed it to your duck, they will probably love it.

Many duck-owners have claimed that their pets are crazy about corns. However, ducks can be quite fussy about food, even more so as a pet. Therefore, there are is a small chance that they might refuse to eat the corn you serve them.

If the same thing happens more than a couple of times, take the hint and stop trying to feed it to them. You can always look for another healthy snack that will also make your pet happy.

Is corn healthy for ducks?

Now that we’ve figured out that your ducks would most likely want to eat corn, is there anything else that you want to know? Probably about the health benefits of corn for your pets? As a responsible pet parent, you should always try to feed your ducks food that not only tastes good to them but is also healthy for them in some way or another. Is corn such food for them? Let’s find out.

The best way to learn about the health benefits of any food for your pets is to begin by exploring its nutritional contents.

Here is the table of corn’s nutritional composition to make the task easier for you:

Serving size: 100 grams

Now that we are well-aware of the nutritiousness of corn let’s explore its health benefits for your pets.

Did you know that the prime source of a duck’s energy is the calories from the food they eat? And as you can clearly see, corn has a quite high calorific count. Moreover, the protein in corn is also essential for building the tissues and muscles of ducks.

Corn contains Vitamins A and C, both of which work together to maintain your duck’s overall health. Vitamin A’s job is to boost their respiratory and reproductive health, while Vitamin C strengthens their immune system.

As far as minerals are concerned, all of them present in corn benefit your duck’s health. However, two minerals are more essential for them than the others: Calcium and Phosphorus. These play a key role in maintaining their bone, feather, and beak health. Moreover, Calcium is also essential to improve the quality of their eggs.

For all these reasons, corns can safely be considered as a healthy snack for your feathered pets.

Can ducks eat sweet corn?

As the name suggests, sweet corn is a variety of corn that contains a higher amount of sugar due to a naturally occurring recessive mutation. Because of its sweeter taste, sweet corn appeals to the taste of both humans and animals alike, particularly birds like ducks.

While your ducks would eat sweet corns gladly, is it safe for them? Yes, sweet corn is safe for your ducks to eat. However, it would be best if you fed it to them in strict moderation (which means you should feed sweet corn less frequently than regular corn).

What about baby corn? Is it safe for ducks?

Also referred to as “cornlets” or “young corn,” baby corn is basically the younger version of corn that has been harvested at an early stage when the corns are small and immature. Unlike the regular corn, whose cob is too tough for us to eat, the baby corn can be eaten whole, along with their cobs. We can eat baby corn both raw and cooked, although stir-fried baby corn is most popular among us.

So, can these corns be fed to the ducks? Yes, most certainly. However, since they have lesser nutrients than the mature corns, they would not be as healthy for your ducks as the latter.

Is boiled corn okay for ducks to eat?

Have you only fed your ducks raw corn in the past and are wondering if boiled corns could be safe for them or not? Well, ducks can certainly eat boiled corn without any trouble (once it has cooled down properly).

However, they might like the raw corn better. Moreover, in the process of boiling, corns also lose some of their nutrients. This is why you should ideally feed raw corn to them.

Can you feed canned corn to ducks?

Canned corn is simply corn cut off from its cob, heated at a specific temperature, and then sealed off with a lid. And since ducks can consume boiled corn, there’s no reason why they wouldn’t be able to eat canned corn safely as well.

What about popcorn? Can ducks eat it?

Most pet owners think that just because ducks can eat corn, they would benefit from popcorn since popcorn is basically corn. But there is little truth to this argument.

In reality, the nutritional values of popcorn and corn are poles apart. In contrast, corn is rich in several vitamins and minerals; popcorn contains almost no vitamins, a couple of minerals in moderation, with an abundance of carbs.

And all of us know that feeding our ducks nutritionally empty foods would be unwise and could hamper their health. Therefore, popcorn would not be the right choice for your ducks, even as a snack.

Is it safe for ducklings to eat corn?

Do you have baby ducklings in your yard and are wondering if they can eat corn? You needn’t worry about it, since they absolutely can. In fact, corn is the perfect, low-calcium, high-protein food that ducklings need in the initial stage of their life.

However, it would be good to feed them cracked corn to ease their digestive tract. Moreover, you must make sure that corn is only fed to them once in two weeks.

Conclusion: Can ducks eat corn?

Let’s quickly summarize everything we have learned above: corn is a nutritious grain that most birds, including ducks, love to eat.  Ducks can eat all kinds of corn safely in moderation: baby corn, sweet corn, canned corn, boiled corn, and corn on the cob.

Corn is even safe for the ducklings to eat. However, you shouldn’t feed your ducks too much corn, for it can harm their health by disturbing their body’s blood sugar levels.

Ducks are omnivores, meaning they eat anything that will fill them up. But the main thing is to pick the right kind of food. And corn is a perfect example of a healthy and tasty treat for ducks. They love raw or roasted corn kernels, as well as any processed corn such as cereals and breads.

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