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As a starting guideline, you should skip giving your ducks too many nuts.
However, occasionally ducks can eat cashews.
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Ground them first to avoid potential choking, and make sure there is no salt.
Ducks are not designed for chewing and struggling with nuts, so help them if you want to feed them this type of food.
What Are Cashews Exactly?
Cashew nut is a not so world-known snack, but it is undoubtedly one of the most delicious ones.
Did you know that this creamy and protein-rich nut comes from 40+ feet high trees growing in tropical areas?
Neither the I.
Extremely healthy and immune-boosting nut; however, it can become troublesome for your ducks when fed in large amounts.
Heads Up! – Go slowly when introducing new food to your ducks. Maybe your ducks won’t like it. Or maybe your ducks have food allergies you are not aware of yet.
If they haven’t been introduced to the cashews before, who knows – they might be allergic.
That’s why you should start slow when testing any new food.
Health Benefits
This nut is a safe delicacy for your ducks when served in small amounts.
The nutritional value of cashews is an almost perfect match for the needs of our lovely ducks.
Omega-3 fatty acids will control inflammation, and calcium will positively impact the development of healthy eggs and eggshells.
Vitamin K, thiamine (B1), and vitamin B6 will absolutely improve the well-being of ducks; however, over 40% of fat is not good news for our ducks.
That’s why we should limit how much cashews ducks can eat.
How Much Is Enough for Ducks
Even though you will find primarily monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat (these are the good ones), ducks don’t need that amount of fat in their daily feed.
The protein level is acceptable (18%), and nutrients like zinc, copper, and magnesium will boost their immune system. All good news.
However, the fat level is alarmingly high – around 44%. That doesn’t mean you should run from feeding your ducks cashew, but moderation is key.
That would be less than 1/2 ounce (14 grams) per duck per day once a week. Give them even less if you want to stay on the safe side.
I would even recommend less than that because you are probably feeding them some other type of snacks as well.
Don’t forget that regular duck pellets should consist of 90% of the food they eat in one day. Everything else is just a snack.
How to Prepare Cashews for Ducks
You can feed your ducks raw or roasted cashew, however, avoid salted packaged varieties from the market.
Grounding them well before serving would be best to avoid choking hazards. If you ground them too much, you could also make cashew butter.
But again, it is worth repeating that cashews are incredibly high in calories, so just a few nuts will be enough.
If you don’t want to stress too much, give them a cabbage or any other vegetable that will make them happy without worrying too much about fat.
Ducklings and Cashews
You can experiment with new food, but in the first four weeks, ducklings should only be fed regular specially formulated feed.
So, it would be best to avoid giving your ducklings cashews.
Wait four weeks or, even better, eight weeks, and then gradually start experimenting with vegetables, fruit, or nuts.
Final Words
A key takeaway would be that cashews are not toxic to our ducks, but food with that amount of fat should be given in moderation.
You know how our little feathered friends are playful and hungry 24/7; they will eat anything they see.
Next time, or if you plan to feed your ducks with cashews – feeding them in small amounts would be the best bet.