You don’t need to worry too much; in moderation, ducks can eat peaches safely.
They can eat peach skin and flesh as long as you wash it and the peaches pesticide free.
Before you go, read my short and helpful post to find out how many peaches are enough for your flock, some limitations, and pretty delicious (and healthy) alternatives.
Avoid Feeding Ducks Canned or Dried Peaches
Before we start, you should know that canned and dried peaches are bad for ducks.
Simply because they (more often than not) contain additives and sugar.
Dried peaches contain five times more sugar than raw fresh peaches.
Ensure you feed your ducks fresh and washed peaches.
Here is the table where I compared the nutritional values of dried and raw peaches.
| Nutrient | Raw Peach 3.5oz (100g) | Dried Peach 3.5oz (100g) |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar | 8.39 g | 41.74 g* |
| Protein | 0.91 g | 3.61 g |
| Fiber | 1.50 g | 8.20 g |
| Calories | 42 | 239 |
| Vitamin K | 3 mcg | 15.70 mcg |
| Calcium | 4 mg | 28 mg |
| Iron | 0.34 mg | 4.06 mg |
Fresh Peaches Preparation Tips
After you wash the peaches and remove the pit, you could cut them into smaller pieces or mash them up.
You don’t want ducks to struggle too much when eating peaches.
Also, that way, you will avoid a potential choking hazard. Plus, your duck’s stomach will absorb all the nutrients more quickly.
Here are options that work well:
- You can mix the peaches with duck feed
- You can mix mashed peaches with water
- Or you can hand feed your ducks if you have time and want to have some fun with them
Like all other fruits or vegetables, peaches should be fed in moderation.
Now, let’s look at what “feeding in moderation” means.
How Much Is Enough?
If you have 10-15 ducks, it’s hard to keep track of how much (pretty much anything) every duck eats in a day.
However, if you are hand feeding them, or you can be there when feeding them, make sure that one peach is less than a half of peach per duck is more than enough.
On average, one peach is 5.2 oz (147gr) – so giving them around 2oz (50-60gr) is enough. That’s less than a half peach per duck.
I’m sure you are giving them other types of vegetables as well. So that amount of sugar will be enough.
Next, I will compare peaches with apricots and strawberries so you can see that peaches are not the most healthy fruit.
Strawberries, for example, have more vitamin C, calcium, and potassium.
Similar Fruit as Alternative
I’m not saying that peaches are not healthy.
My goal here is to show you how we can not rely on one type of food in our duck diet.
Meaning ducks can eat all kinds of fruits and veggies in moderation. There is not one superfood; providing variety in diet is crucial.
Proper nutrition is necessary if you want your ducks to stay healthy.
And providing a balanced diet that only commercial duck feed pellets can provide is essential.
However, from time to time, some snacks like strawberries, apricots, or peaches will boost your duck’s health.
Look at this table to see these three fruits’ main differences in nutritional values.
| Nutrient | Raw Peach 3.5oz (100g) | Raw Apricot 3.5oz (100g) | Raw Strawberries 3.5oz (100g) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vitamin A | 24 mcg | 96 mcg | 1 mcg |
| Protein | 0.91 g | 1.4 g | 0.67 g |
| Fat | 0.27 g | 0.39 g | 0.3 g |
| Fiber | 1.5 g | 2 g | 2 g |
| Riboflavin | 0.03 mg | 0.04 mg | 0.02 mg |
| Niacin | 0.81 mg | 0.6 mg | 0.39 mg |
| Vitamin C | 4.1 mg | 10 mg | 58.8 mg |
| Calcium | 4 mg | 13 mg | 16 mg |
Health Benefits
Per 3.5oz (100gr) of fresh peaches, 122mg of potassium helps control blood pressure in your ducks.
Also, peaches can help lower cholesterol levels, improve digestion and decrease inflammation.
If fed in moderation, peaches improve the immune system of ducks, and not only that – your ducks will enjoy the flavor of this delicious fruit.
But remember that giving them too many peaches will get extra sugar into your duck’s system, negatively affecting the health of your ducks.
Ducks will gain weight, and slowly you will notice malnutrition.
Final Words
If you want your ducks to keep laying lovely eggs, they need real food like duck feed pellets.
However, occasionally vitamins and minerals from fruit will boost duck’s health.
Your ducks can eat peaches; just pay attention to preparation tips from above and do not overfeed them.
The main reason is that the digestive system of ducks won’t appreciate too much sugar.
And simply put – too much sugar is not good for their health.