Try as I might to prevent it, we still end up with quite a bit of food waste at our house. Usually it's just me incorrectly guessing how much of something we'll actually eat, but occasionally I do something completely preventable. This past week, I did it twice.
Last week I bought a lettuce mix for use on sandwiches. When I was
making up the grocery list, I forgot to check my fridge. Had I done so, I would have realized I still had plenty leftover from the previous week. This is why
taking inventory is so important. After realizing my error, I decided to give the older batch to the ducks and chickens.
The Pekin duck, Cheeze, went nuts over the kale and "power greens mix" She was gulping it down faster than the chicks could grab it. She did share, but this entire pile was gone within about 5 minutes!
The second preventable mistake of mine was taking too much watermelon on our
picnic to Dawes Arboretum and then forgetting to put it away for several hours. When I finally remembered, I wasn't sure whether or not I should stick it back in the fridge, so I decided to see how the birds liked it. Everyone was a fan, even the older chickens that haven't liked a lot of the scraps were gobbling it down.
Chickens and ducks can eat pretty much any of the same fruits and vegetables people eat. Here's a list of some ours have tried:
- strawberries (I give them the cut off tops)
- kale
- spinach
- watermelon
- basil (my garden is overflowing)
- cabbage
They also enjoy eating various greens from around the yard- especially my green bean plants. *womp womp*
I know we must be doing something right because these birds are growing up so fast! This picture was taken yesterday and the ducks are just shy of 5 weeks. The Rouen duck is sitting behind the Pekin duck so you can't really tell, but it's still much larger than the chicks too.
Any suggestions on what food I should give the ducks and chickens next?
I had no idea chickens & ducks could eat the same fruits and veggies that we eat. How interesting.
ReplyDeleteI try to always check my cabinets and fridge when I am heading to the grocery store because so many times I have came home with something we had plenty of and it went to waste because it wasn't something that would last long.
ReplyDeleteI do the same thing...buying something we already have. Such a waste! Thanks for sharing this!
ReplyDeleteThat's really interesting that you can feed ducks and chickens table scraps...and cool, that they have preferences as to what they like. I bet the watermelon was a real treat for them!
ReplyDeletemy Mom loves to give ducks stale bread. She saves it for them.
ReplyDeleteI never would have thought they'd like the watermelon. This is kind of a fun experiment!
ReplyDeleteAwe! Look at them going at it with the veggies and watermelon you gave them. I miss raising chickens, but someday we will again. My mom and dad used to raise ducks and they were fun, but they were kind of a mess in the yard so we had to move them to my grandparents place. I also do the same thing like you did without checking the fridge and the pantry first. We end up having way too much of the same food and sometimes it goes to waste.
ReplyDeleteAww! I love your ducks! We used to have some but can't here. Thanks for the pictures:)
ReplyDeleteI never heard of too much watermelon. lol. I am a junkie. This is a good idea. I use water run off to water my plants. Keep on keepin' green!
ReplyDeleteOh my, they are so cute! I hope when I'm older and living on my own I am able to live somewhere that allows me to have fun and functional animals like ducks and chickens! I can't wait to explore your blog and find out more about your little buddies!
ReplyDeleteLove the pictures of your ducks and chickens! We have ducks and feed them our vegetable and fruit scraps as well. We also try not to waste much food though sometimes it is difficult not too.
ReplyDeleteWell, this just shows how little I know about ducks and chickens. I had no idea they could eat all those fruits and veggies! Love the pictures :)
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness....my youngest dd would love to have ducks and chickens. They must be so much fun to have around.
ReplyDeleteOh my your ducks and chickens are so dang cute!
ReplyDeleteI want some ducks and chickens! So cute! My daughter would LOVE them! The dog is about all I have time for right now though :)
ReplyDeleteThis was very interesting! Such a cute duck too!
ReplyDelete