Can dogs eat duck heads?
Yes, and with a bone-to-meat ratio of about 75% bone to 25% meat, they’re one of the richest sources of calcium, phosphorus and dental benefits you can feed.
Raw duck heads have been a favorite in my pack since 2015, when I started our raw feeding journey. They’re also a rich source of amino acids important for bone and muscle growth and regeneration.
Raw duck heads weigh around 4 oz and are best suited for medium to large dogs.
Raw Duck Heads Are Raw Meaty Bones (= RMBs)
Duck heads are known as raw meaty bones in raw feeding. As such, they’re soft and crunchy, and great at cleaning dog teeth and exercising their jaws.
I haven’t touched a doggie toothbrush ONCE since I began feeding raw in 2015! Raw meaty bones are usually all you need to keep your pup’s teeth clean.
Duck Heads Are 75% Bone
Raw duck heads consist of about 75% bone and 25% muscle meat. That means that a 4 oz duck head has a bone content of 3 oz bone and 1 oz of meat.
What’s great about them is that they also come with brains and eyes, albeit very little. Those are secreting organs and important to feed for variety!
Good to know: Raw dog food consists of 70-80% muscle meat (including fish), 10% raw meaty bones, and 10% secreting organs.
If you choose to add plant matter like fruit, veggies, seeds and nuts, feed 70% muscle meat and 10% plant matter. Otherwise, feed 80% muscle meat.
Get Your Dog’s Bone Allowance, Then Do the Duck Head Math
This calculator gives you your dog’s total daily bone allowance based on weight and activity level – the number you need to figure out how much duck head (75% bone) fits into that allowance.
Try the Free CalculatorFood Energetics Chart For Dogs: Duck Is A Cooling Protein
Duck falls into the category of cooling proteins. Chinese food energetics differentiate between cooling, warming, hot, and neutral foods.
Dogs can show signs of food allergies when they’re fed a predominantly cool or warm diet. What happens is that their body is out of harmony from a food source perspective.
One approach to figure out what food category your dog doesn’t do well is the so-called elimination diet.
With this approach, you feed one protein source for several weeks and observe your dog’s reaction to it.
If his body doesn’t react to it (think itching, scratching, and/or yeasty ears), he can eat it.
My pup Wally eats a mix of neutral, cooling, and warm protein sources.
Other cooling proteins are rabbit, pork and certain fish (e.g. whitefish, crab).
Just FYI: Neutral, Warming, and Heating Proteins
Neutral protein sources are:
- Beef
- Bison
- Goose
- Quail
- Certain fish like mackerel and herring, salmon, and sardines
Warming protein sources are:
Heating protein sources are:
How to Feed Raw Duck Heads For Dogs
Raw duck heads can be fed as part of a raw meal or in between meals as a snack.
My dog Wally is a 38 lb Feist mix and enjoys both options.
Sometimes, I include his duck head in his bowl along with muscle meat and secreting organs.
Other times, I’ll give him the head separately, usually outside on the patio or in the backyard.
Tip: If your dog tends to try and gulp bones whole, hold one end of the duck head while you let your dog chew on the other end.
That way, your dog is forced to chew on it and won’t be able to swallow the head whole.
When I give Wally the head separately, I’ll feed him muscle meat and secreting organs for breakfast and the head for dinner, or vice versa.
Good to know: The average adult dog eats around 2.5% of their target body weight in raw dog food per day.
This percentage is different for puppies, pregnant, working and athlete dogs and can go up to 4.5%.
Wally eats 2-2.5% of his target body weight on a daily basis (between 12-16 oz).
He eats less (2%) during summertime due to our very hot and humid summers here in central NC, and more (2.5%) during the rest of the year.
If you’re not a fan of feeding whole raw meaty bones or if your pup has loose teeth, you can also grind them in a meat grinder.
Update: My Labrador puppy Pepper loves duck heads, too!
How to Get Your Dog to Try a Duck Head If He’s Never Had One Before
Some dogs are thrown off by raw duck heads and aren’t sure what to do with them!
One way to get your dog to try a duck head is to offer it frozen as opposed to thawed.
Another option is to offer a freeze-dried duck head instead. Vital Essentials carries them, and my girl Missy loved their freeze-dried duck heads as an in-between snack.
You can find them at independently owned pet retail stores as part of the Vital Essentials RAW BAR.
Find the nearest store by checking the store finder on the Vital Essentials website. Almost 5000 stores carry VE, so there’s a good chance you’ll find one nearby.
How to Store Raw Duck Heads For Dogs
Raw duck heads can be refrigerated up to 4 days. After that, they’ll have to go into the freezer.
Over the years, I’ve invested in multiple freezers for raw dog food.
If you’re looking to save some money on raw feeding, consider getting one as well. It allows you to buy in bulk and stock up on cuts of meat that are on sale.
Where to Buy Raw Duck Heads For Dogs
In the States, I used to buy my raw duck heads from Raw Feeding Miami.
They come in 2.5lb bags that are $13.50.
Tip: You can save 10% off your Raw Feeding Miami order with my referral discount.
Other online raw dog food retailers who sell raw duck heads are Hare Today, Raw Pet Food Delivery Market and Raw Dog Food and Company.
Alternative Ways to Source Duck Heads
If you can’t find duck heads at (online) raw dog food retailers near you, another option is to hunt ducks or make friends with hunters who do.
You can also raise ducks for meat yourself or see if you can find farmers who sell duck meat and ask them if they’re willing to sell you the odd parts that humans don’t tend to eat.
After we moved to Germany, I’ve been having a heck of a hard time finding duck heads for sale at raw dog food retailers, BUT luckily we made friends with hunters who also raise their own ducks for meat.
And they’re willing to part with everything but the duck breasts – how amazing is that?
The benefit of those duck heads is that they come with the feathers, which are a great source of fiber, and they also help express anal glands.
Raw Duck Heads For Dogs: Bottom Line
So there you have it, raw duck heads are a cooling raw meaty bone for dogs with a bone:meat ratio of 75% to 25%.
They weigh about 4 oz and are one of Wally’s and Pepper’s favorite raw meaty bones. Both pups prefer to eat them raw and whole, but you can also grind them for your homemade raw dog food.
If your pup’s not sure about the raw consistency of this funny looking cut of meat, you can also try offering it in a different texture from the Vital Essentials Raw Bar.
As far as storing them, they last up to 4 days in your fridge. After that, you’ll have to transfer them into your freezer.
Leave your comments or questions in the comment section below this blog post!
For more raw feeding resources, visit my full homemade raw dog food library.
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Barbara Rivers is the founder of K9sOverCoffee and a raw feeding educator with over a decade of hands-on experience.
She has fed raw in the US and Europe since 2015, after her Boxer mix Missy’s cancer diagnosis led her to move away from processed kibble and commit to species-appropriate nutrition.
As a former professional dog walker, she developed deep insight into canine behavior, conditioning, and the essential link between proper exercise and long-term health.
Barbara completed online training with veterinarian Dr. Marion Smart and Labrador breeder Dana Scott and works for one of Germany’s leading raw dog food brands, BARFER’S.
In 2026–2027, she is completing a year-long raw nutrition certification for dogs and cats at THP School, founded by raw feeding pioneer Swanie Simon.
Through her blog and weekly newsletter, she provides clear, experience-based guidance to help dog owners feed raw safely and confidently.