Don’t Feed the Birds With Bread
Feeding birds with bread is an ancient occupation than excess bread. But while birds will happily pick up your stale suggestions, there are many reasons why this is a bad idea.
Redditor u / llcucf80 posted in r / LifeProTips a somewhat confusing and ultimately controversial statement about how bread is bad for birds:
Do not feed the ducks with bread. Bread does not provide them with nourishment, and they can get fat and starve at the same time.
The best nutritional value for them comes from poultry food, frozen corn or peas (thaw first), oats and other greens (finely torn so they can be eaten). But please don’t feed the ducks with bread. It does not provide nutrition, so they end up getting fat and at the same time essentially starving.
In other words, the nutritional value of bread is low; a duck or goose may get enough of it, but that doesn’t give them what they need to be healthy waterfowl. It seems as if you have lived on croutons all your life. You can stay alive, but you will have problems.
In the comments of u / Tedwiththe, who took a strong stance against the No Bread For Birds recommendation, quoting a Facebook post from Swan Sanctuary in the UK in which The Queen’s Swan Marker, David Barber, inexplicably encourages people to keep feeding swans:
“In recent months, there has been a lot of media coverage of the No Bread Campaign, which is confusing many members of the public who like to feed swans. Campaigners claim that swans should not be fed bread on the grounds that it is harmful to them. This is not true. Swans have been fed bread for hundreds of years without causing any harmful effects. While bread may not be the best dietary option for swans compared to their natural food, such as river kelp, it has become a very important source of energy for them, complementing their natural diet and helping them survive the cold winter months when vegetation is very small. in short supply.
Okay, let’s get this straight.
Bread is never a natural diet for birds.
Barber is right that giving the hungry bird bread is probably better than giving them nothing at all – maybe. But most of us are not trained to recognize a starving bird, and a flock of geese rushing towards you by the pond where everyone feeds the birds is not a sign that they are starving . It simply means that they know that this is where they can get their food, which is an additional problem for them to feed; as the Wildlife Canada warns, they are losing their foraging instincts :
Ducks naturally feed on nutrient-rich foods that can consist of insect larvae and other aquatic invertebrates, small fish, amphibians, and seeds and aquatic plants. Bread and similar foods such as chips, donuts, popcorn and crackers have very low nutritional value.
Ducks that are regularly fed bread can become depleted, aggressive towards each other, and lose their feeding instincts and natural fear of humans.
Even if the nutritional problems are minimal (in fact they are not), the overall effect on the animal will be poor.
Leftover bread is also bad for them.
If the bird lives in a pond or lake where they are usually fed bread, other problems may arise. Bread that doesn’t bite a smart beak doesn’t just evaporate into the air. There is no cleaning lady. Settles in water; The CWF also notes that this can lead to the accumulation of algae in the environment. ABC Radio Perth reported even darker circumstances when higher levels of nutrients in the water created bacteria in the soil that lead to avian botulism:
Nicole Davey, environmental coordinator for the Belmont Council, said feeding bread to birds increases nutrient levels in the water, which in turn increases the number of soil bacteria that cause bird botulism.
“So when birds eat snails and worms that are in the mud, they get bacteria when they release a toxin that paralyzes them, and they end up dying,” she said.
You are not just disrupting the bird’s diet – you are disrupting its entire ecosystem, as well as other creatures, large and small, that live there.
It causes overpopulation
Birds have not really evolved to eat screaming masses at your feet. According to the Mother Nature Network, competing for crumbs is stressful for them:
Ducks and geese naturally find habitats that offer ample food, but handouts can lure large crowds into areas that would not normally support them. Natural foods are also widely scattered, allowing birds to eat in relative privacy, while competition in artificial feeding areas is often fierce and intense.
They also create a lot more poop in a large group! This exacerbates some of the environmental problems described above and increases the chances of disease spreading. And when it comes to teaching your own ducklings to feed normally, they can become too obsessed with bread to do it properly, preventing the next generation from eating as nature intended.
This could be the reason that Angel Wing
Among birds, primarily ducks and geese, there is a disease called “Angel Wing” in which a bird develops a deformed wing. There is a lot of controversy about whether eating unhealthy food and bread is the main cause of this problem because there is not much research. However, according to One Green Planet, the waterfowl most commonly affected by the disease are usually found in close proximity to people , in areas where they are fed bread from an early age. These are usually birds with severe nutritional deficiencies. Is it really worth stopping a bird from flying just to feed it with crusts?
What is the best way to feed them
Some birds are already accustomed to expecting food from humans; they do not fly south in winter, although they should. Or maybe you just think that wildlife feeding ritual is something you cannot refuse, even though almost all wildlife funds say you should.
In this case, you can feed the waterfowl with food purchased from the pet store, such as duck pellets. You can also give them whole corn kernels or oats if you want to fatten them up, or defrosted carrots and peas. If you have leftover greens such as salad, they are a hit when cut into bird-friendly pieces. But please consider the circumstances of the animals first. You might think that you are just one person meditatively feeding an animal, but there is a long line behind you.