If you take a walk near a large pond or river where ducks live, you can see hospitable passers-by with pieces of buns. Why it is customary to feed waterfowl with bread is understandable. This is affordable food: I took a pink salmon from home, and then crumbled it to the birds. Those regale with pleasure, some are ready to take crumbs even from their hands. But such feeding is dangerous for ducks, it is not only not useful, but even harms them.
Why not give bread?
Fresh bread, as you know, contains almost only pure carbohydrates.
Not only does it contain almost no valuable substances for birds, it is a dangerous product for them.
If you feed the birds with white bread, this can cause the so-called angelic disease.
With this disease, the wings of a duck seem to move away from the body, twist upwards, the diseased bird is no longer capable of flying.
Black bread is also more harmful than useful.
Let’s name a few more reasons why you should not feed ducks with bakery products.
- Fresh black bread is a source of fermentation in the stomach. And this process leads to gastric diseases.
- Often, people take old bread from home to feed ducks, perhaps without noticing that it has begun to mold. And for birds, mold is deadly. It strikes the duck’s respiratory tract, which quickly ends in tragedy. Getting into the body of a bird, the mold provokes aspergillosis, almost all internal organs are affected by the fungus. In this case, no later than two days later, the duck will die.
- If you decide to “treat” the duck with bread, consider the fact that there is a lot of salt in baking. For a person, this is a relatively acceptable dose, for a bird it is definitely excessive.
- By feeding your bird high-calorie food, you are doing it a disservice. The duck is quickly and effortlessly satiated, while losing the ability to independently search for food. Such a bird will most likely no longer be able to live independently in its natural natural conditions.
- Finally, the remnants of bread pollute the reservoir and the surrounding area.
Some compare baked goods to fast food. A child likes a juicy hamburger, for example. But is it useful? Of course not. So are bread treats for ducks: birds eat with pleasure, but they only get harm.
What else can not feed the birds?
Walking near the river, seeing ducks, both an adult and a child reach into their pockets for some kind of delicacy. And it may not be at all what is really suitable for birds. Children throw chips, nuts, sweets to the duck, and many adults turn a blind eye to this.
Do not give to feathered:
- popcorn;
- chips;
- sweets;
- salty food.
Such “goodies” are not only harmful to the bird’s digestion, they, like bread, can destroy it. For a duck, it doesn’t even matter if she eats such food regularly or has tried it a couple of times. One fast food session is sometimes enough to weaken a bird, or even lead it to death.
If it is warm outside, there is a lot of vegetation near the shores of the reservoir, there is no point in feeding its inhabitants.
In such an environment, they get their own food, and you will not make life easier for them if you take away from them the need to take care of food. Such actions can only make the birds less viable.
What can you feed a duck?
If you still want to feed the birds, do not get carried away.
You do not need to give the bird a lot of food and you should not accustom it to constant feeding.
Foods that may be good for ducks:
- a little (not fully cooked) boiled cereals;
- stewed vegetables (do not salt them);
- sprouted cereals;
- small pieces of stale bread (no mold);
- boiled eggs;
- cottage cheese.
You can treat the duck with pomegranate seeds, finely chopped apples and pineapple, stewed zucchini, eggplant, and corn will also benefit the birds. If you understand that the duck really does not have enough food, pick some fresh grass for it. Such food is well digested in the gastrointestinal tract of birds. It contains a lot of vitamins and minerals, which has a beneficial effect on the health of birds. If you are going to treat a duck with a banana, remember the high calorie content of the product and the fact that such food contributes to the most dangerous bird obesity.
In stores, you can even find special food for ducks. Since people still feed the birds that are left over the winter, it is better that they do this without harming the waterfowl. Bird food is sold in granules, its composition is developed by specialists.
It makes sense to feed the birds during periods of heavy snow and frost. On summer days, it’s better to just admire the birds, they have something to eat and they will calmly provide themselves with food themselves.
If you are feeding ducks in a place where there are feeders, do not forget to monitor the condition of the feed containers.
The feeder should be regularly cleaned of old spoiled food, treated every month with natural antibacterial agents – this will prevent mold and fungus from developing.
Alternative opinion
Some ornithologists are not so categorical. About the harm of bread for ducks, it is often said with a slight exaggeration: in order to warn people who are sometimes ready to feed the bird. These experts assure that if you throw a few pieces of crumbled stale bread to ducks, nothing bad will happen. Birds living in the pond may completely ignore the treat, because their main food is fish and invertebrates. But some people will take bread crumbs, which will be a good addition to dinner.
In a harsh winter, ornithologists emphasize, bread crumbs help birds cope with hunger and difficult weather conditions, due to which underfeeding happens.
Therefore, making comments to people trying to feed birds with bread in winter is not a very smart decision.
But if it is white bread, you can gently advise next time to take a piece of stale black bread with you. And you can also tell what other food the bird will be happy with (in particular, its digestive system).
Ducks that are kept in captivity definitely do not need bread. The basis of their diet is grass, wheat, corn, oats, legumes. Some owners give bread to domestic ducks, but you definitely shouldn’t get carried away with this.
A little stale black is sometimes possible, but every day it is simply dangerous to supplement the bird’s lunch with fresh rolls.
In caring for birds trying to overwinter in our difficult conditions, it is important to follow the principle of “do no harm”. And for this you just need to expand your knowledge, competently use the information.
For information on why you can’t feed ducks with bread, see the next video.
