CRT advice to stop feeding ducks bread

[blackrose]

(Or rather bread to ducks!)

 

Anyway, it's about time the public were educated.

 

I remember being horrified a few years ago when I was in Windsor on a nice day in summer and the river was like bread soup. Even the thousands of waterfowl that had congregated couldn't get through the amount of bread being chucked in by tourists.

 

http://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/564174/Feeding-ducks-bread-causing-pollution-disease-river-water

Edited March 16, 2015 by blackrose

[SamKingfisher]

But the rats love it!

[Athy]

There was actually a CART bod on radio 5 Live's breakfast programme this morning explaining this. It seems that it refers only to white bread which he described as "junk food for ducks". It fills them up but does not provide necessary nutrients, says he, recommending that we chuck lettuce leaves and peas into the cut for them instead. However, a nice bit of Hovis Seed Sensation or similar will do them good.

 

I must say that I have rarely seen a duck which looked poorly or lacking in energy, despite their ingesting so much white bread. Perhaps those blue bits do them some good.

 

"Our" ducks tend to get fed the fatty offcuts from bacon and other meats. I'm sure this diet gives them energy and makes their feathers shine.

Edited March 16, 2015 by Athy

[patty-ann]

They dissuaded people in swansea from feeding ducks bread since seagulls came to eat it and apparently killed ducklings..or so I was told.

I know daughters in laws family get very upset if they see ducks given bread.

[Athy]

They dissuaded people in Swansea from feeding ducks bread since seagulls came to eat it and apparently killed ducklings..or so I was told.

I know daughters in laws family get very upset if they see ducks given bread.

...and the ducks get upset if they AREN'T given bread. Sometimes you just can't win.

[Jerra]

They have been trying to prevent people feeding bread on the Union Canal in Edinburgh for a number of years now, and seem to be winning as you now see people with bags of wheat feeding the ducks.

 

Larger Gulls such a Herring Gull and Black Backed will take chicks even other gulls chicks. The small gulls - Black Headed and Common are a bit too small.

[john6767]

This was on the local radio news this morning. The recommendation was that you feed them vegetable peelings or grass cuttings.

[Leo No2]

I think there's something in bread that is possibly the source of wing damage in cygnets - stand to be corrected by those with more knowledge but I am sure I have read it somewhere - also yeast can ferment inside them which I also understand is not good for them.

 

Here we are:

 

What NOT to feed birds:

• Anything that is NOT healthy for us: sugary, starchy, fatty foods, junk food, fast food
• Bread, chips, cakes, cookies, and cereal, etc - as these foods can cause digestive and serious other health problems
• 
  
• Cooked and processed foods

[Guest]

This was on the local radio news this morning. The recommendation was that you feed them vegetable peelings or grass cuttings.

 

I can see the canal and river based ducks staging a 'bring back our junk food' protest!

[Naughty Cal]

There was actually a CART bod on radio 5 Live's breakfast programme this morning explaining this. It seems that it refers only to white bread which he described as "junk food for ducks". It fills them up but does not provide necessary nutrients, says he, recommending that we chuck lettuce leaves and peas into the cut for them instead. However, a nice bit of Hovis Seed Sensation or similar will do them good.

 

I must say that I have rarely seen a duck which looked poorly or lacking in energy, despite their ingesting so much white bread. Perhaps those blue bits do them some good.

 

"Our" ducks tend to get fed the fatty offcuts from bacon and other meats. I'm sure this diet gives them energy and makes their feathers shine.

You have never seen a bird with angel wings then have you?

 

We have a goose on our marina with this condition and whilst she lives happily amongst the other birds it does hinder her somewhat.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_wing

[MHS]

 

"Our" ducks tend to get fed the fatty offcuts from bacon and other meats. I'm sure this diet gives them energy and makes their feathers shine.

Before feeding them pork, did you ask whether the were Jewish? ( or Muslim ( other faiths are available ) )

...and the ducks get upset if they AREN'T given bread. Sometimes you just can't win.

A bit like that anti drug song from the 80's "Just say NO" Edited April 5, 2015 by Theo
Sort out quote.

[NickF]

(Or rather bread to ducks!)

 

Anyway, it's about time the public were educated.

 

I remember being horrified a few years ago when I was in Windsor on a nice day in summer and the river was like bread soup. Even the thousands of waterfowl that had congregated couldn't get through the amount of bread being chucked in by tourists.

 

http://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/564174/Feeding-ducks-bread-causing-pollution-disease-river-water

To quote from the daily express article

 

"BRITONS love feeding ducks so much we throw six million loaves of bread each year into our waterways – enough to fill 240 double-decker buses."

 

What I would like to know is since when was the "double decker bus" a standard unit of volume! what is wrong with a cubic metre.

 

Is it an old or a new routemaster I wonder, this could make an immense difference ... and while I am on my soap box why do the papers always use a football pitch as a unit of area ...what is wrong with a acre or a hectare!

 

Sorry ... rant over ... I'll climb down off my soap box now!

Edited March 16, 2015 by NickF

[MHS]

To quote from the daily express article

 

"BRITONS love feeding ducks so much we throw six million loaves of bread each year into our waterways enough to fill 240 double-decker buses."

 

What I would like to know is since when was the "double decker bus" a standard unit of volume! what is wrong with a cubic metre.

Sorry ... rant over ... I'll climb down off my soap box now![/size]

What's wrong with using the SI unit of volume, the Olympic swimming pool?

[Athy]

You have never seen a bird with angel wings then have you?

 

 

Not to my knowledge, no. It sounds rather cute though.

 

 

 

What NOT to feed birds:

• Anything that is NOT healthy for us: sugary, starchy, fatty foods, junk food, fast food

 

I can't agree with that. Fat produces energy which birds need. If we humans eat too much fat, it's bad for us because we tend to laze around after meals rather than working the calories off. Birds do that flying bit which requires the expenditure of much energy, which fat helps to provide.

Edited March 16, 2015 by Athy

[Naughty Cal]

Not to my knowledge, no. It sounds rather cute though.

I can't agree with that. Fat produces energy which birds need. If we humans eat too much fat, it's bad for us because we tend to laze around after meals rather than working the calories off. Birds do that flying bit which requires the expenditure of much energy, which fat helps to provide.

[Athy]

So those are "angel wings"? Come to think of it, I may have seen something like that but did not know the name for it (apart from "Canada goose" I mean.)

Is there a link between this wing configuration and a bird's fat intake?

[Naughty Cal]

So those are "angel wings"? Come to think of it, I may have seen something like that but did not know the name for it (apart from "Canada goose" I mean.)

Is there a link between this wing configuration and a bird's fat intake?

http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/feeding-white-bread-to-wild-birds-is-killing-them/

[blackrose]

Frozen peas and lettuce? The ducks are going to love that aren't they...

 

I don't see why they need to be fed by humans at all. Aren't waterfowl meant to be wild animals that feed themselves and therefore regulate their own populations?

 

I sometimes see people feeding grey squirrels. Aren't they classed as pests?

[Murflynn]

I have a pocket full of dogs' kibble biscuits when I walk the dogs. At our local duck pond I throw a few kibble biscuits in for the ducks. It floats and they go mad for it. The dogs get very pissed off.

[Athy]

 

I sometimes see people feeding grey squirrels.

That's a good idea. You could feed them to dogs, lynxes...

[Timleech]

I sometimes see people feeding grey squirrels. Aren't they classed as pests?

 

Yes, and if Canada geese aren't they should be.

 

Tim

[Athy]

 

Yes, and if Canada geese aren't they should be.

 

Tim

Why? I like seeing them on the waterways, they're handsome birds.

[Timleech]

Why? I like seeing them on the waterways, they're handsome birds.

 

Because there are far too many of them. I'm sure farmers see them as pests.

 

Tim

[DaveC]

I sometimes see people feeding grey squirrels. Aren't they classed as pests?

Yes, they are vermin - just like rats and foxes!

 

Dave

[The Toad in the Hole]

 

Because there are far too many of them. I'm sure farmers see them as pests.

 

Tim

As a rule of thumb, Three canada geese eat as much as one sheep, so having large numbers of geese descend on your field is like the neighbour grazing his animals on your land. This is a real problem, as grass is not an infinite resource and takes time to regrow.