Feeding Swans & Ducks

davidrafferty

Any views about feeding bread to swans and ducks?

Providing the bread has no mould on it, is this OK?

Birdnuts

Like the human animal, white bread is no good - good wholemeal or brown bread is better

swifts need our help!

I agree brown or even better wholemeal bread. Why not feed grain when you go down?

A marina on the edge of Lough Neagh has banned the feeding of bread to ducks and swans. They allow grain only.

A borough council near Belfast refurbished an old mill and kept the lake. They too have banned feeding of bread. They sell bags of grain for 50p.

When I go to Antrim marina I buy mixed grain

Mark

Mothman

Try rolled barley.

Copious amounts of white bread fed in Wicklow

Discodog

I think that it's best not to do it because we need to get the message across that it can cause problems. I am sure that you would carefully check the bread but the majority won't. Hopefully the Swans will learn how to take grain from the hand :eek:

It's one of these dilemmas where you want people to care about animals so it needs to be more about the positive of feeding grain instead of bread. Maybe one day shops will sell Swan Food

If there is a lot of Swan feeding going on then it's a good business opportunity for someone to buy sacks of grain & then sell small bags of it.

stupidusername

Think about it this way, animals get their food from the wild. bread is not a natural food (it has to be produced) and therefore is not a natural part of their diet. mouldy or fresh, bread is not good for them.

if it's too much trouble to go get something they do eat, just don't feed them. you'd doing much more good for them by that.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Of course feeding bread to Swabs or Ducks is not ideal and the breakfast cereal often used is high in sugar and salt. Suggested alternatives include halved grapes, cracked corn, barley, any grains or bird seed. Defrosted frozen peas are good as well

That said I wouldn't stop anybody feeding Ducks or Swans with bread. I fully agree with the sentiments of this quote, from Chris Packham in a newspaper article earlier this year, as people, especially children, should not be discouraged from any amiable contact with Nature:

'I wouldn't stop anyone from feeding birds. We send out the message that wildlife needs our help all the time so it seems a bit churlish to tell people what food to use.... saying don't feed them this and that seems counter-productive. One of my earliest memories as a child was feeding the ducks at Arundel, there was an extraordinary variety of shapes and colours and that helped form my love for wildlife. Bread is not the best thing to feed birds, but I would be reluctant to tell people to stop.'

davidrafferty

Lots of interesting points ..... thanks folks!

Discodog

How about setting up Swan food vending machines at popular spots ? Security might be a bot of a problem :eek:

In reality we are not going to stop people feeding bread. So we will have to rely on information getting through for people to check the bread first. Have any information boards been set up ?

doctor evil

I've seen either Swan or Duck food in Mr Middletons off Capel Street.

I wouldn't physically stop someone feeding bread but I would let them know in a nice way that it is not best.

Discodog

doctor evil wrote: »

I've seen either Swan or Duck food in Mr Middletons off Capel Street.

I wouldn't physically stop someone feeding bread but I would let them know in a nice way that it is not best.

Your user name always cracks me up. I have this vision of Dr Evil creeping up to a mother & child feeding the swans & scaring the life out of them

Stoner

I know I should avoid bread, but what easily secured food can i feed them. Please.

Mothman

Stoner wrote: »

I know I should avoid bread, but what easily secured food can i feed them. Please.

Stoner, I've merged your thread with a current thread on the topic

swifts need our help!

Stoner wrote: »

I know I should avoid bread, but what easily secured food can i feed them. Please.

Grain from a local pet store, some DIY stores, horse feed stores ...

Beware of varying costs. Homebase has 4kg of sunflower hearts for £14 but I bought a 25kg bag for £25 from a seed supplier

Mark

Birdnuts

swifts need our help! wrote: »

Grain from a local pet store, some DIY stores, horse feed stores ...

Mark

Good idea - I get a big sack of rolled oats for the birds from Redmills in Newbridge for around 10 euro, last for ages and finches etc. love it:)

doctor evil

You can feed them lettuce or peas.

Stoner

thanks guys, i don't know where the suggestion about peas went, but they were spat back at me today. I can get oats no problem, but they 5 i tried today didn't like peas.