Feeding Bread to birds (1 Viewer)

[Birdy Trish]

Hi,
It seems bread hasn't much food value for birds. The RSPB are saying it may be best not to feed bread at all.

I sometimes soften bread in water, then soak the bread melted fat.

The birds seem to love it, but does anyone think this will make the bread better for birds, or am I wasting my time.

It's just it's a good way to get rid of any bits of old bread, and surely fat at any time is good for birds??

 

[Chewbaxter]

Howdy Trish - seems I'm as guilty as the next man for chucking bits of left over bread... that as well as a supply of 'wild birdfood', sunflower hearts, fatball and peanut feeders etc. - the birds often seem to prefer the bread I have to say... but this has made me think twice:

We’ve all emptied a bag of old crusts onto our lawn but the RSPB is encouraging wildlife lovers to think of other alternatives to bread for feeding birds.

Supplementary feeding is hugely beneficial to birds at all times of year and millions of families enjoy treating them in their gardens and while out and about.

Bread is often considered a great option but the RSPB believes that whilst not harmful, it doesn’t actually provide birds with any goodness or nutrients. It could even prove detrimental, as the birds will fill up on it and not other, more nutritious foods.

'People can help birds throughout the year by putting out extra food'
Val Osborne, Senior Wildlife Adviser at the RSPB says: 'People can help birds throughout the year by putting out extra food, whether they are nesting, breeding or about to depart for sunnier climes.

'Bread is often thrown out to the birds but it doesn’t actually contain any of the vital ingredients to provide birds with the energy they need to breed and feed, and there are many other household foods that would be much better for them.

'The RSPB is asking people to consider other alternatives like porridge oats, cake crumbs and potatoes – all easy to find household items like bread but so much more beneficial.

'As the weather improves lots of people will be out walking, cycling and enjoying the outdoors and families in particular enjoy feeding birds. Feeding them brings them closer for us to enjoy and it can help supplement the natural proteins and vitamins they find for themselves in nature.'

Other treats that can replace bread and provide birds with a variety of vital nutrients include grated cheese, cooked rice, uncooked porridge oats, breakfast cereal, softened or leftover jacket potatoes, frozen vegetables, biscuit crumbs and pastry.

You could also try over-ripe strawberries or other soft fruit that may have naturally fallen from the tree.

The RSPB is also reminding people not to leave too much food about – contrary to popular belief birds won’t eat just anything and leaving rotten food, especially in the good weather, can attract rats and cause littering problems.

Now, I've lost over a stone and a half in weight (a chance to brag) - much of that has been due to cutting down on bread... so I can appreciate the idea of it containing 'empty calories'....

In light of this information, I think I might give the bread thing a miss for the birds... I reckon for a while though, I'll just throw out a single slice broken up, as I reckon they're probably used to MY habit of giving it to them...

But I'll certainly consider alternatives - for me, if the RSPB reckon that info. to be applicable, then as a supporter of theirs, I feel their information to be researched and therefore valid.

What does everyone else think about this?



Neil.

 

[clayts]

My lot don't even give it a second glance, so bread is off the menu at Chateau Clayts. I had a rat/mice problem earlier this year in the house, so I'd rather not tempt fate by throwing out food that is just going to get left out there. And, from what I seem to vaguely recall from somewhere in my withering brain, is bread not bad for hedgehogs ?

 

[Steve Dudley]

Trish

The thing the birds love about your fatty bread, is the fat! I great way of soaking up fat, or simply mixing it up for the birds anyway, us porridge oats soaked in fat, suet, etc. Birds love it. I even use handfuls of oats to soak up liquid fats in the grill pan etc and throw out on the garden.

Steve

 

[DaveN]

is bread not bad for hedgehogs ?

Yes bread is very bad for Hedgehogs, they can not digest it. Also milk is a no no, put out water instead. Give them cat or dog food (not fish flavour though)

Any cooked meat leftovers like chicken or mince. Chop the meat into small pieces. Hedgehogs only have tiny teeth and cannot chew or tear big pieces.

Chopped Peanuts, Sultanas & Raisins

Small pieces of chopped mild or medium cheddar cheese are also a favourite.

Also, put the food at night after the flies have gone because fly maggots can be very harmful to them.

 

[KnockerNorton]

Bread is made from wheat/grain. Many finches etc feed mushed up seeds to their chicks. Which bread is. Bread is high in carbs but fairly low in protein, I think that's where the question mark lies. But where protein-rich food isn't available, then bread is better than nothing. During dry/poor weather, it may just get a brood through that wouldn't make it if they were relying on grubs/worms.

I feed bread soaked in leftover fat/oil, and then dampened with water to stop it going hard. The calories in fat and bread are still calories that chicks can use to keep warm and synthesise some of their body. And protein will be brough when the bread runs out each day - any brood totally reliant/fed on bread is not likely to be in a natural food-rich habitat anyway, so wouldn't have had much chance.

Not everyone is going to shell out for mealworms or specialist feed, which the RSPB might prefer (don't they have a lucrative tie-in with some bird-food suppliers?), but to put a layman off putting out bread for the birds and having that conection with wildlife, that's counter-productive. It's hardly a population issue for birds. And, as the RSPB always states, it is not a welfare organisation. So why is it coming ut with things like this?

 

[KnockerNorton]

Hedgehogs only have tiny teeth and cannot chew or tear big pieces.

.

They seem to deal with wader eggs, snail shells, large slugs and earthworms well enough...

 

[DaveN]

They seem to deal with wader eggs, snail shells, large slugs and earthworms well enough...

They do indeed but they still have small teeth and will struggle. Also, they will only eat snails and slugs if there's no other food around.

 

[KnockerNorton]

They do indeed but they still have small teeth and will struggle. Also, they will only eat snails and slugs if there's no other food around.

Which kind of undermines their use as 'natural pest-controllers' then, doesn't it? If they prefer to gobble the good worms and leave the bad slugs, they become a garden pest in themselves, surely?

 

[DaveN]

Which kind of undermines their use as 'natural pest-controllers' then, doesn't it? If they prefer to gobble the good worms and leave the bad slugs, they become a garden pest in themselves, surely?

Yes I agree.

Taken from a Hedgehog rescue website

The idea that they only slugs and snails is very wrong

They will only eat slugs when they are starving and no other food is available.

A hedgehog that is forced to rely on slugs and snails will very quickly die.

Slugs and snails are the primary carriers for the lungworm which is the biggest killer of hedgehogs except for us and our careless behaviour
When the lungworms breed inside the hedgehog they rapidly multiply, fill the hedgehog's lungs and the hedgehog either dies from drowning (Pneumonia) or bleeding from the lungs.

Hedgehogs with lungworms have terrible breathing problems, are very thin and underweight, often have bad diarrhoea and will have secondary bacterial infections. Once the worms are well established the hedgehog coughs like an old smoker and gasp for air before dying in agony. Post mortem examinations often show the lungs as a solid mass with very little lung tissue left

 

[Birdy Trish]

Hi, thanks for all the replies, very interesting.

Mmmm. I think I agree with Knocker Norton.

Bread is high in carbs but low in protein and surely bread is better than nothing.

If birds were starving then bread would be better than nothing.

I buy bird food, but also feed home scraps.

Money comes into this as well. Birds always seem to be at my feeders. I can't always buy a lot of bird food so putting kitchen scraps out is good idea to me.

I did email the RSPB and asked them what they thought of soaking bread in water then fat. They can't have got my email because they haven't replied.

Cheers. Trisha

 

[Chewbaxter]

Interesting stuff folks... the 'suet' based stuff certainly seems to be an attraction I've found - it's a pity though that my wife and I are veggie, and therefore there are no animal fats for us to utilise as 'leftover's (I don't think they'd appreciate Quorn stuff though).

Anyhow - we've got a fair mix of wild bird food, so that'll be the staple from now on... as well as the fatball/suet treats/peanut feeder - it's just I'm cutting out the bread... it probably wasn't necessary to give this also.

N.