We have a beautiful city park here in Hagerstown, Maryland. There are signs everywhere to make us aware of the dangers of feeding the ducks/geese/swans bread. We can get the right food for them at a kiosk. It works.
I ALWAYS take lettuce, corn and frozen peas when I commute to work, because I never know when I’ll walk through a park and have to provide a nutritious meal for the ducks in the local pond. ALWAYS!!!
This just reminded me I forgot to grab peas for my duckos while I was at the store ☹️ I even told them I would get some and everything. They're gonna be ducking mad.
I don't think that feeding wildlife is any good at all in normal circumstances. It makes sense only in case of man-made disasters and especially if it concerns endangered species.
I stopped at a scenic overlook once. There was a totally obese kid feeding Cheetos to a totally obese chipmunk. The totally obese kids totally obese grandparents remained sitting in the the beat up old (totally obese) Cadillac. I think it would have taken an obese amount of effort to get out.
Most of mine only take a pair of AAA batteries, but I've been trying to build up some muscle mass, so I've only been using the remote with the much heavier AA batteries in it. At least 3 times a day I pick that baby up and press buttons for 10 minutes. Then I rest, and take a shower.
I have three remotes! Turn on the tv rest for 10 sec. Finding something to watch gets me to muscle failure rest for 10 sec, then I set the sound bar rest for 10. I think I'm ready 💪 for the gun show!
I stopped feeding birds years ago. Now I just provide lots of clean fresh water in multiple areas. I have more birds than I used to, and they are eating bugs and weed seeds, so now they have a much more diverse and healthy diet that they get exercise getting to. Less bugs and weeds for me, also.
I work in people's homes for a living. Everytime I see a bird feeder above ground cover I casually let the people know that whether they know it or not they are making a great place for rats and mice to eat as much as they want w/o needing to risk being seen by predators while foraging.
I used to buy mixed seed. The birds would shovel out the crappy seed on the ground to get to the sunflower seeds. I switched to straight ($50/mnth) sunflower seed. That got me a bunch of pigeons continually, which scared off all the other birds and got pigeon shit all over my deck. Thats whn I quit.
Thanks for this post! Feeding them bread is a lazy way to 'feel good' about feeding wild ducks. I had noticed grocery store bread quality is nonexistant these days so I no longer buy it. I will certainly use your duck food suggestions.
We used to have a bird seed feeder. Yes, they spill a lot, but we had wild turkeys (live in a rural area) that came by to clean up. We don't have rats or mice because we have cats. The cats don't bother the birds because they're well fed.
They recently installed a duck food "gumball machine" with a notice saying the same thing in my local village. I never knew it was a wrong thing to do 🤷♀️
my sister had a swan with one eye that swam up to her house (sits on a lovely cove and actually is built on pilings) every day and we fed him lettuce, he ate it up. We know that white bread isn't great for humans so why should it be great for fowl or any animal really?
You can buy special duck food and they love it
When the ducklings turn up in the stream by my house, the food comes out. They turn up 2-3 times each day and `I enjoy the fun of it all
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To all you people out there PLEASE grab some bird seed, and do a minute of research on what ducks need to eat. Please don’t feed them gross white bread. Save that for your samichis ☠️
There’s an elderly man that lives next door to our local park. When he sees people feeding bread to the ducks, he runs out and hands them a cup of actual duck feed. He very sweetly explains to them, and lets them know to come knock if they ever want more. I think he’s the cutest little old guy ever.
People stopped feeding bread to the birds in our local park and the swans ended up starving so they backtracked. I think too much bread creates algae in the water too. Swans
: beautiful but negligible survival skills.
When this came out people stopped feeding them bread and there were a ton of starvation deaths. So they had to come back and say to keep feeding them, but if you can, do better.
Being duck parents we make a point when Guillermo goes out with us and people ask about him, to always educate people on NOT feeding them bread. Veggies and specific duck foods are available and much better.
I was watching a mother ibis feeding her “teenager.” The kid wanted to feed himself and rejected her bug and found his own morsel of bread that a tourist had thrown. He immediately spit it out and went back to mama.
Lot of young ducks showing up in our local wildlife refuge with angel wings from being fed bread by well meaning moms with littles. They should be teaching this at the damn mommy and me classes.
In Canada it is a federal offence to feed migratory birds. Wild birds do not need to be fed. Feeding them causes too many problems and interrupts their natural processes.
In the USA it’s also a federal offense but there are a lot of people that pick and choose what federal laws they want to follow.
It’s not like Fish and Game isn’t policing all the municipal duck ponds.
I buy them goose feed in 75 lb bags and divide them into 1 gallon bags to keep in my car 😃
I live on a lake next to the public boat launch. You should see the nasty looks we get when we ask people not to feed the waterfowl per state recommendations. Ducks don't need white bread or Doritos. Most towns have ordinances about keeping wild life wild, even birds.
When I was a toddler, my Mom took us to Arlington Cemetery where her dad's grave was. We fed those ducks bread and crackers. I hope I didn't kill all those ducks decades ago. As a 6 yr old, I didn't know.
This enrages me every weekend. I don't want to be a Karen, but there is a sign that says not to feed them at all. This isn't a circus or a petting zoo. It's a public park with a big creek. Teach your kids to be good stewards of wildlife. Don't teach them to use them for your entertainment.
Any advice on feeding crows? I want to be friends with the crows. I'm thinking raw unsalted peanuts in the shell. I can carry those in my pockets when I go for walks. (Definitely unlocked the old man level in the video game called 'life')
Don’t feed ducks at all. They are much better left alone.
You are polluting the waters.
Find enjoyment in just watching, also with children. They are not part time pets.
So a thing I genuinely wonder about is whether it is all bread that is bad for ducks or just the shitty processed white bread I don’t even eat myself. Like, would a nice foccacia still be bad for them?
There is a water fowl creature that has been in the same EXACT place near my office on a waterway runway ‘thing’ (a couple of kids got lost trying to canoe down it years ago) - now they’re are spray-painted signs saying “STAY OUT!
STAY ALIVE” on the sides.
I think it’s deceased.😞
While filling the bird feeder in the yard, a mallard walked by me!He was eating the seed that fell from the feeder yesterday.Igotsome frozen peas and oats front the kitchen and made him a pile in the back end of the yard.Last year his mate was always with him. wonder where she is?Thx for the info!
While it appears the jury is still out on the effects of bread and waterfowl…people simply should not feed wild animals. I know it feels good but it’s better to let any population survive or not on its own. Cheers!
Where do we draw the line though? Other animals are supposed to fend for themselves, but when I leave my 2 year old outside for just an hour I’m “a monster” and “should be locked up”. Double standards smh
If you’re growing and caring for a plant that happens to be the food for bees and humming birds, that’s a totally different scenario. You’re just replicating things that would happen in the wild. You’re not creating an addictive behavior that leads them to chase people and creates a human dependency
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My wife doesn't get it when I refer to the TV remote as an exercise machine.
I quit feeding birds cause rats were attracted to the seed the birds scattered.
imagine giving a shit about people feeding ducks while you eat from this
When the ducklings turn up in the stream by my house, the food comes out. They turn up 2-3 times each day and `I enjoy the fun of it all
https://youtu.be/k43kUAVf6gA?si=BOr4PDTVIB9rkxE2
After a while they knew me and would gather to greet me, even when I didn't have anything
: beautiful but negligible survival skills.
Me: POCKET PEAS
It’s not like Fish and Game isn’t policing all the municipal duck ponds.
I buy them goose feed in 75 lb bags and divide them into 1 gallon bags to keep in my car 😃
Feeding a fox bread eg. is wrong.
You are polluting the waters.
Find enjoyment in just watching, also with children. They are not part time pets.
STAY ALIVE” on the sides.
I think it’s deceased.😞