Why you shouldn’t feed birds bread: the kindness of people kills thousands of birds

Bread is harmful to bird health

It turns out that such a nutritious and tasty product is very harmful to the body of birds. Let's figure out why:

1. Bakery products are very hard on the stomach of birds. The digestion process is long and difficult. As a result, dysbiosis and symptoms of indigestion may occur.
2. Due to its high density, the bread swells in the stomach and the fermentation process begins. The consequence of this is a blockage or volvulus of the intestines.
3. Bread of different varieties gives the birds a feeling of satiety, but does not help in storing energy. Birds' crops become clogged. It begins to seem to them that the stomach is completely filled and no more food is needed. False saturation leads to a gradual decrease in activity and vitality, causing the development of rickets. That is, birds experience underdevelopment of the musculoskeletal system and a lack of minerals.
4. The absorption of bread and its fermentation in the stomach contributes to the development of parasitic and inflammatory processes, which the bird’s body is not able to cope with.
5. The deposition and accumulation of salts from baked goods leads to poisoning of the bird's body.
6. The habit of completely relying on feeding from people leads to the loss of natural instincts and abilities to independently search for food.

As a result, from constant consumption of large amounts of bread, birds become weak, cannot keep warm and begin to get very sick. The lifespan of birds is reduced by 3 times, from a possible 15 years to 5.

Spoiled and harmful foods have an even worse effect on the birds’ bodies. People often feed birds missing food, potato chips, moldy rolls and sausages. A good deed for hungry birds turns into big health and well-being problems.

How to properly feed birds in winter: 5 birdwatcher tips

And here I begin to regret that after Bianchi no one really worked on popularizing the study of nature - because bread will do more harm to the birds than good. So how to feed birds correctly?

One of my favorite books as a child was “Forest Newspaper” by Vitaly Bianchi. Every January I remember a quote from the January – “month of severe hunger” – issue: “He who is full is not afraid of the cold. For animals and birds, it’s all about satiety. A good lunch warms you from the inside, your blood is hot, warmth spreads through all your veins. Fat under the skin is the best lining for a warm wool or down coat. It will pass through the wool, through the feather, but no frost will break through the fat under the skin. If there was enough food, winter would not be terrible. Where can I get food in winter?”

There are probably many of us who loved Bianchi in childhood - at least, it is in January that calls to feed the birds begin to actively appear on social networks. “Share your bread with the birds, help them survive the frost,” write people I know and don’t know. And here I begin to regret that after Bianchi no one really worked on popularizing the study of nature - because bread will do more harm to the birds than good. But how does the average person know this?

In the UK and USA, amateur ornithology, birdwatching, is one of the most popular hobbies. In bookstores you can find an endless number of bird guides, photo albums about birds and all kinds of reference books. And hardware stores (and even regular supermarkets) sell dozens of varieties of feeders and food for wild birds. In our country, birdwatchers are rare eccentrics, feeders have to be made with their own hands, the birds are fed bread and millet, and there is practically no popular literature about birds. So I decided to put together a small compilation of tips on feeding birds from various sources (National Geographic Birdwatcher's Bible, The Ultimate Bird Feeder Handbook and RSPB's Birdfeeder Guide)

Photo from the site https://4lapy.ru/

1. Why can’t you feed birds bread?

Birds have a very difficult time digesting it, plus there is too much protein and fat in bread; it fills the stomach, but does not provide enough energy.

2. What else should you not feed birds?

Nothing salty. There is no need to feed spoiled (rancid, etc.) cereals to the birds. There is no need to treat birds with cookies, buns, or potato chips.

3. What to feed?

Sunflower seeds (raw, unsalted), crushed peanuts, raw unsalted lard, oats, millet. wheat. I managed to find one domestic brand of food for wild birds; it can be bought in the online store at the Zoological Museum and Obi stores. You can put slices of apples in the feeder; many birds are very willing to peck at them. If you're not too lazy (and especially if you have children), make a nutritious cupcake for the titmouse. For this you will need raw lard (beef or pork). It needs to be cut into pieces and simmered over low heat. Then take a silicone cake mold, pour the seeds into it and fill it with melted lard. Let it harden, remove from the mold and hang on a string on a tree or balcony. Tits, nuthatches and even woodpeckers will be very happy.

4. Don't overfeed the birds!

You should help them survive, and not take them for a living, making them helpless. Fill the feeder once a day and resist the urge to add just a little more to the poor hungry birds.

5. Keep it clean!

The feeder can become a place for infection to spread, so remove any uneaten food every day, and once a month, be sure to wash the feeder with hot water and some kind of disinfectant.

What is the best way to feed birds?

The consumption of the following products will bring great benefits and health to the bird's body:

• unsalted and raw sunflower and pumpkin seeds;
• crushed peanuts;
• corn grains;
• cereals - pearl barley, barley, wheat;
• hard cheese (pieces);
• boiled egg, mashed;
• berries of sea buckthorn, viburnum, rowan;
• pieces of boiled meat or lard;
• dried fruits;
• chopped fruits - apples, pears.

For greater benefit, you can make a feeder and pour clean, dry sand mixed with crushed egg shells at the bottom. This way, only substances useful for digestion will enter the birds’ bodies.

Our help will be very useful for birds , especially in the cold season. The main thing is not to harm the surrounding nature and its inhabitants!

Birds are not allowed salted or fried foods.

In Moscow, birds can be found near feeders in parks. Ornithologists suggest that 75 percent of their food should be made from sunflower seeds. They are high in calories and are an important source of energy for small birds.

In winter, birds need high-calorie food - unsalted lard and margarine. Unsalted lard is readily pecked by tits and sparrows.

Animal fat should be given in its pure form if it is solid. If it is soft, then it is better to mix it with other food, preparing the so-called bird pie. This “pie” should be hung in vegetable nets.

With confidence, wintering birds can be fed with unroasted seeds, unrefined millet grains, oat flakes, grain waste, pre-prepared rowan berries, bread crumbs, white bread, unsalted lard and unsalted fat.

In addition, birds can be given meat, cones, acorns, nuts, dried rowan and hawthorn, millet, oats and wheat.

Is it permissible to feed wild ducks bread?

With the arrival of winter, city birds can only rely on humans. People often ask whether to use m or white bread to save helpless birds from death. To answer this question, you should familiarize yourself with the recommendations of practicing ornithologists.

• In severe frost, ducks remain where the water surface is not frozen, since the temperature there is not lower than 0°C. It is more convenient to take food from water, but boiled cereals drown in it. It is best to crumble bread (black or white), crackers, buns, cookies or sprinkle cereal flakes. Until they get wet, they will float on the surface.
• You can lay out hearty grain food on the snow near the water - ducks prefer it.
• You can mix bread with porridge, grated cheese, cottage cheese, vegetables and throw the food into the water so that it remains on the surface.
• When the frost subsides, the food is laid out on the shore.

In summer, according to experts, wild ducks should not be pampered with easily accessible food. They make do with natural food, and they also bring benefits: they clean water bodies of duckweed and eat mosquito larvae.

Belchanka is a protector of birds: in other countries birds are given more attention

Irina Melnichuk says that she has developed a love for animals since childhood. Irina has a private house with a small yard. Now there are about 20 birds in her yard, which she feeds constantly. Three years ago she had 20-40 greenfinches, and in total she observed 15 species of different birds.

Our interlocutor said that a year ago a dove (wild pigeon) with a wounded wing appeared in her yard. Irina named the turtledove Goga. The wing could not be saved, and now Irina is caring for the bird and feeding it.

Irina Melchnichuk contacted “SP” to encourage the residents of Belgorod to help and feed wild birds. Otherwise, they face death - due to cold weather and especially the lack of food supply.

Irina notes that in many European countries, residents devote a lot of time to wild birds.

— I lived in Germany, where ready-made feeders are sold in supermarkets. You can purchase and hang on trees in some place. The birds gather themselves,” said Irina.

According to her, in Chisinau they have moved further in this sense; there are organizations there that help birds. Irina considers the Association for the Protection of Birds and the Environment, led by Silvia Ursul, to be an example.

Bird feeder in Irina Melnichuk's yard. Tits “dine” in it. Photo: Yuri Gagarin

What kind of bread can be given and in what form

It is recommended to add both white and black bread to the feeders in moderation. There is only one caveat - the product should be dried before serving. You can make crackers. It is recommended to add bread products to wet mash mixtures.

Sample recipe:

• boiled vegetables - 500 g;
• chopped greens - 150 g;
• ground grain mixture - 500 g;
• dried bread - 150 g;
• chopped peas - 100 g;
• sunflower cake - 100 g;
• blood meal - 70 g;
• crushed chalk - 30 g;
• whey or water - 700 gr.

To feed chickens, you can use either specially purchased bread or bread left over after eating. First, you need to cut it into compact pieces in the form of straws, then send it to dry in the oven or in direct sunlight. For storage, the resulting crackers are placed in paper bags or fabric bags and sent to a place with low humidity. It is not recommended to store bread for too long, otherwise it will disappear.

What birds shouldn't do

Black bread can cause death. This bread contains a lot of salt, which is harmful to the kidneys and liver. Birds often leave some of the food in the crop, where the bread quickly swells and ferments - this is very dangerous for birds.

Rye bread is the most dangerous because more yeast is added to it than wheat bread.

It is also necessary to keep in mind that pigeons and crows do not need winter feeding. They themselves find enough food in garbage dumps and garbage containers. Moreover, it is advisable to even make it difficult for them to access winter feeding areas.

Feeding wild ducks in nature

Ducks live on the banks of overgrown, calm ponds, as well as ponds in park areas. Under natural conditions, waterfowl independently obtain the following food:

• crustaceans, small mollusks;
• small fish, fry;
• small frogs and tadpoles;
• mosquito larvae;
• plankton;
• algae, duckweed;
• leaves, grass stems;
• roots;
• berries, seeds.

Birds catch living creatures in a pond, and then filter the water through their beak. In shallow water, ducks collect food from the bottom by plunging their heads into the water and picking through the mud with their beaks. During the warm period there is no shortage of food, but in winter the diet becomes poorer and mainly consists of seeds and dry berries.

Wild ducks on a pond within the city in the summer feed on everything they find: plants, insects, larvae. Mallards do not dive to depths, so they cannot catch up with fish and frogs there. Bottom algae are also inaccessible to them; they feed on duckweed and coastal grass.

Duckling eating grass

Head of the capital's association: the death of birds in a chain will hit people

On Irina’s recommendation, we spoke with Silvia Ursul. She spoke in detail about what birds face in winter.

— In winter, most birds in Moldova migrate to Africa. These are the stork, swallow, bee-eater, lark and many others. The cuckoo is one of the first to migrate. Some bird species remain in the country for the winter. For example, a woodpecker. But there are also birds that come to us from the north, for example, from Russia and Finland. They are attracted by mild winters.

If our winter is frosty, then the birds are unable to get food. They have to starve for a long time,” commented Silvia Ursul.

Sylvia Ursul. Photo from personal archive

Sylvia explained why it is important to prevent the death of birds and feed them in the cold.

— First of all, because in spring and summer birds feed on insects. We have a lot of birds that keep a lot of insects under control. For example, the pied flycatcher. Imagine that the birds that feed on them will now die. In this case, we are threatened with an insect invasion. They can cause serious damage to agriculture. We also have birds of prey, which are the “orderlies” of nature - those who control the weak and sick individuals. In nature, there is a food chain: one organism feeds on others. If you remove one link from the food chain, it will negatively affect the environment, and ultimately humanity, explains the head of the Association for the Protection of Birds and the Environment.

Reasons for giving up flour

Here are some reasons why you should not feed your ducks flour products:

• High carbohydrate content promotes rapid satiety, which prevents the consumption of other, healthier foods.
• The lack of microelements in the product negatively affects the growth and development of birds.
• Swelling of the product in the stomach leads to intestinal obstruction and constipation, which is dangerous for the life of ducks.
• The main ingredient is thermophilic (artificially created) yeast. Once in the bird's stomach, they begin to ferment, causing the food to stop being digested.

Many may disagree and remember the post-war years, when cattle were fed only bread. To begin with, there was no way out, and the shortage of products forced us to take this step. In addition, flour used to be made with natural leaven, but now with artificial yeast.