Want to repurpose leftover food by feeding bread to birds? Find out here what risks there are and how to choose the right bird food!
Although a controversial topic, feeding birds pasta could help feathered friends survive the cold season. However, it is very important to pay attention to a few factors regarding the types of bread and the quantity in order to prevent health risks. Otherwise, there is a risk that wild birds will become lazy in their search for food and not consume enough nutrients or become ill. This can even have fatal consequences, something no bird lover would ever wish for. To learn more about the possibilities, you can consider the following information and tips.
Why can you feed birds with bread and when is it risk-free?
Leftover food from the kitchen, such as bread products, could actually prove to be a good addition to garden bird food. This would be a great way to use stale pieces of bread or breadcrumbs as bird food in a sustainable way. And although bird species such as sparrows andPigeons in the garden areaOften cause problems, they don't have it easy in winter either. Because bread contains more carbohydrates, it can be used as a temporary food source to provide birds with energy on winter days so they can survive. This could encourage every animal lover to help unwanted visitors to the garden find food in the winter.
In addition, types of bread that are not heavily processed, such as whole grain bread and white bread, are suitable for feeding to garden birds. However, many bird lovers and experts are of the opinion that this can be dangerous to health and advise against such bird food. This is actually true, but it would also be possible to use small portions of it in proper combination with nutritious foods. Before you do this, it would be wise to be aware of the dangers for harmless bird feeding. Here are some of the risk factors to consider.
What are the risks of feeding birds with bread products?
As with humans, highly processed pasta such as cookies, some types of bread or cereal can also be a type of junk food for birds. This is because such products contain added salt and sugar, which pose a health risk to them, especially in excessive amounts. Fried nuts are also considered taboo due to the processed fats. Therefore, you should only feed bread to birds if it is a small part of a balanced diet.
- Although pasta is filling, birds require more nutrients such as proteins and fats. Therefore, such treats could have a negative impact on their foraging behavior, especially in bird chicks.
- You should also not feed moldy slices of bread to birds because they contain fungal spores that could lead to a disease called aspergillosis. This is a respiratory infection that can have fatal consequences. This is particularly true for waterfowl such as ducks and geese, although moldy bread would also attract other animals such as rats or mice.
- Additionally, over-feeding birds white bread could cause a condition called tip-wing due to a lack of nutrients. This can also be a fatal disease as it renders birds unable to fly. For this reason, you should not give them pastries, cakes, pizza crust or similar baked white bread products. It's best to replace these with some whole grain bread.
- It is also important to know that most wild birds have access to food sources such as berries, seeds, planting material and insects. Although these are limited in winter, you should provide birds with small amounts of breadcrumbs when feeding them. To this end, you can use the following tips to combine the pasta with the right bird food.
What suitable foods should feed birds bread in combination with?
As already written above, the quantity offered is the key factor when feeding birds with bread products. Another important factor is the nutritional value you can get from additional bird food when feeding bread to birds. First, it's best to get a good quality seed mix or make your own using the ingredients listed below or similar ones:
- The types of bread that are best for feeding birds are whole grains and should be minimally processed during baking. This also includes a low to no content of preservatives or similar artificial additives. Otherwise, consuming such foods will cause gastrointestinal problems that could ultimately lead to death.
- Make a kind of bird sandwich for your feathered friends by spreading the slice of bread with suitable ingredients such as bird-friendly peanut butter or lard. You can also feed mashed potatoes to birds, including sunflower seeds, crushed peanuts and dried fruits such as raisins, apricots or plums.
- Other possible variations you could add to a balanced amount of breadcrumbs or other bread products include bananas, apples, pumpkin seeds and some grated cheese.
- Such mixtures are suitable for bothBird feeder in the garden, as well as on toasted slices of bread that can hang from tree branches.
- However, avoid using fresh sourdough bread as bird food as it is difficult for most species of birds to digest. Therefore, add older pieces of bread that have not yet gone bad.
- Also try soaking stale bread slices in a little water and chopping them up so that bird chicks don't choke on them and lose less energy pecking.
- A general rule of thumb is to check any leftover product from the kitchen for added sugar, salt or other additives before offering it to birds.
- Do not provide such bird food so often and collect remaining crumbs from the feeders so that the birds do not stuff themselves with it and neglect other food sources.
