Is bread good?

[ogwen]

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned on the forum before, if it has I appologise for going over the same thing. Yesterday I saw a Blackbird and some Sparrows come over the fence from next-doors garden with beaks full of bread. I've heard that if they give it to their young it can be very harmful and I think that the Blackbird has some. We've been putting mealworm out for them but they havn't been eating them, the mice on the other hand..........

If the bread is bad for them should I tell my neighbour? She might not take any notice of me. Elderly people tend to think of us youngsters as trouble makers . Or is bread ok to give them? How would I attract the birds to the mealworms? or would they find it themselves eventually?

[Bushcraft]

Originally Posted by ogwen

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned on the forum before, if it has I appologise for going over the same thing. Yesterday I saw a Blackbird and some Sparrows come over the fence from next-doors garden with beaks full of bread. I've heard that if they give it to their young it can be very harmful and I think that the Blackbird has some. We've been putting mealworm out for them but they havn't been eating them, the mice on the other hand..........

If the bread is bad for them should I tell my neighbour? She might not take any notice of me. Elderly people tend to think of us youngsters as trouble makers . Or is bread ok to give them? How would I attract the birds to the mealworms? or would they find it themselves eventually?

Hi

In my opinion bread is bad for us and birds, im talking about the mass produced white bread here. Its full of salt, sugars, preservatives and god knows what else. I think you are doing right with the mealworm option, are they alive or dried mealworms?

Im sure the birds will find them in time, and im pretty positive they already know they are there. They are best elevated in a mesh dish which you can get from wildlife trusts, etc.

Take care
Kris

[ogwen]

Originally Posted by Bushcraft

Hi

In my opinion bread is bad for us and birds, im talking about the mass produced white bread here. Its full of salt, sugars, preservatives and god knows what else. I think you are doing right with the mealworm option, are they alive or dried mealworms?

Im sure the birds will find them in time, and im pretty positive they already know they are there. They are best elevated in a mesh dish which you can get from wildlife trusts, etc.

Take care
Kris

Thanks Kris . The mealworm are dried. At the moment they are just in a dish on a table in the garden, but I know where I can get the mesh dish Usually its the Robin who tries anything new first and then the sparrows follow . So far no Robin......

[Ollie]

Hi Kris, bread is not the best food for birds, there is very little nutritional value in it for birds and if fed to baby birds dry it can swell as it absorbs moisture and there is a possibility of it choking the youngsters.
I would ask your neighbours if they insist on feeding it to at least soak it in water before putting it out, but in this hot weather it will soon dry again. Better still if funds allow have you thought of buying your neighbours a bag of bird food and asking them to feed this instead. Of course it depends on how aproachable your neighbours are for this route to work.
Good luck
Roger

[canonman]

Hi
Have to agree with Bushcraft, bread is not the best thing in the world to give birds. if you have mealworms, i'm sure the birds will find them.
People have been giving bread to birds for years now, telling her will require a bit of diplomacy, I wish you all the best
Mick

[ogwen]

Originally Posted by Ollie

Hi Kris, bread is not the best food for birds, there is very little nutritional value in it for birds and if fed to baby birds dry it can swell as it absorbs moisture and there is a possibility of it choking the youngsters.
I would ask your neighbours if they insist on feeding it to at least soak it in water before putting it out, but in this hot weather it will soon dry again. Better still if funds allow have you thought of buying your neighbours a bag of bird food and asking them to feed this instead. Of course it depends on how aproachable your neighbours are for this route to work.
Good luck
Roger

Hi, my name is Christina or Chris, not Kris (thats Bushcraft)

Do lots of young birds die because people don't know what to feed them? That's awful . I'll try getting the neighbour to feed bird fod instead. She's not too bad. If it was the other neighbour I had to ask not so good, they're not animal people - they only pretend to be. Thanks Ollie

[ogwen]

Originally Posted by canonman

Hi
Have to agree with Bushcraft, bread is not the best thing in the world to give birds. if you have mealworms, i'm sure the birds will find them.
People have been giving bread to birds for years now, telling her will require a bit of diplomacy, I wish you all the best
Mick

Thanks Mick. There should be more awareness about what is harmful to birds . Diplomacy is not my strong point but i'll have a go . She might tell her friends about the bread, and they might tell their friends etc

[emf]

I think some birds know bread swells up. I've often watched magpies and crows pick up a crust of bread and then continually dunk it in the bird bath until it's of the right consistency presumably to swallow!

[sparrow]

Is it right that birds have a regular food stop and if that food rource dries up then they may find it hard to replace it? I have several bird feeders and a bird table in the garden but I do not put water out. We have a stream not far away. There is a number of cats in our area and also the buzzard and sparrowhawk take a meal from here some times. I think a water bath would increase this danger for them. I am a little elderly and have a few health problems and although feeding food regularly I would find giving water on a regular basis quite difficult, so they would probably not get it on a regular basis. That seems a long winded way of asking do birds have regular drinking stops too?'

[emf]

Sparrow,

The birds in my garden feed and drink a little from my tiny water bowls but then fly next door to my neighbour's garden to bath in her larger bird bath! (She doesn't put food out for them). Interestingly, she has a couple of goldfinches and a siskin that regularly use her bird bath but don't even contemplate coming to my garden to dine.