Bread, is it officially GOOD or NO good for birds ?

[Steve_In_Cheshire]

When i first started to feed the birds in our garden they seemed to love the bread that i put out for them which was brown bread with seeds in it, i know white bread is not really good for birds as its not really got any goodness in it but what about brown bread with seed in it ?

The blackbirds and the one thrush that visits our garden seemed to see it as a treat, i would put it on the grass and you would see them grab a piece and run into the bushes with it. About 5 minutes later and out they would come again for another piece and again they would run back into the bushes with it.

I have bruised apples, nuts, sunflower hearts and mealworms on offer but for some reason they love their bread. I have stopped putting it out now for about 3 days and they are deffinatley not as active in the garden even with all the other goodies on offer, the starlings are not complaining though as they are cleaning up

[seamusagleann]

i feed the robins at the loch with soft bread ,noticed that they store it,then come back for more!!but if i disturb the ground they'll feed on anything they find!!.

[Dutchess]

I'm no bird expert, and I am prepared to be shot down in flames (or just enlightened would do!) but I heard that bread filled birds up, certainly....but being of little nutritional value it makes them think they are full and wed-fed, but they can actually end up mal-nourished, because as a result of this they are eating less of the things that are really good for them.

'Just something I heard, which made sense to me (I wish eating bread would make me lose weight! )

If anyone wants to put me right, please feel free

D.

[Steve_In_Cheshire]

Dutchess, i think i read the same article or a very similar one that said what you have pointed out which is why i have stopped putting bread out. I`ll concentrate on putting things out that i have read are good for the birds, on xmas day they will get a bottle of jack daniels between them and some mince pies followed by xmas pudding

[james bennet]

I have heard that it's bad for them, as it fills them up without giving them much nutritional benefit. Having said this, if I were a bird I think I would prefer to have bread than nothing at all. Bread (and kitchen scraps in general) were given to birds until fairly recently, when speciality seeds exploded onto the scene. There is no doubt that these latter are of huge nutritional benefit to birds, but they are hugely expensive (and dare I say it, it is in the interest of the birdseed companies to insist that bread is a poor substitute). If giving kitchen scraps, even bread, is the only way that many people are able to connect with our bird life, then I say go for it! I doubt there is a single naturalist out there who's first contact with nature wasn't feeding the ducks in their local pond. The advantages, to people and birds, certainly outweigh the disadvantages.

[Steve Buckley]

From what i beleive Bread is all right for Birds in the winter (prefrably pre-soaked though), but should Never be given to them at breeding time as when they feed it to chicks, i can expand in their crop and choke them,

I personally have put it out lots of times, and they all seem to like but as i said i wont let them have it during the spring/summer

[Sue2]

I've always been advised that bread, in small doses, is alright providing you ALWAYS soak it before putting it out. If it's put out dry then it swells up inside their stomachs and causes problems that way, wet it and it's digested perfectly. I've also heard that we should only really put out brown bread.

Good luck.

[Astra]

I never put bread out but obviously one of my neighbours does because frequently I come down in the morning to find a couple of slices of white bread floating in the bird bath.
The clever crows bring it in to soak and then the rest of the birds have a go too. Sometimes it's like porridge in there!!

[wildliferescuer]

Our advice is always not to feed bread. As has been said in several posts, bread fills birds up but has little or no nutritional value & our experience, particularly with ducks & geese is that it can lead to severe malnourishment & even death.
You may think that you are only putting out a small amount for the garden birds, but if all the neighbours are doing the same, the birds may be eating too much useless food.
If at all possible, feed more nutritional food.

[shei111]

I dont have a lot of bread in the house simply because it never keeps long then it has to be thrown out, and only me here I buy bread rolls as and when I need them , I always buy porridge for the birds a large bag of supermarket branded at something silly like 62 p suits me fine , and sprinkle it on the grass it seems to last ages yet I have loads of birds about, its cheap and nutritional if its in the shops for humans to eat then it must be okay for the birds they love it. sheila