One of your first experiences of feeding birds may have been throwing some bread to ducks and swans at a local park or pond. Although feeding bread to ducks may seem a kind thing to do and a great way of getting rid of stale bread it can actually be potentially dangerous for the birds.
Although bread and similar food such as biscuits and cakes are a good source of carbohydrate they offer little other nutritional value for ducks, swans, waterfowl and other birds. Bread is like junk food for birds and too much of it can lead to weight gain and malnutrition.
Moderate feeding of bread when mixed with other bird food is not harmful. However, when you're feeding ducks in a public area you won't know just who else and how often other people have been feeding them. If the duck pond is in a busy area then the ducks could live almost solely on bread fed to them which can lead to dietary problems.
Weight gain in birds means it is harder for them to fly and evade predators but other problems can arise from overfeeding of bread.
Where ducks are regularly fed bread, it is likely that ducklings will be malnourished which can stunt their growth and development. They will also not learn to forage for natural foods as the source of bread is so easily come by.
When ducks are fed too much bread not all of it will be eaten. The bread will go soggy and rotten leading to greater algae growth that can clog waterways. This concentrates pollution and can eventually eradicate fish and other pond life. Mouldy bread can also cause aspergillosis which is lung condition fatal to duck and waterfowl flocks. A carbohydrate rich diet means ducks will defecate more often and bird faeces harbours bacteria responsible for a number of diseases including avian botulism. Leftover bread will also attract vermin such as rats and mice which can harbour other diseases, some of which are dangerous to humans.
As ducks become used to being fed they will start to lose their natural fear of humans and may become aggressive in order to get more food. Some waterfowl such as geese and swans can be very dangerous when aggressive and have been known to attack children. Their loss of fear also means they may take risks to reach sources of food.
Wild ducks and waterfowl will live longer, healthier lives eating natural food sources such as aquatic plants, grasses and insects. However, if you want to feed the ducks there are many alternatives that are much safer than bread. Some of these include:
Grapes that have been deseeded and cut in half.
Cracked corn, oats and other grains.
Frozen peas that have been defrosted.
Alternatively you can buy duck and swan food that has been specially formulated for waterfowl. It even floats so the ducks can find it more easily!
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