8 Reason’s Why Not to Feed Ducks Bread

8. Obesity

Yes we all know fat ducks are adorable, but is the extra chonk worth it? Bread is a food that is high in calories with little nutritional value. That means ducks will eat an extremely high volume of it given the chance.

Bread is like junk for ducks. 

Being hand-fed a high-calorie food without having to forage for it themselves leads to overweight ducks. When a duck becomes overweight this impacts other areas of its life.

They may find it much harder to fly or waddle away due to the extra weight. This will cause the duck to struggle to flee from predators. The fatter ducks are more of a target as they’ll provide the predators with a tastier meal. 

7. Malnutrition

One of the most vital times for ducks is when they are ducklings. What they eat during these times will shape how they grow into an adult. This starts as soon as they are growing in their eggshells. Female ducks who are eating a nutritionally poor diet at known to lay eggs with weaker shells, which makes the duckling vulnerable. 

Ducklings need a diet that is high in protein. The problem is that bread has no protein content. 

When ducklings fill up on bread instead of their natural diet, they are at risk of developing angel wing. 

This is a disease that affects the duck’s bones and causes deformities in their wings. The wing looks like it’s twisted awkwardly and doesn’t lay flat on its body. A duck affected by an angel wing cannot fly

6. Overpopulation

Offering bread to wild animals causes them to associate an area with a good food source. This means that ducks will often flock to the area, as they know that they can be fed bread easily. 

The issue with too many birds in one area is that they need to compete for a lot of other resources. All the species will be looking for nesting spaces to raise their babies. This often results in increased aggression for the parent bird to protect their young. 

The availability of bread also gives the ducks false confidence to overproduce eggs. Once the bird species have their young, they then need to encourage them to forage for themselves. That means that there are even more mouths to feed, causing birds to become more territorial in the area.

5. Water Pollution

When ducks eat large amounts of bread they will poo a lot more. The excess of duck droppings can have a huge impact on a small water source. 

The poo itself can be quite slippy and increase the risk of a fall for anyone walking near it. It can also be dangerous for pet dogs, especially those that like to eat anything they find on the ground! 

The areas can become quite the smell and just generally not a very nice place to relax and enjoy nature. 

Too much duck poo in the water can reduce the water quality in the area. It may also cause the overgrowth of harmful algae. This impacts other animals that live in the areas and need clean water and oxygen to thrive. Animals such as fish, frogs, and crustaceans may lose their habitat. 

4. Disease

Offering large amounts of bread to ducks means that there are often pieces of bread left over. These soggy bits of bread are left on the ground or float to the bottom of the water. 

Over time these bits of bread start to go off and grow aspergillus which is dangerous. The ducks can then come back to eat these bits of bread along with the fungi. Aspergillus can cause respiratory infections for ducks. The bread that isn’t eaten can increase the levels of the bacteria Clostridium botulinum. This bacteria is a major player in the spread of avian botulism. This is a disease that causes paralysis and can be fatal for ducks. If uncontrolled it’s been known to wipe out whole flocks.

3. Pest Attraction

Leftover bread parts near the waterside are a sure-fire way to attract pests such as rats, mice, and insects to the area. These pest animals can cause huge risks to ducks by carrying various diseases which are harmful to their health.

2. Prey Attention

Uneaten bread pieces will attract larger prey animals. This includes raccoons, foxes, and weasels. These are not animals that they want to have with young ducklings or eggs close by. 

Once these animals realize that the ducklings are near, they will likely stay awaiting the opportunity to kill one that is lost or wandering.

1. Loss of Interest

The more that humans offer up food in front of the ducks, the more they become reliant on it. That’s because the ducks start to lose their natural foraging instincts. They may then start to approach humans for food and become aggressive if not given any. The ducks may also try to eat garbage they find in trash cans in the surrounding area. This exposes them to more human food which is bad for their health.

As always, we ask that you enjoy the company of our foraging friends responsibly. Ducks enjoy frozen peas, grapes cut in half or sunflower seeds. Remember, you’re not the only one who goes down to the waterside to feed the ducks, and knowledge is power. 

Come down to Clifford E. Lee Nature Sanctuary to see our feathery friends in action. Don’t just wing it- bring approved snacks and join us on our mission of information, education and conservation. 

NR92.com, something worth sharing. 

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