You’ve probably heard that it may not be a good idea to feed bread to ducks, as over-feeding can lead to poor nutrition and disease. However, we’ve received several queries asking whether it’s ok to leave bread out for garden birds, and if so, why the advice seems to be contradictory.
Feeding kitchen leftovers to birds is a common way to help them supplement their diet, and these scraps often include pieces of old or stale bread and breadcrumbs.
The argument goes that bread, in particular white bread, has no nutritional value and therefore can do more harm than good. And while many sliced loaves bought from supermarkets are highly processed, and aren’t the ideal choice, bread is a good source of carbohydrates which provide energy, and it can contain some trace vitamins and minerals.
However, as with any food high in carbohydrates, such as biscuits, crisps, or cereal, bread has the potential to be a ‘junk food’ if you eat too much of it or if it doesn’t form part of a balanced diet. And the same goes for birds too.
When people leave bread out for the birds in their garden, they usually offer it alongside other kitchen scraps, such as cheese, fruit, bacon, and nuts. Birds in gardens also have an abundance of natural foods to choose from, including insects, seeds, berries, and other plant matter, so bread will make up just a small part of their diet.
What people don’t tend to do is buy a whole loaf of bread, specifically for feeding their garden birds and leave it out for them to consume over a short period of time, which is often what people do when they feed ducks at a pond.
Additionally, many people visit parks, ponds, and lakes and therefore it is impossible to know how much bread has already been fed. If very large quantities of bread are given to ducks, they may not be able to eat it all in one sitting, which means it will be left to go rotten, and this can cause harm to both the wildfowl and their environment.
This is why it’s advised that you shouldn’t feed bread to ducks, but it’s ok to leave some out for the birds that visit your garden.
The best breads to feed to birds are wholegrain or seeded loaves that were baked with minimal processing, and contain few preservatives or other artificial ingredients.
Alternatively, you could add some extra ingredients to a slice of bread and make an open sandwich for birds to give them a healthier treat.
Spread a piece of bread with lard, bird-friendly peanut butter, or mashed potato, and sprinkle on any of the following ingredients:
You can either place the sandwich on your bird table or if you toast the bread first you can hang it from a branch of a tree or a bird feeding pole.
The best time of year to feed bread to birds is during the autumn and winter when they need lots of energy-rich foods to help them keep warm. Don’t put out too much bread in the spring and early summer when birds are feeding their chicks and they need foods high in protein.
If your leftover bread has gone stale and hard, soak it in a little water to soften it so birds don’t waste energy pecking at it, and to minimise the risk of young birds choking on it.
Although it’s fine to feed bread to birds, you shouldn’t offer it regularly, and don’t put out large quantities. Bread is what’s known as a ‘filler’ which means birds may eat it until they are full and not leave room for other foods which have better nutritional benefits. Think of it as a treat that they can enjoy every now and again as part of a varied diet.
Do not put out any bread that has spoiled or gone mouldy, and take a look at the ingredients list to check for high salt or sugar content that can often be hidden in processed food.
At the end of each day, clean up any leftover bread from your bird table and sweep away fallen pieces or crumbs, to help prevent disease and keep vermin away.
3 Responses
I have lot’s of sparrows in my front garden and they absolutely love hovis brown bread
something silly here. when i get to the end of a loaf of bread and buy a new one i throw out the last(normally a bit mouldy) few slices for the birds ,within a few minutes they are gone. When i do the same with wholegrain bread the birds don’t touch it.ive seen a few fly down, have a quick peck then fly away. The bread is untouched.i have used Morrisons and Asdas own bread as well as Hovis.all with the same result.
My birds love bagels! I cut one in half and spread it with peanut butter and then some seeds and nuts and hang it up with the hole and some string. Bluetits and even a robin come and stand in the middle of the hole and peck away at the food. I love seeing them in the morning when I have my breakfast and so do my kids