Feeding Ducks

Did you know?
Here's why experts recommend NOT feeding ducks bread crumbs:
• It’s junk food that offers little-to-no nutritional benefit to the ducks. “White bread in particular has no real nutritional value, so while birds may find it tasty, the danger is that they will fill up on it instead of other foods that could be more beneficial to them,” says a spokeswoman for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
• Reliance on human-supplied junk food keeps ducklings from learning how to forage healthy food for themselves. 
• A high-carbohydrate, high-protein diet is associated with a wing deformity known as “angel wing” or “airplane wing”. This is a condition where the last joint on the wing is distorted and causes the end feathers to stick out sideways instead of lying flat against the body, preventing the bird from flying. It's caused by a high-protein diet that causes the wing bones to grow too fast, twisting the joint and making the wing too heavy. Angel wing is incurable in adults.
• Uneaten bread crumbs attract predators, grow mold that makes ducks and other riparian critters sick, and contribute to the growth of cyanobacteria and harmful algal blooms.
Is there anything else we should AVOID feeding ducks, swans, and geese?
Yes. Avocados, onions, citrus, nuts, chocolate, popcorn, carbonated beverages, and alcohol should never, EVER be fed to ducks.
Thank you for helping us #savetheducks and prevent them from eating harmful foods! 
If you'd like to know what we CAN safely feed them, keep an eye out for the next post where we'll dive into their natural diet.

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