Why It's Harmful to Feed Bread to Birds

Have you ever fed bread to ducks or geese? It’s okay if you have. Admittedly, we have too. We also know that almost no one does so with malicious intent.

Canada Goose. Photo by Heather Kerrison. 

Bread is not only unhealthy for water birds (ducks, geese), it is actually directly harmful to them. It’s harmful in multiple ways: both for what it can directly cause as well as how it impacts their overall nutrition. It causes them to fill up on food that has little to no nutritional value and therefore not seek the food and nutrition they actually need. 

Their typical diet consists of mainly aquatic vegetation and grasses, a quite stark departure from the contents of store bought bread that can include preservatives, various corn syrups, sources of fat, and more. 

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It can also lead to impacted crops (an enlargement of the esophagus and serves as a storage place for food). ⁠

It’s thought to also lead to angel wing: a syndrome that affects primarily aquatic birds, such as geese and ducks, in which the last joint of the wing is twisted with the wing feathers pointing out laterally, instead of lying against the body.⁠ You can read an article on how it has affected birds in Ontario here.  Goslings are particularly at risk of angel wing when they don't get enough nutrition as they are growing and maturing. 

Goslings. Photo by Shayna Hartley. 

Aside from harming the birds who are ingesting the bread directly, it is harmful to the environment. Algal blooms are naturally occurring but become harmful when they grow out of control. Throwing bread into water sources contributes excessive nutrients that essentially feed the algae and cause it to grow, increasing the likeliness that it would become harmful to wildlife and people. 

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It’s sad, because so many do it to feel connected with or to ‘help’ the birds. ⁠Although we don’t suggest feeding waterfowl, we do have duck pellets available that are a safe and nutritious alternative if you plan to do so. 

It is absolutely okay to not have known better. It is, however, our responsibility to be better once we know better.  Please share this article to inform someone else! 


Warmly, 

Heather