During the Winter month’s food for the campus birds is scarce, this is regularly compounded by frozen conditions. At this time the grounds team supplement food sources that are naturally available with grain.
A survey carried out by the Canal and River Trust found
nearly a quarter of English and Welsh people had together fed six million
loaves of bread to ducks last year. Uneaten bread causes algal blooms, allows
bacteria to breed and attracts rats and other vermin.
Apart from affecting water quality, duck feeders may be
unwittingly damaging the health of the birds.
The RSPB say “making large quantities of bread easily
available stops ducks from eating a natural, balanced diet.”
Junk food
White bread in particular has no real nutritional value for the birds, the danger is that they will fill up on that instead of other foods that could be more beneficial to them.This increases the risk of an illness known as angel wing, which is caused by not getting the right nutrients in their diet. The illness causes a deformity in birds’ wings that can hamper the way they fly or even stop them altogether.
What can you do?
We are making available at Campus retail outlets, 500 gram bags of mixed grain for just £1 to cover the cost of the grain and packaging (which of course are biodegradable) anything left will go towards the upkeep of our birds and creating safe habitats.
Safe for ducks
- Cracked
corn
- Wheat,
barley or similar grains
- Oats
- Rice
(cooked or uncooked)
- Birdseed
(any type or mix)
- Grapes
(cut in half)
- Frozen
peas or corn (defrosted, no need to cook)
- Earthworms
- Mealworms
- Chopped
lettuce or other greens or salad mixes
- Chopped
vegetable trimmings or peels
- Duck pellets
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Not safe for ducks
- Bread
- Chips
- Crackers and biscuits
- Popcorn
- Sugary food - sweets, chocolate
