Today I learned feeding bread to ducks is not a good idea

The Toms River Animal Shelter is warning people not to feed bread to ducks. I had no idea, but bread is actually bad for water fowl.

Eating bread can lead to the ducks losing their ability to fly! Ingesting bread can lead to something called “angel wing” which causes the ducks’ feathers to grow too quickly, putting pressure on their muscles and eventually the pressure becomes too great for them to fly.

Swans also don’t respond to bread. It can cause fatal conditions including fatal gut and heart disease. Any uneaten bread also fouls their habitat, attracting bacteria that can cause algal blooms which can be fatal to the birds. The shelter recommends that if you want to feed the ducks and/or swans, they like lettuce, peas, and sweet corn. The go-to food that people feed to then birds is one of the worst things you can give to them. Who knew?

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