I could remember growing up in New Bedford we would spend many Sundays going to Buttonwood Park to feed the ducks and geese with bread. Years later when my children were small we would do the same. Back in the day we were unaware that we were harming them more than feeding with the right type of food. I was surprised when I read an article explaining that bread was bad.
This is just a brief explanation on why bread is bad-Bread and similar products such as crackers, chips, crisps, donuts, cereal and popcorn are great sources of carbohydrates but they offer little nutritional value for ducks, geese, swans and other birds. In fact, bread is the equivalent to junk food for birds. Like humans would suffer from a diet of nothing but candy, too much bread can lead ducks to excessive weight and malnutrition as well as many other problems. Offered in extreme moderation, bread is not immediately harmful to ducks or birds, but that moderation is hard to judge. While one family may only feed the ducks once every few months, there may be many other families and individuals who are feeding the ducks bread far more frequently, which leads to a diet based almost solely on unhealthy bread products. Environmentally conscious birders will refrain from offering any bread to ducks to avoid dietary problems and other issues caused by a carbohydrate-rich diet.
Not only can bread be fattening to ducks and make it harder for them to fly and otherwise evade predators, feeding ducks bread can also lead to other serious problems. It can cause duckling malnutrition, overcrowding, territorial aggression, pollution, disease, and loss of natural behavior.
Feeding the geese and ducks bread and bread by products causes them to get angel wing. This looks like a broken wing and makes it impossible for them to fly.
What can do we do! We can stop feeding them bread but folks can feed geese and ducks peas, lettuce and seeds if they want to bring food from home.
Please BYOP!!
Footnote:
If you want to learn more about this go to https://www.thespruce.com/is-feeding-ducks-bread-bad-386564
New Bedford Park and Recreation