Don’t Feed the Michigan State Ducks! Here’s Why

It's starting to get warmer out, and that means the ducks and all other critters will come back, but that doesn't mean we should be feeding them. If you ever walk around the Michigan State campus, you will probably see some birds, geese, and of course ducks, but unless there is a feeding station for ducks or geese you shouldn't be feeding them with your own food.

Here's a few things you need to know before thinking about feeding a duck. First, ducks will eat anything, they are just like your dog or child as they will eat anything that tastes good to them and not care about the nutritional value of they are eating. Bread is essentially junk food for ducks and all that bread does for ducks is fill them up quickly so they won't eat anything else that is good for them.

Next after the ducks eat bread they could develop deformities. Yes you read that right because of the high-calorie, low-nutrient diet that is in bread, young ducks can develop a condition called "angel wing." This is a deformity as angel wing can result in ducks not being able to fly and once they get angel wing they can't be cured from it.

Finally, another reason not to feed ducks is because if you feed them bread and it goes uneaten, it can pose another issue to ducks you might not think of: mold. The uneaten bread that sits on the water can grow mold, plus it can also give way to algae growth in the water, which can kill animals and spread disease. Algae growth isn't good not only for ducks and geese, but also for your dogs and it can also do damage to the water quality and plants in the water.

Let's not feed ducks bread anymore. If you want to feed them, lettuce, corn, frozen peas, seeds, oats, and rice are the best options for them to keep them healthy. More about it here.