The Swans versus the Food Bank?

Tried all those. The swans (well it might have been ducks) laughed at us and went over to the people with the bread.

@PassingStranger, Bread isn't good for swans.
The Quack Down on Can Swans Eat Bread? - Birds & WetlandsThe Quack Down on Can Swans Eat Bread? - Birds & Wetlands

I understand that bread is better for swans than starving, but they are not going to make any effort to seek out more nutritious food in the wild if they are habituated to getting all their energy requirements from regular bread feeding.
The bread should go to food banks first, any leftovers can then go to swans.

I thought it was going to be about you choosing to eat swans rather than go to a food bank.

Ha ha! Excellent!

Joking aside, couldn't swan supporters ask a supermarket if they could put a swan food box outside the tills area so people can donate food if they wish (with sign about what foods are suitable)? Our local pet food bank (we have a lot of low income pet owners) do this in a large Tescos near me and one in another part of our borough.

You shouldn't give bread to swans it's bad for them.

My main concern OP, is that the swans will be angry and attack the food bank. They can break a man's arm.

I saw a documentary where this happened in a small American town during the 1960s. All the other birds got involved tol. Might be on Netflix if you can find it.

@MrsMitford3 I think there’s some confusion here. I read the entire scientific paper that I took the photo I shared from; I didn’t just Google it and think “job done.” But this was my fault for not including a source, and I’m sorry about that. Also, in his statement, the Swan Marker says, “While bread may not be the best dietary option for swans compared to their natural food such as river weed, it has become a very important source of energy for them, supplementing their natural diet and helping them to survive the cold winter months when vegetation is very scarce.” So yes, if it’s an option of you feeding an adult swan bread in winter or them starving, then the risk of “inappropriate diet” is higher from food shortage than from bread. And it’s not just angel wing that’s the problem. Someone else mentioned bread causing algae bloom, and here’s a link about that, from a government website:
https://www.nelincs.gov.uk/keeping-our-area-clean-and-safe/say-no-to-bread-for-ducks/

According to the scientific paper, angel wing is caused by dietary deficiencies - but this can either be a food shortage or too many carbohydrates (the issue is excess calories or filling up without vitamins, like eating white bread) or lack of vitamins apparently (again, can be caused by filling up on nutritionally deficient white bread). They have observed angel wing in wild populations with no human contact (boobies on Clipperton Island) but there HAD been a period of food shortage. So, angel wing is a deformity caused by inappropriate diet (there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of argument on this?). But there is apparently disagreement, even amongst experts, of what the worse “inappropriate diet” is, based on the fact that I can provide evidence from ornithological organizations (see sources) that contradicts what you’ve shared - I would say it’s better not to starve, yes, but it can also go too far in the other direction, with feeding too many “empty” calories; this seems to happen more often in parks and tourist spots.

Here’s the study I read, which talks about angel wing NOT being present until the swans (or cygnets) being studied were 10 weeks old. At 8 weeks (I think it was 8 weeks), they had normal wing joints. So it could be that some swans are more sensitive to any feed that isn’t natural? I don’t know about that part, as I’m not an ornithologist.

Almost every link I could find says it’s inappropriate diet, so I’d legitimately like to hear what the Swan Marker thinks causes angel wing, and his or her opinions on the algae bloom from bread? I’m not being a jerk; I’d actually like to know because you’re absolutely right; I’m sure he or she knows much more than I do, and maybe I’m just missing something here. But it seems like saying it’s not bread is a bit disingenuous; it’s feeding cygnets too many calories, and bread contains excess calories for a swan (except, as stated, maybe a rural adult swan in winter). Obviously, based on the papers, there are scientists much smarter than me trying to work this out. If you have a starving swan, and all you have is a bit of bread, feed them. If they are only adult swans and it’s winter, feed them bread, though still preferably not white bread. But IF you have the choice, other options might be better.

Paper showing normal wing joints then abnormalities start in some swans:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032579122006836#bib0027

Paper talking about angel wing on Clipperton Island:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1676/11-208.1

And an ornithological group sharing a long article about angel wing and its causes:
https://ducksofprovidence.com/angel-wing-in-ducks/

Perhaps you can get people to donate stuff that DO have nutritional value.

Bread can kill birds. It has very little nutritional value and fills them up so they dont seek out real food. It can leadnto malnutritional starvation and it also molds really easily and can cause medical issues because of that, to the birds and the general health of the water!

Give it to the food bank, people need the bread, the swans will be much happier, bread just bloats them up and has no nutritional value, they can happily survive on their own in the wild, wildlife organisations give alternatives to bread, I feed them peas, sweetcorn

I know!

That is just not true. I believe the Keeper of the Queen's Swans.

Statement from the Queen's Swan Marker regarding bread and Angel Wing

The Swan Sanctuary Official Statement On Bread from the Queen's Swan Marker - The Swan Sanctuary
'As many of you know there has been a lot of debate about feeding swans and other waterfowl bread. We have always maintained that feeding them bread is fine, Today we received a this statement from The Queen’s Swan Marker, David Barber, MVO, endorsed by Professor Christopher Perrins of the Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology at Oxford University.
“There has been a great deal of press coverage in recent months regarding the ‘Ban the Bread’ campaign which is confusing many members of the public who like to feed swans. Supporters of the campaign claim that bread should not be fed to swans on the grounds that it is bad for them. This is not correct. Swans have been fed bread for many hundreds of years without causing any ill effects. While bread may not be the best dietary option for swans compared to their natural food such as river weed, it has become a very important source of energy for them, supplementing their natural diet and helping them to survive the cold winter months when vegetation is very scarce.
There is no good reason not to feed bread to swans, provided it is not mouldy. Most households have surplus bread and children have always enjoyed feeding swans with their parents. The ‘Ban the Bread’ campaign is already having a deleterious impact upon the swan population; I am receiving reports of underweight cygnets and adult birds, and a number of swans from large flocks have begun to wander into roads in search of food. This poses the further risk of swans being hit by vehicles. Malnutrition also increases their vulnerability to fatal diseases like avian-flu which has caused the deaths of many mute swans and other waterfowl in the past.
Furthermore, there have been statements made in the media claiming that feeding bread causes angel-wing in swans. Angel-wing is a condition where a cygnet develops a deformed wing. Professor Christopher Perrins, LVO, FRS of the Department of Zoology at Oxford University stated, ‘There is no evidence of a connection between feeding bread and angel-wing; at least some cygnets develop this condition without ever having seen any bread’.
I therefore encourage members of the public to continue feeding swans to help improve their chances of survival, especially through the winter.”
We’d like to Thank every one for their support and we hope that this will help these beautiful birds.'

Either way, I’d feed people over swans, which are quite capable of feeding themselves naturally.

RSPB volunteer at Fairhaven Lake, Fylde, told us not to feed water birds with bread.

Ok. This is from my local swan rescue group. A registered charity in Ireland that has been working with swans (and other birds and animals) for over 20 years:

We strongly advise against feeding bread to swans and other waterfowl, as it offers no real nutrition, fills them up, causes bloating/digestive issues, can lead to Angel Wing deformity, and promotes dependence. Instead, offer healthy alternatives like lettuce, peas, sweetcorn, or commercial bird feed, and remember swans find their own food in the wild

These are the people that work with them. While your friends might be working with the greatest of intentions, they are wrong and are harming the birds they are trying to help.

I really thought this was going to be a thread about People eating swans rather than using food banks. Am a bit disappointed

Maybe all the volunteers could let their families go without bread and give it to the swans instead?

Surely artificially feeding a population causes problems. When the population grows because of well fed adults being able to reproduce more successfully then they'll starve if they outgrow naturally available levels of food. If the artificial supply stops suddenly it'll be chaos and starvation .this could result in larger numbers of hungry creatures.

Yeah, but that’s confirmed bird flu, not starvation. 😬
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwyxd9wrlxjo.amp

Countryside’s well known for having piles of dead swans floating down the rivers in winter!

This.

Swans don’t only survive if humans feed them bread!

Out of date/short dated supplies from a supermarket.

I should think the only time swans need supplementary feeding is if the river is frozen. What do you think they do if they live outside towns without people feeding them?

It is. You should ideally feed them vegetables, grains or specialised food.