Feeding birds antisocial?

[Feedthebird]

After not topping up the feeder for a while I’ve started feeding the birds again.
There are so many - I have parakeets, starlings, jackdaws, robin, sparrows and other small birds.
Due to the orientation of my house the feeders are close to the street. Is this antisocial as many of the birds are landing on the trees which are on the street.

YANBU - the birds need feeding
YABU - for encouraging birds onto the streets trees

I am sorry to say this but I think it is anti social due to the feed attracting rats.I have a very bad phobia about them.

Of course it's not antisocial. It would be a miserable fucking world if birds weren't allowed to sit in trees.

What you're describing isn't anti social.

It doesn't attract rats if it's in hanging feeders.

We feed the birds and have never had any sign of rats in our garden. My partner has a rat phobia himself.

The feeders are all suspended, the pigeons seem to do a good
hob of collecting any food that drops. Hadn’t thought about rats!

Of course it's not antisocial.

I stopped feeding birds because of rats. Definitely attracted the rats, I unfortunately saw them. That's the only reason I'd say YABU

This.

Have you had someone complaining about it? If not, carry on OP.

Hang the feeders from a tree.

Second thoughts I’ve seen a rat fall from a tree. It’s up to you, I never saw any rats when I had a hanging feeder but the squirrels used to swing off them. Just because I never saw them didn’t mean they weren’t there. My main problem was the pigeons crapping all over the place when they were trying to get at them. Then when I moved they crapped all over my neighbours garden. I removed them as I didn’t think it was fair on her.

Got feeders up and will continue to do so.

Why do you think it might be antisocial? Has somebody said something? Obviously this thought hasn't come out of thin air. Tired of posts that don't give any context

That's a you problem. OP can feed the birds in they are hanging feeders and the birds need feeding through the winter

Birds go in trees. Can't see why anyone would think this was a problem.

Yeah it's not being in a tree that's the problem. It's rats and poo.

I was walking towards my house earlier and could hear quite a bit of squarking from the parakeets. I’ve seen them in my local area but not on the trees around my
house until I put the feeders up.

It just made me feel a bit self conscious.

I feel I have to feed the birds to mitigate the food desert that is the sea of astroturf around me.
I'd take a dim view if anyone complained.

Bird feeders can attract rats, I have seen them feeding from the food waste dropped on the ground from tree feeders. If you are in a residential area then I wouldn't do this.

unless by feeding you mean throwing food waste in the streets - its not antisocial.

No chance of bird food left on the ground in my garden. Pigeons are lazy and eat what the other birds drop, also dogs are partial to bird food 😆

I feed the birds and always will. We don’t have rats.

The only anti-social thing is some humans failing to realise that they share this planet with a multitude of other species who are equally entitled to exist and thrive in the same space (and were probably living there first). I have no time for that mentality.

Throwing out food for pigeons and seagulls is anti-social. Small bird feeders aren't. But a lot depends on design.

I've heard it all now. Wildlife is antisocial and should not be encouraged.

I despair of the human race sometimes.

Yes, seagulls.. We live in a county that has a coast, but we don't live "near" it. But have been seeing more and more seagulls over recent years. I think they are coming further inland as food is easier than catching it at sea. They can be a menace, one particularly large one would camp outside the back door and bang on the door with its beak every time it saw me come into the kitchen. I never fed it, but someone else obviously did. I didn't appreciate being pecked at trying to hang my washing out. It had no fear.

Our garden has two areas of decking and bird feeders hanging from small trees. Never seen any sign of any rats, and we would have if there were any- our cat would have found them and displayed them on the doorstep for us. We do have mice and shrews under the decking- evidence has been provided- and a pain in the arse squirrel that pulls the lids off the feeders to get to the food, but no rats.

Blimey! Who on earth could possibly find that antisocial? How miserable.