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Giving food to animals
Bunks
Australia Veteran
So I have taken to chucking my kids left over food scraps out the back door on to my lawn.
I know that they are eaten by some birds and also by possums at night.
While I like the idea that the food is not going to waste, I have started to wonder about the wisdom in this. Perhaps the animals will become reliant on the food? Am I doing the right thing?
Any thoughts or advice welcome.
Thanks!
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Comments
Never feed in the summer. Food is abundant. Feed in the winter, food is scarce. But don't make it habitual, or they become a nuisance (the possums, that is....)
If birds feed on your food scraps, the pests get a reprieve....
After an intense sitting retreat, my hubby went to feeding animals in the back yard. All the scraps went out there...and it became a nightmare after about a year. I had masses of birds and an overpopulation of mice. Once the raccoons found out about the free buffet...it was a mess. The intention was good but ended up making us have to kill more of them in the end than we helped in the beginning. ..
..
Also, bec some of our food is not in their 'regular' diet...I noticed they seemed to start having stomach/digestion problems....it just ended up being sad to watch what it turned into.
He now donates dog food to the shelter and donates bird seed to the local parks. I thought it was a good compromise.... We kept the bird feeder in the tree and got one that doesn't spill over to the ground and is not reachable by other animals.
I congratulate your thoughtfulness to ask this question! Yes, during summer there is plenty to be had and that is the diet they evolved to exploit, so it is best.
Human food is so concentrated (as evidenced by my rear end) that it isn't even that good for us. Obesity is a metabolic disease for so many in the developed world, evidence of our body's inability to cope with the surplus of energy it provides.
Now in the winter, when food is scarce, the critters need all the surplus energy they can get, and the human food is unlikely to be 'too too much'.
Now, where I go in a different direction is for domesticated animals (farm critters, poultry, etc) who humans have evolved to cope with our left overs. Chickens, for instance, and pigs and cattle, have existed off of human left overs for the history of their domestication. Do you have chickens? They would love your kids' leftovers, and give you nice healthy eggs in return
No need for a rooster, although I think the hens feel more complete with one, but still . . .
I don't think it is WRONG to throw the scraps out, in the great scheme of things. There are consequences you may not predict, like having a huge congregation of possums or rodents taking up residence and becoming a nuisance, health wise. I have a 'pet' possum I raised from a baby and she provides a litter of infant possums every year and they feed off the the left over feed from my little farm and I suspect get into the compost pile. So far they haven't been destructive, though. The rats are another story.
Thanks @federica, @Hamsaka and @Vastmind.
It is presently winter here so no probs there as far as giving food goes. I had a chat to my wife about it and her thoughts are that the minuscule amount we give them would only supplement their diet anyway (mainly bread crusts, spaghetti, baked beans in small quantities).
We'll keep thinking about it.
starch, starch, starch. In that processed form, it may not be the best thing to be giving possums in any quantity. Check their diet habits. Your kindness and generosity may actually be harming them, inadvertently....
Conversely, they may have the constitution of a goat, and be able to cope with anything...!
When they are trying to stay warm in the winter, any 'harm' will be minimized. Considering the natural diet of possums (dead things and garbage) it seems it would be hard to poison the little fellas!
Most animals prefer their natural foods. Even bears will not frequent feeding stations if their natural foods are abundant. They prefer to stay in the woods. Some critters are more opportunistic, like racoons, and the concerns mentioned by others are worth keeping in mind. But, you will not over-feed a wild animal to the point they become unable to fend for themselves. Animals have many, many places they check for food every day, if you have food, they'll take it and move onto the next spot. If you don't, they move on still. You want to be aware of what you are feeding and the possible consequences of large #s of them gathering in one spot. Some animals, this is harmful, like white tailed deer here. When too many gather at feeding sites, even in winter, they spread diseases among the herd much easier and it is costly to them as a species.
We feed the animals. Minimally, though. I don't want the deer killing our trees and gardens, so we feed them some in late fall and they come for birdseed in the winter, and we let them. We feed birds year round. We have never had a problem with flocks of birds or rodents or anything else. They would far rather get their food elsewhere than take the risk coming to our yard unless they have no choice. When bear food is light, we stop feeding the birds and deer because it is dangerous for the bears to be lured in by food where I live. Others freely feed the bears with no problems, but we cannot. The bears would be shot. So, just be aware. You might check with any local wildlife agencies for tips on feeding wildlife. In some places, it is illegal to do so for certain types of animals. Here, it is not illegal at all, if you want to feed a wolf or a bear from your hands, you can. But our area is uncommon in that way.
I found this tremendous little film yesterday....
If these critters can make this much difference, don't discount the fact that your left-over ready-meal lasagne may also have a knock-on effect.....
Thanks @federica for great short film about trophic cascade . . .
http://www.missionwolf.org/page/trophic-cascade/
One of my sisters currently works in UK flood management, which would include introducing wolves into the UK food chain. Proposed only so far . . . some farmers looking sheepish . . .
The European bear is still available, beaver has been introduced experimentally .
Have emailed her.
. . I wants more Surrey Pumas too . . .
We haz plan.
We want wolves. We want wolves.
If it is a "Virginia Opossum" they eat most anything. They eat everything from fruit to rats to garbage to roadkill. They are called "nature’s garbage men", ha! Natural food for an opossum is generally "anything that is edible".
That's what I suspected.....hence my final comment.
I used to spread some nuts and grains in the forest and on the meadow.