# Are bread and rice good treats for pigeons?



## TitanicWreck

Sometimes Ill boil a pot of rice- when it cools, ill bring the whole thing to the Boston Common to feed to the pigeons-
They love cooked rice, and wolf it down....
Same thing with bread, though I read here bread is not good for pigeons.
Is bread fattening? And rice?

There are pigeons in my city that are actually obsese-they look like feathered baseballs- Im curious what have they been eating that fattened them up so much...

Do pigeons enjoy blueberries?

I jusy trying to get an idea of good pigeon snacks.
I already found out they love peanuts...
TCS


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## rosey_love

Its not bad for them. Im sure if you were to take bread and rice out to the bridge they would enjoy that seing how other wild pigeons dont have a propper diet. I feed mine bits of bread i havnt tried rice though. Im sure its just fine.


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## Lin Hansen

Hi Titanic,

It's good to see you again....I am not sure about rice, but I know bread is not an ideal component of a pigeon's diet. but if they are going for it, they are hungry and I would think the bread and rice are better than the discarded garbage the poor babies eat to live in a city. Also, with winter coming, I personally think "fattening" foods such as bread, rice and corn would be a good thing in helping them survive the coming cold months....I could be wrong...and I would welcome any corrections to this opinion as I am not as well versed on what is best for pigeons as some of our other members.
Thank you so much for taking the trouble to feed these city ferals...*anything* you give them, I am sure, is helpful.
That being said, I know that a seed diet is better for them. If you can afford it, this time of year you can find some real good prices on wild bird seed at garden centers and even at stores like Walmart and the like....I have a garden center about ten minutes away from me that sells 3 twenty pound bags of wild bird seed for $9.99. How cheap is that??!! You could fill a large ziploc bag and just give them that if you can.....but, again, like I said, *anything* you give them is helpful, I am sure.
I have not seen any of my ferals going for fruit, but like you said, they are *nuts* (pardon the pun) for peanuts.
Again, good to hear from you again, and thank you for caring.

Linda


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## maryco

Hello there,

I used to give my feral flock cooked rice when I had nothing else. I'm not sure if it's good or not, hope someone can answer that questions.

As for the bread, I wouldn't give it. The yeast can cause problems for the pigeons and a good alternative for the cold weather would be a healthy balanced pigeon mix with whole corn, lentils, whole peas, hard wheat, barley, milo and some raw peanuts.. a good mix with big stuff will benefit the pigeons a lot.
These seeds can be bought at a whole sale seed place or feed supply/garden and backyard supply store.

Hope that helps! 

p.s Another alternative I used when I didn't have any seed at home was dry oatmeal flakes, or rolled oats rather. This should only be given on dry days as it can get mushy and melt if the ground is wet.
A squirrel mix from walmart is an excellent mix as well, it contains raw peanuts, oats and wheat along with other seeds like milo and some whole corn. I found this mix to be very good!


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## Lee

*rice*

Lee here, 
Rice is a common grain in racing pigeon feed it does cause loose droppings if they eat too much .It has a high sugar content and also a large amount of fiber.My birds get bread everyday for a treat and they seem to do well with it .The feral birds are glad to get anything i am sure . I doubt that bread or rice will hurt them in any way .....


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## birdy

I give my birds brown rice - uncooked - not a lot. I would think that the grain would be better as cooking would destroy some of the nutrients. Same with bread; the grains that make the bread would be healthier for the pigeons.


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## Feefo

This is what the RSPB says about bread and I expect that it applies to all birds:

_Crumbled bread is suitable in small quantities, but moisten if very dry. Brown is better than white. Although bread is not harmful, it should not be offered in large quantities, since its nutritional value is relatively low. _ 
They recommend boiled rice but remind us not to add salt!

I am in the UK and buy 20 kg bags of mixed corn (which is actually a mixture of wheat and corn) for under £5.00. For the same amount of money I could buy about 10 loaves of bread, less if I bought the really good stuff. So corn is better for the birds and for my pocket.

If there is snow on the ground I add a lot of bigger stuff that the pigeons can grab and go like whole corn kernels and peanuts, but leave the small stuff in for the smaller birds.

Cynthia


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## Pigeonpal2002

Yes, Brown rice is pretty healthy for pigeons like others have mentioned here. The unmilled kind. It has a high vitamin B content which is contained in the husk and in the germ. It has a high fibre content but low in protein and fat.


Brad


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## poehlno

What is meant by on milled in reference to brown rice? Do you added to racing feed, breeding feed. Would just like to know.
Norm


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## John_D

poehlno said:


> What is meant by on milled in reference to brown rice? Do you added to racing feed, breeding feed. Would just like to know.
> Norm


Unmilled rice retains its outer layers, but milled (polished aka white) rice has much of the nutritious value removed in the milling process. Brown rice is high in Vitamin B. Recommended by M.Vriends in 'The Pigeon' is 2 to 3 % of the pigeon mix.


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## poehlno

Thanks John D,tou learn something every day!
Norm


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## altgirl35

i know i posted a pic of wild piji's eating berries off a bush in the winter a while back i'll see if i can track it down


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