Do you feed god's little creatures?

[Baldsicle]

Do you feed the pigeons in the park or the ducks in the pond or the squirrels in your back yard or the birds in your habitat?

Just asking. What do you feed them?

I do.

[Phillycat]

1. A lot of times, you're not supposed to.

Many ponds have signs saying "Don't feed the ducks" now. I think they tend to overpopulate an area, contaminate it, and then people will start killing them. :shrug:

Seems like the most natural thing in the world to throw bread crumbs to ducks, though, doesn't it?

[candy]

2. Yes I do,but I know I'm not doing them a favor---------

survival of the fittest,migration and all of that!

I just throw out bread with peanut butter or leftover popcorn.

[smurfygirl]

3. yes, i feed them. the birds, squirrels, and anything else

that shows up at the feeder. I feed them black oil sunflower seeds. oranges, bannanas, cranberries, blueberries. bread. peanuts. corn. all kinds of stuff. They let me know when they are out of food by pecking on my bedroom window in the morning. I also have bird houses in all my trees and always leave shredded newspaper, twine, cotton out for them to build cozy homes. I love the little creatures.:loveya:

[flvegan]

4. By default, yes

We have stray cats in the neighborhood, so we leave food out for them. Every night we get visitors. Could be a family of raccoons, an opossum, etc.

[dmkinsey]

9. Just my "Outdoor" cat

She doesn't want to come inside but she's trained me to feed her on a schedule.
And she will only be petted when she stands in a certain spot near her bowl.
I'm a sucker

[skygazer]

5. No, I don't for the most part

It has a tendency to create pests. I love animals and love to see wild creatures but when you start feeding them, you often create problems.

My hubby used to feed raccoons before I moved in. They were very, very cute but they made a horrible mess and it drew them into populated places where they were more apt to get in trouble with vehicles, dogs and humans.

I like bird feeders but the blue jays tend to take them over and they are loud, beat up the smaller birds and hog the food. They also poop all over the place. Same with pigeons which in my opinion are just complete pests.

Squirrels end up nesting in your eaves or attic and can wreak havoc in your electrical system and make a stinky mess of your insulation. I prefer to observe them and leave them alone.

[sui generis]

6. my little creatures are from hell

I have bats. They eat the mosquitoes.

Seriously, you probably shouldn't. When there's plentiful food, there can be a population explosion which can lead to other serious problems both up and down the food chain.

Also, human foods tend to cause human problems in animals. A squirrel eating non-squirrel food grows coarser fat for winter - they're fat but they'll still freeze to death.

Feeding birds long after season keeps birds near the food - they can freeze to death too if they should be heading south, and in some cases it affects their breeding cycle too.

It might seem like you're doing something nice, but in the long run it's actually destructive and selfish and bad for nature.

[XNASA]

7. Our squirrels help themselves to our garden.

Little stinkers.

[DenverDem]

8. My backyard is a squirrel and bird sanctuary.

We have a huge locust tree that produces a huge ammount of obnoxious seed pods, but the squirrels love them so I pile the pods along the fence for squirrel food throughout the winter. We also have bird feeders that are well attended during the warm months.

I justify this as entertainment for our five beloved cats, who sit and watch the goings on for hours, but I have to admit, I love to sit with the cats and watch the goings on, myself. It sure helps me ground myself to the earth, even in this urban Denver environment.

I also take peanuts in the shell over to the squirrels in Wash Park, and bread to the ducks and geese on the lakes there.

[short bus president]

10. I feed the birds, and the more clever of the squirrels.

Dunno nothin' 'bout no god-critters, tho. :shrug:

[madinmaryland]

11. I feed the birds in our habitat.

Don't feed the pigeons as the are just flying rodents and squirrels are just damn rodents. They can find their own food well enough.

[Mumble]

12. DO NOT FEED THE Seagulls...

I did once and the whole flock just about attacked me looking for more free handouts. It was a scene right out of the Alfred Hitchcock movie BIRDS.

[blackcat77]

18. Seagulls are rats with wings... :) nt

[Zuni]

13. I have a bird feeder which is really a squirrel feeder

and I put it outside the window of my ground floor apartment so my cat can occupy herself keeping an eye on it while I am at work and not break anything.

[Dora]

14. Possums graze off our compost pile & recycling bins

But we don't intentionally feed the wildlife in our 'hood.

[Shoeempress]

15. Of course, what ever shows up at the feeder. We use Wild bird mix.

Thought it would be great "TV" for our "kids". They couldn't be less interested and now the birds, and chipmunks and squirrels expect us to put food out. Man are we suckers.

[blackcat77]

16. Every night we toss out bird seed and peanuts

...for the birds and the squirrels. We also have an apple tree in our backyard that attracts all kinds of fauna.

[arabella]

17. Stray Cats and Possums

The possums help themselves to my garden. Mom brings the babies up and they have a feast and I swear the rabbits were living in the string bean patch this past summer. Everytime I went out to pick string beans, baby rabbits would fly out of the garden.

I also feed stray cats to bring them in. The latest is Nightshade. He was my outdoor stray cat for the longest time but finally I got him in, neutered, and rabies shot. It's a few months later and he's a tubby indoor kitty.

[Placebo]

19. Pigeons = FLYING RATS

DO NOT FEED THEM.

[Mojambo]

20. No. They're God's problem. n/t

[pscot]

21. I sometimes leave out a cookie or two

for the elves. And the leprechauns like a wee dram now and then.

[dancing kali]

22. I was happily feeding the birds and the squirrels

until I found a very large rat happily munching in the feeder.

The crows and ravens are currently chowing down on the European Chafer Beetle grubs in my lawn (and every other lawn in the neighbourhood). :-(

Does that count?

[Kiteflyer]

23. I support an entire eco-system

I should be able to claim a deduction on my income tax considering how many critters I feed.

Scientists could conduct wildlife studies from my backyard.

National Geographic could photograph a diversity of wildlife from just my yard.

I changed thousand year old migration patterns because of my feedings!!!

[Mumble]

24. I put up a Bluebird bird house

about 10 years ago and all I get for residents are brown Wrens. I'd like to see just one Bluebird before I die.

[Mr. McD]

25. Just the Hummingbirds

We did have a seed feeder but the birds were attracting to many cats. Many of the birds became cat food.:( :(

[HEyHEY]

26. Maggots - when I 'm dead

[RPM]

27. yes - i feed my children

sometimes - i even let them come up out of the basement for their meals

hee-hee - just kidding

[frictionlessO]

28. we live way out, in country... So yeah I feed 'em but I eat 'em as well.

Lotsa deer, they breed like gerbils and cause an incredible amount of car accidents. I suggested 4 or 5 years ago that our local food program people team up with hunting clubs and feed the poor some venison and put a damn dent into the deer collision problems. They've started doing it with mild success so far.

Rabbits, racoons, possum, beaver, skunks ( I love the skunks!) even had an otter hanging out for a bit. These ones make a mess of our compost pile but we hardly mind.

To many different types of birds to go through but most interestingly we have 3 different types of woodpeckers (small, medium, and large) that feast on bugs in an old dead standing maple by our house, often at the same time. Pheasants are making a comeback as well, and while they're pretty to look at, they make a great meal. Oh and turkey!! and geese yummy yummy geese... okay sorry... too long.