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Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Feed Ducks Bread

Why You Shouldn’t Feed Ducks Bread

Why You Shouldn't Feed Ducks Bread

How many times have you found yourself at a public park or zoo and participated in or witnessed people throwing bread in the ponds? Somewhere along the line this became a standard practice but unfortunately it can do a lot of damage not just to the birds but also the waterways. As much as I’m sure the ducks and geese appreciate the gesture, there are several reasons why you shouldn’t feed ducks bread.

Not Healthy

One of the biggest problems with feeding ducks and geese bread is the fact that it gives them absolutely no nutrition. They will fill up on bread instead of sourcing food that keeps them in top form. Preventing them from searching for a balanced diet will inevitably have long term effects on their wellbeing.

Bread isn’t the only human food that can harm waterfowl but it is the most common when it comes to feeding wild birds. We want to make sure these birds aren’t exposed to fatal or disabling conditions as a result of our ignorance. A disease caused Angel Wing, for example, is caused by a nutrient deficient diet- causing deformities like loss of wing use/ability to fly that may leave them vulnerable to predators.

Water Problems

The obvious issue bread in water creates is a decrease in quality. Do you want to swim in or drink water with remnants of soggy bread? Probably not. Worse than that- it creates a legitimate health concern to all who rely on these bodies of water to survive.

When there is excess bread in the water, it can cause changes in the bacteriological and chemical content, greatly increasing the risk of avian disease. Other life living in the water may also be fatally impacted as a result of these changes.

Safe Things to Feed Waterfowl

Nobody is saying you shouldn’t feed the ducks and geese you see, let’s just do it in a way that helps not hurts our birds and the environment. Here are some examples of what you can feed them:

Cracked corn
Oats
Rice (doesn’t have to be cooked)
Birdseed (any mix)
Sliced Grapes
(Defrosted, not cooked) frozen corn or peas
Earthworms and Mealworms
Chopped lettuce or other greens
Veggie trimmings

Please avoid:

Bread, Crackers, Biscuits
Chips
Popcorn
Sugary food – like chocolate

If you’re here, you must care about the wellbeing of the Earth’s creatures! We appreciate that. As you may know, we’re a farm dedicated to raising awareness of rare farm breed preservation & encouraging environmental conservation. We are an educational facility, home to many rare breeds- bringing hundreds of children on tours every year so they will acquire the personal context needed to become protective stewards of our planet. If you are feeling particularly generous, and would like to help us continue to expand our efforts (we’re just a small family owned and operated farm) we would greatly appreciate it. Read more at our Dalby Farm Expansion GoFundMe page.

Why you should be drinking water

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Why You Should Be Drinking Water

Are you drinking enough water? There has been much discussion over the years regarding exactly how much water you should be drinking vs. how much you need to drink. While you may not need a full 8 glasses of water a day as you may have heard, you should still aspire to consuming as much where possible. Here’s why you should be drinking water, in short.

Maintains the balance

Digestion, circulation, saliva, absorption, transportation of nutrients, and body temperature regulation are all affected by the amount of water you consume. Our bodies are made of 60% water- which are responsible for making those functions happen. Without consistent water consumption, your body will not perform to its optimal ability. Your brain will essentially tell you when your supply is low, so be sure to listen and act on that feeling of thirst!
You’ll also enjoy more energy- as the right amount will help pump blood more effectively. Speedy transport of nutrients to your cells will do your body good!
When it comes to balance, we don’t just mean the fluid levels – we also mean your digestion. Healthy amounts of water daily will keep you working regularly. If you’re dehydrated it will be harder (and likely somewhat painful) to pass waste.

Control Calories

There’s a reason why people drink a lot of water when they’re trying to lose weight. Sadly, water is not the cure to obesity, and drinking a lot of water doesn’t guarantee weight loss. What it will do, however, is fill you up and cut the desire to eat and drink higher calorie foods / beverages.
Also, food with high water content will often require more chewing, and will take more time to be fully absorbed by the body. You will feel more full and less likely to snack on rich food. Eat plenty of fruit, vegetables, oatmeal, beans and broth-based soup!
Water will also help boost the metabolism, which is key to maintaining a steady body weight. Throw some ice in it and your body will work a little harder to process it, burning a few extra calories!

Good Muscle Health

Believe it or not, fluids are an integral part of having a healthy muscle mass within your body. Without proper fluids, your muscles can shrivel- resulting in poor performance and in some cases, painful atrophy.
It is recommended, especially for athletes, to drink at least 17 ounces of water 2 hours prior to a workout. It is important to keep a steady flow of water entering your system before, during and after highly strenuous workouts as to replace what is lost from sweat.
Water helps prevent muscle cramping and works as a natural lubricant to help make toning happen faster.

Better Skin

We’ve mentioned this before, but one way to ensure you have healthy skin is by having a consistent intake of water. If you are too dehydrated, your skin gets really dry and any existing wrinkles appear deeper. Water helps plump up your skin cells, helping you keep a younger appearance. Not only that, but water will help flush out impurities and help blood flow/circulation.

The exact amount of water you need depends on a variety of factors. Your height, size, level of activity, how hot or cold it is outside all come into consideration- as well as how much you exercise and at what amount you sweat. Speak with your doctor if you’re concerned about how much is enough.

Tea counts!

Don’t like plain water? Grab yourself some herbal tea! Tea is a great way to give your body the water it needs. Be easy on the sugar though 😉

Water Conservation Tips for Kids: Get them involved!

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Water Conservation Tips for Kids

I’m sure I’ve mentioned before, small actions can carry a big impact- especially over time. Here at Dalby Farm, we aspire to help children think about the environment with every step they take. You can help enforce our lessons at home by involving your kids in simple practices. Remember, water conservation tips for kids can easily be applied to adults too!

Make it A Game

Before we get into specific ways to help your kids conserve water, consider your approach. Experience has taught us that children are more likely to participate in chore-like activities when it is presented in a fun way.

Design some kind of score card or poster with their names, and spaces for each day of the week (to check off or put a sticker when completed). On the side column, make a list of different simple ways to conserve water. Come up with a small reward system- whether it be ice cream for dessert at the end of the week, or getting to stay up an extra half hour- for each week of completed activity.

This is a great way to instill environmentally friendly life practices with a touch of fun and personal reward!

Look for Leaks

Once a month, send your little one in and around the house to look at all of the faucets and shower heads. You can save a lot of water over time if you catch every leak as quick as possible. Sometimes it’s a simple explanation, other times a plumber may be needed.

Not to mention it serves as early education as to what homeownership is like!

Dishes

If your children alternate on dish duty- make sure they know to avoid letting the faucet run! Younger kids may enjoy seeing their favorite rubber ducky float with them in the full sink. Getting creative and including unique symbols of green habits can mold the mind in great ways as they grow older.

Brown Grass and Pet Baths

Assuming you have children who you put in charge of washing the dog- take a look at your lawn first! If you see a patch of the yard that could use some nourishment, set them up for the bath there. Drag the hose and the dog to that spot and get a 2 for 1! A clean dog and a watered lawn!

On a hot day, set up the sprinkler before or after to help your kids cool down, water the lawn and get the dog ready for soaping!

Designated Drinking Glass or Bottle

Have your little one pick out a cute drinking glass or bottle, and assign it to them as the only thing they can drink water out of! Doing so will teach them to avoid wanting bottled water, and/or wasting multiple glasses throughout the day. They’ll learn to cut down unnecessary waste! Not only will they save landfills from more damaging plastic, but they’ll conserve the water it’d take to wash all the glasses they’d have otherwise dirtied.

Check back for more ways to help your kids learn to conserve at home!

General Water Conservation Tips: To Get You Started

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Water Conservation Tips

There are hundreds of ways to conserve water. As we’ve mentioned in other posts, every little thing you can do to conserve your natural resources will make a difference. It’s all about having a big picture mentality. When people envision themselves cutting back or changing their ways, they imagine it being more difficult than it will be. Consider the following water conservation tips to get you started on more eco-friendly routines:

In the Kitchen

Believe it or not, dishwashers are more efficient when it comes to washing dishes than the sink is. These days with Energy Star and the like- these machines are designed to use less water and energy. Nevertheless, avoid running it when it’s not filled.
If you don’t own a dishwasher, you can conserve water by not leaving the faucet running. Make use of both sides of the sink, filling one side with soap water and the other for rinsing.

Collect the water you use to rinse fruits and vegetables and use it to water your house plants!

Soak pots and pans instead of trying to scrub them with running water.

Even keeping a pitcher of drinking water in the fridge will help ensure every drop gets drunk!

For the Bathroom

Set a timer to 5 minutes for your showers- it may not sound like it but that’s plenty of time! Doing so will save 1,000 gallons of water per month.

Test your toilet once a year to see if there are leaks. Simply put food coloring in the tank and watch to see if it comes into the bowl. As soon as you fix it you’ll save gallons and gallons of water.

Avoid baths as possible- some tubs take up to 70 gallons of water when full! That’s a lot of water!

Not everyone enjoys this motto but it is effective- “If it’s yellow, let it mellow…”

Did you know one second of dripping water amounts to five gallons a day? Check faucets and showerheads for any leaks.

Overall Lifestyle

Be observant! If you’re in a position where you cannot fix a leak you notice- reach out to someone who can- Whether it be at a friends house or in a school or business.

Play games and give rewards to your children/family as they learn and demonstrate their own water conservation efforts. Make it fun!

Monitor your water bill to make sure you are up to speed with your consumption trends. Make it a goal to see all the numbers go down while not compromising your wellbeing.

Consider speaking with the people you work with to see if you can put together company incentives to limit water waste.

Encourage your local community, schools and government to support, educate and practice water conscious routines.

We will have many more water conservation tips for you over the coming weeks, stay tuned! Do not let these changes intimidate you, they’re easier to implement than you think. Like anything worth doing, it just takes time to get adjusted. It’s amazing how a little goes such a long way when it comes to living more green. Soon you won’t remember it ever being any other way!

Winter Water Conservation Tips

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Winter Water Conservation Tips

Over the coming weeks we will have many tips and tricks to conserving water. We wanted to start the series by mentioning some important ways to save water specifically during the cold winter months. Below are a few assorted winter water conservation tips- in no order of importance!

If your home tends to run cold no matter how much you try to keep it warm, or you have outdoor buildings- you may want to drip your faucets where pipes may freeze. Doing so can help prevent a pipe from bursting. To get the most of your efforts stick a bucket underneath the pipe as to collect the water to use for house plants.
Do you notice your shower takes longer to heat up in the winter than other times of the year? That’s because the pipes are cold. Instead of running the water much longer than normal waiting for warm water- call a plumber to price out the cost of getting your pipes insulated. You can be saving gallons of water!
Alternatively you could consider a new, more efficient water heater if yours has been around a long time.
A more general note toward shower water conservation, low-flow showerheads are ‘old school’, yes- but they’re the hero of this story. Save those 3,000 gallons by making the switch!
Keep up with the temperatures. As you likely already know, the changes in temperate from day to night can wreak havoc on your plumbing. The pipes will expand and contract depending on what temperatures they are exposed to. Leaks are far more likely to develop during the winter.
Be sure to have a plumber inspect the lines as soon as you suspect a problem, or when the cold is coming to a close.
You can purchase water leak detection systems if that’s your thing.
The winter season usually means a massive increase in dinner parties, get togethers and baking. Try to avoid the massive pile of dishes in the sink by utilizing dishwasher safe dishes, mixing bowls and cutlery.
Know where your water shut off is. In the event of any severe, catastrophic leaks you’ll want to be able to stop water flow immediately. Don’t be in a position where you waste tons of time (and water) while searching for it.