{"id":431513,"date":"2026-02-18T02:42:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T02:42:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/431513\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T02:42:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T02:42:08","slug":"uk-households-warned-not-to-give-robins-breadcrumbs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/431513\/","title":{"rendered":"UK households warned not to give Robins breadcrumbs"},"content":{"rendered":"

While feeding birds can be beneficial, using the wrong foods may actually weaken them over time. Instead, specialists recommend switching to using a simple kitchen item that is better for their health and wellbeing. Here’s the small change that will help benefit robins in your garden.<\/a><\/p>\n

Robins are a common sight in UK gardens, especially in colder months, because as the seasons shift and urban areas grow, robins increasingly depend on domestic gardens for food, water, and shelter.<\/p>\n

Why you shouldn’t feed birds breadcrumbs\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to Country Life<\/a>, Val Osborne, the RSPB’s head of wildlife inquiries, revealed: “Bread doesn’t actually contain any of the vital ingredients to provide birds with the energy they need to breed and feed.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, bread can still help fill them up. If you are still keen on feeding robins your leftover bread, it is important to only give it to them in small quantities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wild bird food experts at Ivel Valley Bird Food<\/a> said to also soak the stale bread in water to soften it, then rip it\u00a0into small, digestible chunks. And of course, the fresher the bread, the better.<\/p>\n

“When it comes to bread, the same rules apply to birds as they do to humans – the healthier the better. Whole wheat, seeded breads offer more nutritional benefits than white bread and are often lower in chemical additives and salt,” the food expert reported.<\/p>\n

What to give robins instead of bread<\/p>\n

According to Mezzo Market<\/a>, the RSPCA recommends using a simple\u00a0shallow bowl or dish of water\u00a0as a way to help robins and other wild birds during the colder seasonal months.<\/p>\n

They stated: “Especially during dry spells or frosty mornings,\u00a0access to clean water can be life-saving. Birds don\u2019t just drink it\u2014they need it to clean their feathers, regulate body temperature, and fly properly.”<\/p>\n

To do this, use a dish no deeper than a couple of inches, then set it on level ground, preferably near shrubs or other cover. Put a stone or two inside to give birds an easy place to perch. Then ensure you refresh the water daily, especially in very cold or hot weather.<\/p>\n

If you want to feed birds, the experts recommend soaked dried fruit or mealworms. You can also provide unsalted and unroasted peanuts and sunflower hearts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While feeding birds can be beneficial, using the wrong foods may actually weaken them over time. Instead, specialists…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":431514,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[2851,21021,154871,157880,157878,927,6738,157881,90,13710,56,54,55,1426,157879,4407],"class_list":{"0":"post-431513","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-animals","9":"tag-birds","10":"tag-bowl","11":"tag-breadcrumbs","12":"tag-feeding-birds","13":"tag-garden","14":"tag-gardening","15":"tag-kitchen-item","16":"tag-science","17":"tag-seeds","18":"tag-uk","19":"tag-united-kingdom","20":"tag-unitedkingdom","21":"tag-water","22":"tag-what-to-give-robins","23":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=431513"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431513\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/431514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=431513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=431513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=431513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}