Knowledge base: Feeding garden birds
Can I put bread and kitchen scraps out for birds?
Mostly no. The RSPB’s list of foods to avoid includes salted foods, which it says dehydrate birds; cooked food, which can attract rats; and dry, hard foods or bread in spring and summer, because chicks can choke on them. It suggests seed, peanuts, insect foods such as mealworms, lard and beef suet, and bruised apples and pears instead.
What the RSPB lists to avoid
- Salted food. The RSPB says salted foods “dehydrate birds”.
- Cooked food. The RSPB says it “can attract unwanted visitors, such as rats”.
- Bread and dry, hard food in spring and summer. The risk the RSPB gives is that chicks can choke.
- Loose or poor-quality peanuts. Covered in are peanuts safe for garden birds?
- Dried fruit where pets roam. The RSPB notes that raisins and sultanas are toxic to cats and dogs, so only put them out in pet-free gardens. The BTO also warns that grapes, raisins, sultanas and currants are potentially poisonous to dogs.
What it suggests instead
The RSPB’s bird café page lists seed mixes, sunflower seeds or hearts, nyjer seed, peanuts, live or dried mealworms, lard and beef suet, and bruised fruit such as apples and pears. On fruit, its feeding page adds: “just make sure it’s not mouldy!”
Remember the season, too. From 1 May to 31 October, both the RSPB and the BTO ask you to pause seeds and peanuts. See should I stop feeding birds in summer?
Sources
- RSPB: Open a bird café, opened 14 November 2026.
- RSPB: Feeding birds near you, opened 14 November 2026.
- BTO: Feeding garden birds, opened 14 November 2026.