Does Feeding Raw Rice To Wild Birds Dangerous?
No, eating rice is not dangerous to birds – many wild birds eat rice as a major part of their diet. And before you ask, Alka Seltzer will not make them explode, either – these are just two of the bird-related myths that the highly respected publication, Bird Watchers Digest, debunked in an article.
“1. You should not throw rice at the bride and groom at weddings because birds eat it and it swells up in their stomach and kills them. Sometimes the myth goes that it causes them to explode.
Not true. If it were, there would be exploding bird stories all over the national press every June. Think about it. Lots of birds feast in rice fields every year, irritating rice farmers to distraction. If eating rice caused birds to explode, most rice fields would look like a popcorn machine in the harvest season, with little puffs and explosions providing constant entertainment. Quite a vision, and one that the press would never miss.
And there is no difference between rice in fields and rice in bags from the supermarket. Birds have no trouble digesting rice, or any other “expanding” vegetable. I am all in favor of throwing birdseed at weddings, which is what proponents of this myth urge as a solution. I like the symbolism of throwing birdseed. But rice is fine, too.
4. Exploding gulls.
Another exploding bird myth. I wonder why we are so attached to myths where something blows up. Must be the drama.
This myth proposes that if you feed a gull an Alka Seltzer tablet it will swallow the offering and when the lethal charge gets into the stomach and dissolves, the expanding gasses will cause the bird to explode. Every year there is another story about some mean kids doing this. Oddly, it always involves New Jersey.
After you stop giggling at the image of gulls exploding like flying land mines all over the Jersey shore, the unlikelihood of the myth starts to intrude. If it were true, it would be a big story. I can see the coverage now: Dan Rather in his safari jacket, standing on the windswept coast, hair blowing in the wind, gull feathers raining down in the background; PBS specials (who can resist the vision of a gull, cheerfully flying along and then suddenly exploding, right in front of the camera?); exposés in the tabloids.
If the body could not handle a little Alka Seltzer without an explosion, it wouldn’t be legal to sell the stuff over the counter. If it caused gulls to explode, there would be a rash of reports every year. I do not know the physiological process by which the body processes a tablet swallowed whole (and I have no interest in trying), but I assume it involves, among other things, a fair amount of belching and a slightly gassy feeling. Actually, if I ate some of the stuff that gulls do, I would be thrilled to have a little relief, but they seem to do fine without it.”http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/site/b…
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YES!!!!!!!!! IT EXPANDS IN THERE STOMACH AND CAN KILL THEM
Yes, very. That’s why it has been banned at most wedding sites, and you can only throw seeds. When a bird eats raw rice, it eats enough to fill its stomach. The rice however, is an expanding food, and can cause the stomach to rupture, killing the birds. It’s very sad!
Ya its dangerous to you and the birds. The birds could attack you and the birds could coak on the rice. If you want to feed them something try grain, nuts, seeds.
Yes, you will kill them.