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Fat lot of good! (1 Viewer)

A very good thing to bring to people's attention, Pam. I have to admit that it has never occurred to me to put out the turkey fat. I was rather surprised to see that uncooked rice was suggested as I would have thought that would swell and be indigestible for the birds.

I have a huge sack of seed and another of peanuts freshly in and, of course, basics scones!
 
Pam_m said:
Timely advice!


Many people put the leftover contents of Christmas dinner roasting tins outside, wrongly believing that it is as beneficial to birds as other fats like lard and suet.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/details.asp?id=tcm:9-237136
Click to expand...

Hi Pam

Thank you for bringing this article to our attention.

I have to admit that I never in my own mind thought that giving 'meat' fat to any bird is a good idea at all.

Certain fats like scones, cheese etc, yes, but not heavily seasoned, greasy fat at all. :eek!:
Another issue is trying to keep the salt at bay. I have heard that salt is close to being lethal to birds too. :-C

Just makes us think about what we need to do help birds. o:)

Regards
Kathy
x
 
Thanks Pam! I must admit I am giggling at the thought of exploding birds! It wasn't that I thought they would explode, more that I thought it would swell and give them a bad stomach, but I am glad to see it doesn't. However, I think I will stick to giving them left over cooked rice and pasta (I still think I am cooking for 4!).
 
Kits said:
Thanks Pam! I must admit I am giggling at the thought of exploding birds! It wasn't that I thought they would explode, more that I thought it would swell and give them a bad stomach, but I am glad to see it doesn't. However, I think I will stick to giving them left over cooked rice and pasta (I still think I am cooking for 4!).
Click to expand...

I know what you mean, Kits! Can you imagine an exploding Wood Pigeon....no, don't even go there.lol!!:-O
 
Some timely warnings there Pam. I found the comments on uncooked rice very interesting. Thanks for both links.

Baz.
 
BazR said:
Some timely warnings there Pam. I found the comments on uncooked rice very interesting. Thanks for both links.

Baz.
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My pleasure and thanks for your reply, Baz! :t:

Sometimes a seemingly mundane and perhaps silly sounding question ie:Do chickens explode when you feed them uncooked rice?, as asked in one of the links, enlightens us to something that we hadn't given too much thought to or even questioned.

The beautiful thing about learning is nobody can take it away from you.--B. B. King
 
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I'm glad I read that 'cos I have been guilty of putting fat out but no more, always doubted the uncooked rice thing though.


Mick
 
Mickymouse said:
I'm glad I read that 'cos I have been guilty of putting fat out but no more, always doubted the uncooked rice thing though.


Mick
Click to expand...

I doubt you are on your own, Mick! To be honest I have in the past soaked stale bread in the fat! Like yourself, 'no more' in future!
 
I've never put kitchen fat out for the birds, coz I'm basically lazy. LOL I have always bought fat balls & also now the packs of fat pellets for birds.
 
Lol, Val!:-O I put fat balls and suet pellets out too. I have to say that the suet pellets go mushy very quickly in rainy or snowy weather though!
 
Pam, they aren't there long enough to go mushy in my garden, if the little birds don't eat them the Corvids do, they have got quite good at hovering while clinging to the feeders.:-O
 
I was pleased to see on BBC News Breakfast this morning the subject of 'turkey and goose fat' was being discussed! So the masses now know not to put the fats out for the birdies! Thames Water had representatives in the studio telling of the build up of waste fats in the sewerage system and asked people to dispose of the waste in the bin instead of down the drain! An RSPB representative talked via telephone and stressed the importance of not putting the fats out for birds, another hazard besides damaging feathering is the risk of Salmonella! The RSPB stressed the need to feed garden birds especially during the cold spell, they also got a plug in for the BGBW at the end of January 2010!

From the BBC website:
What to do with the Christmas fat?

You've probably already planned your Christmas dinner, turkey, pigs in blankets, roast potatoes and gravy which all involves a lot of waste fat. So what do you do with it when the cooking is finished?

A group of sewer cleaners have got so fed up of people pouring fat down the drain, they've made a festive plea for them to stop. This year a choir of Singing Sewermen and women who ensure that London's sewers keep moving, have sang a reworked version of 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen' entitled 'This Christmas Think of Sewermen', part of Thames Water's 'Bin it; don't block it' campaign to combat sewer abuse.

You can watch their song on youtube by clicking:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-ZhBXaEqAM

So as an alternative many of you have told us you feed the fat to the birds along with bread and left over food. This sounds like a great idea but the RSPB's have advised us NOT to do this because giving your turkey fat to birds can kill them!

For more advice on looking after the wildlife in your garden please visit the RSPB website.

Well done the BBC for highlighting this important news!:t:
 
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