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Short answers to the three most-asked: bread — not harmful in tiny amounts, but nutritionally close to useless and best avoided. Porridge oats — fine raw, never cooked. Cheese — yes, mild and finely grated, in small quantities.
Below is the full list, with the reasoning, because “birds will eat it” and “it’s good for them” are very different things.
The three rules
- No salt. Birds can’t process it. This rules out most processed food
- Nothing mouldy. Some moulds cause fatal respiratory infections
- Nothing that congeals or swells — cooked oats, desiccated coconut, dry bread in quantity
The safe list
| Food | Safe? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Raw porridge oats | Yes | Good energy source. Uncooked only |
| Mild grated cheese | Yes | Mild cheddar, finely grated. Robins and wrens especially |
| Windfall apples and pears | Yes | Excellent. Bruised fruit is fine — better, in fact |
| Soaked raisins and sultanas | Yes | Soak first. See dog warning below |
| Unsalted cooked potato | Yes | Baked, boiled or roast — plain, cooled, no salt or fat |
| Plain cooked rice | Yes | Unsalted. White or brown, both fine |
| Pastry | In moderation | Cooked or uncooked, if made with animal fat. Small amounts |
| Unsalted fat and suet | Yes | Raw beef suet is good. See the cooking-fat warning |
| Unsalted, unroasted nuts | Yes | Crushed or grated. Never salted or roasted |
| Dried fruit (unsulphured) | Yes | Soaked. Blackbirds and thrushes take it readily |
| Cooked pasta | Small amounts | Plain, unsalted, no sauce |
| Bananas, grapes, berries | Yes | Chopped. Overripe is fine |
The avoid list
| Food | Why not |
|---|---|
| Bread (in quantity) | Bulk with almost no nutritional value. Fills birds up in place of proper food |
| Cooked porridge | Congeals around the beak and hardens, which can be fatal |
| Milk | Birds can’t digest lactose. Causes serious digestive upset |
| Desiccated coconut | Swells inside the bird after being eaten |
| Salted or roasted nuts | Salt is toxic to small birds in quantities we’d think trivial |
| Cooking fat from a roasting tin | Mixed with meat juices — goes rancid fast and smears feathers |
| Anything mouldy | Aspergillosis, a fatal respiratory infection |
| Processed leftovers | Too salty. Crisps, chips, ready meals, most savoury snacks |
| Chocolate | Toxic to birds, as it is to dogs |
| Avocado | Widely considered toxic to birds. Not worth the risk |
| Whole peanuts (breeding season) | Choking risk if carried whole to chicks. Mesh feeder only |
The bread question, properly answered
People feel strongly about this, so it’s worth setting out clearly.
Bread is not poisonous. A bird eating a few crumbs comes to no harm, and in genuinely severe weather a small amount of bread is better than nothing.
The problem is opportunity cost. A bird has limited stomach capacity and a high metabolic rate. Bread provides bulk without the fat, protein or oil it actually needs, so a bird that fills up on bread has less room for food that would keep it alive through a cold night. For chicks being fed bread by their parents, the consequences are more serious — poor growth and, in some cases, developmental problems.
It also gets damp, goes mouldy quickly, and attracts rats.
Verdict: not a crisis if you’ve been doing it, but sunflower hearts or suet cost little and do vastly more good.
The oats question
The distinction matters and it’s simple.
Raw porridge oats: fine. A useful carbohydrate source, taken by blackbirds, thrushes and sparrows. Scatter in small amounts.
Cooked porridge: no. Once cooked, oats become sticky. Around a bird’s beak this sets hard as it dries, and can make feeding impossible. This is a genuine, documented risk rather than excessive caution.
Same principle applies to any cooked, sticky starch.
The cheese question
Cheese is fine, with conditions.
- Mild only — mature or strong cheeses are too salty
- Finely grated — easier to handle and swallow
- Small amounts, cleared away the same day
- Never blue cheese or anything heavily processed
Robins and wrens take grated cheese particularly readily, and it’s a long-standing traditional food for good reason.
A warning about raisins and dogs
Raisins, sultanas and grapes are toxic to dogs, even in small quantities, and can cause kidney failure. If you have a dog with garden access, either skip dried fruit entirely or put it somewhere the dog genuinely cannot reach. This catches people out.
Seasonal timing still applies
Current RSPB guidance asks people to pause seeds and peanuts between 1 May and 31 October, while suet, fat balls and mealworms stay fine year-round.
Kitchen foods sit outside that framework, but the underlying principle applies: put out small amounts that are eaten the same day, don’t create a permanent flat feeding surface where food accumulates, and clear up what isn’t taken. See our seasonal feeding guide.
How to put kitchen food out
- Small amounts only — what will be gone by dusk
- Chop or grate so small birds can manage it
- Scatter directly on the ground, in a different spot each time, rather than on a fixed tray or table
- Clear up anything left before nightfall — leftovers attract rats
- Not in hot weather for anything that spoils quickly
Common questions
Is bread really that bad?
Not poisonous, but close to nutritionally worthless. The issue is that it displaces food birds actually need. Fine as a rare treat in tiny amounts; poor as a staple.
Can birds eat mealworms from the kitchen?
Dried mealworms sold for birds are ideal. Don’t confuse these with anything from a pet shop intended for reptiles, which may be treated differently.
What about bacon rind or cooked meat fat?
Best avoided — usually salted, and cooking fat mixed with meat juices goes rancid and can smear feathers. Use proper suet instead.
Can I put out leftover Christmas dinner?
Unsalted plain potato, plain cooked vegetables and unsalted fat are fine in small amounts. Anything seasoned, buttered, gravy-covered or salted isn’t.
Will kitchen scraps attract rats?
Yes, more readily than seed does. Put out only what’s eaten the same day and clear up before dark. See our guide to rats and bird feeders.
Can birds eat raw pastry?
In moderation, if made with animal fat. It’s calorific and takeable, but shouldn’t be a regular staple.
Related guides
- Best bird food for winter: what to put out and what to skip
- When to feed garden birds: the new UK guidance explained
- Rats under the bird feeder: how to stop attracting them
- What do blackbirds eat? How to feed and attract them
Sources: RSPB guidance on kitchen scraps and foods to avoid; British Trust for Ornithology feeding advice; RSPCA guidance on feeding wild birds.
Compare sunflower hearts and suet at Amazon UK. Prices and stock change often, so it is worth checking before you commit.
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