(812) 422-5761 (Pike's Mattress)
The Garvin Foundation
Raising awareness about helping our feathered and furry friends.
Know what they can eat
Educating the next generation
Know what they can eat
While feeding bread to ducks and geese at the park seems like a nice thing to do it is not good for them or the park. Bread will harm the growth of baby ducks and geese. It also contaminates the water supply.
Helping the injured
Educating the next generation
Know what they can eat
Fishing line wrapped around a leg can be deadly to an animal. Broken wings, beaks and more can be painful. The Garvin Foundation is committed to helping teach, prevent, and heal our feathered friends.
Educating the next generation
Educating the next generation
Educating the next generation
Education is critical to The Garvin Foundation's Mission. Teaching the next generation how to interact and protect our feathered friends can be fun and inspirational for the kids and instructors.
Donations
Contact us
Educating the next generation
Any donations are welcomed no matter how big or small. Whether its a bag of food for $9 or a trip to the vet $350+, every dollar helps.
Know what they can eat.
Before you grab that loaf of bread to take to the park for the ducks and geese you need to read this
DON"T FEED THEM BREAD!!! It is bad for them. While they love it, bread is very bad for animals. Growing up as a kid we took day old bread to the park all the time. I loved it. But I had no idea that bread was bad for them. It wasn't until many years later that I found out that it isn't just not good for them but can be dangerous for them in many ways. The bread offers absolutely ZERO nutrients for them. But it fills them up. So they get full but no nutrients. Basically you it is like eating all candy an no veggies.
So I'm sure your next question is "what can I feed them?". Natural grains. Bird seed, and cracked corn. They like cracked corn and it is good for them. We get it from Rural King here in town for about $9.00 for a 50lb bag. We feed them every day so we go through a lot of it but if you are feeding casually it can last a long time. And you can rest assured that you aren't doing them any harm.
So next you think "well I'm sure a little bread won't hurt them" and you are almost right. A little from time to time won't. But if you are feeding them at the park then keep in mind that A LOT of people are feeding them "just a little" and it adds up to disaster. And feeding the babies bread is worse than feeding the adults. Baby geese and ducks are not much different than human babies in that they need certain vitamins and nutrients. Feeding them too much bread causes their muscles to develop faster than their bones and they develop a condition called Angel Wing. It is painful because the muscle actually flips and twists before it can grow. And what's worse is that Angel Wing can prevent them from being able to migrate (fly south for the winter) with their family in the fall. That means they are left alone and vulnerable to predators.
And if all that isn't bad enough, the bread contaminates the water and can cause botulism. I know it sounds ridiculous but it molds and turns into a slimy texture and with enough people tossing bread into the lake it can cause some pretty nasty diseases.
And if you must give them bread don't give them molded bread. It is deadly to them. We aren't talking it might kill them kind of deadly, rather it is DEADLY to them and WILL kill them. So make sure you don't feed them moldy food.
Join our Rescue Group
There is no greater feeling than rescuing an animal
It is truly a wonderful feeling when you help an injured creature and watch it go free. The photo above was first one we captured with a net and cut the fishing line off his foot. I swear to you when we let him go he ran a few steps from us before turning and looking at us like he was saying "Thank you". It was amazing.
But as you could imagine catching a goose is not easy. It takes more people than just us. The more people that are there the better we can guide the goose to the guy with the net. Yes, we have a netgun but prefer not to use it because it scares the daylights out of the geese and reduces their trust in us. So when we rescue them we try with a large hand net first. We feed them and everyone slowly circles around the injured goose and guides him to the net man.
You can contact us to be put on the call list or join our Rescue group on our Facebook page. No experience is required. We will contact you through there. And don't worry, we won't give out your information to anyone. We would only cont'act you for goose/duck emergencies.
Learn More
Follow us on Facebook for updates and join our rescue group to be called upon when we have a rescue. While we can't rescue them all we all can help when we can. And with enough volunteers we can make a difference.