Should we help swans in winter?

Every year with the onset of frost we receive questions about whooper swans that have stayed to winter in city’s ponds. People care about birds and want to help them but that help should be reasonable and not harmful.

☝️ Therefore, for all connoisseurs of these beautiful white birds we remind you of the recommendations from the head of the Mezhyhirsky Swan Shelter, Serhiy Grigoriev, the leading biologist of Kyiv Zoo, regarding helping swans in winter ⬇

✔ If you saw swans on a pond in winter don’t make a fuss. These birds usually winter in the territory of Ukraine where there is open water. They keep in groups and fly to other reservoirs. A swan may not eat for several days, it has enormous reserves of energy. Mute swans tolerate temperatures down to -15°, they have very warm feathers.

✔ In most cases they do not need help. You need to pay attention to swans that are kept separately or those that are not active, spend the night on the shore (not on the water), sleep a lot, hiding their heads under their wings, as well as those that have obvious physical injuries, wounds. Or have foreign objects on them that prevent them from eating and moving. Regarding such birds we advise you to contact Kyiv Animal Rescue Team who will assess the situation from their own experience. And if necessary they will catch and hand over the bird to the Mezhyhirsky Swan Shelter (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077291046231)

🦢❕ It is necessary to remember that by feeding waterfowl we wean them from independent search for food.

If you still decide to help the swan then you must do it CORRECTLY:

👌 FEED ONLY WHOLE GRAIN AND SEASONAL VEGETABLES: wheat, corn, barley, oats, cabbage, carrots, beets, etc.. Pour this grain mixture along the edge of the water. A feeder or a bowl is not needed as a swan is a wild bird.

❌ Do not try to feed а bird with loaves and buns!

‼ IMPROPER FEEDING LEADS TO DISEASE AND DEATH OF BIRDS SO IT IS IMPORTANT TO HELP DO NO HARM

🦢  Whooper swan is a waterfowl of the duck family. A nesting, migratory, wintering species in Ukraine.

Length: up to 160 cm.
Wingspan: 200 cm.
Weight: male 10-13 kg, female about 10 kg.
Habits: couples spend their whole lives together; if one of the partners dies, the other soon creates a new pair.
Food: aquatic plants, watercress, grasses and grains.
Life span: can live up to 50 years, most live no more than 7 years.
Sexual maturity: from 2-3 years.
Nesting period: from March.
Laying: 1 per season.
Number of eggs: 5-8 eggs.
Incubation: 36 days.
Feeding chicks: 3-4 months.