Several great questions you pose!! First, if you are the only humans around the lake and take care of the swans, there is nothing wrong with you hand-feeding them bread or lettuce. However, this feeding must be near water, especially for bread as the birds can choke. They need water to help get the food down their long throat. Grass or lettuce is not as hard for them to eat without water for a short period of time.

We ask if you are the only humans around the lake because if the swan becomes too friendly to humans, especially those that want to cause them harm or are afraid of them and lash out to protect themselves, then the over-friendliness is a detriment to the birds.

Also, if the birds are fed by hand from small children, the birds could accidently poke a child in the face, especially the eyes which would not be a good situation. If you are not the caretaker and too many other humans could interact with the birds, we would suggest that you throw the food down in the water or a small pan beside you. This way, the birds can associate you with the food and hopefully, will not accost other humans for food. The birds will also be provided the water that they need for digestion.

Swans have serrated mouths, not really teeth. The serrations are for tearing and pulling grasses and other aquatic vegetation. The serrations can be sharp if they are raked across a finger or hand. The worst part of the beak is the nib at the end of the beak which is very sharp. The bird will grab with the nib and then twist their entire neck and head to puncture and tear with a great deal of torque. Yes, take if from people who know, this does hurt. Many times, this occurs out of accident or if you get to close to the bird's cygnets, nest or habitat.

The best mixture is poultry (chicken) layer pellets and cracked corn. You can purchase these items at any feed store. The Regal Swan