Feeding chicken to chickents

[turkeymom]

I've seen it mentioned on here to feed cooked chicken or cat food (which contains chicken) to hens to increase their protein.
Isn't this how cows get mad cow (from eating cow remains)?
Is this a problem for chickens, too?
Just curious.

 

[gritsar]

No, it's not a problem.

 

[WV_Chicken]

I think the idea is disgusting. Why make your chickens into cannibals??

 

[Miss Lydia]

My chickens have had left over [cooked] chicken, they also have eaten natural hot dogs they love it and their very own scrambled eggs. I wouldn't feed them raw or uncooked meat.

 

[True Grit]

I'm very leery of feeding same to same species. It is a practice that causes disease in cattle, sheep and humans. I know poultry fat is fed to commercial poultry but I'm not sure if poultry meal is fed to poultry. I'm going to ask someone I know in the business and let you know.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Chickens don't need any encouragement to be cannibals. Neither do alot of other creatures I can think of when a flock/pack member dies. It's only offensive to humans.
To chickens, the tasty meat you feed them is good protein, nothing more, nothing less.

 

[Chris09]

Quote:
Just a heads up. There all ready cannibals and have been for a good long time.
Chickens are like Ants to honey when it comes to meat and they don't care what type of meat it is, there a true carnivore.

Chris

 

[treeclimber233]

I think the mad cow disease was spread to healthy cows by feeding an already sick cow back to healthy cows. Cows were not created to be meat eaters (unless you count the ocassional catapillar or grasshopper) like chickens are. Show a cow a chunk of meat and the best they will do is maybe smell it. Then show the same meat to a chicken and see what happens. (hint: don't hold it in your hand too long while the chickens are there.)

 

[Tomhusker]

I believe the Mad Cow disease was transferred when parts of an infect cow's nervous system was added to the meal, then the feed.

 

[Year of the Rooster]

As stated, chickens will only become cannibalistic when the opportunity is presented to them. But that meat they are exposed to is raw, rather than cooked like the meat we would feed them. There is no blood in the cooked meat and has a completely different taste than that of the raw meat. Thus, the chickens don't associate the cooked chicken to that of their own species. Another thing, chickens aren't mammals so the Mad Cow Disease doesn't apply to them. Different Phylum, different DNA, different diseases...