Meat for chickens; yes or no??

[Scots in France]

Our chickens will eat cat food whenever they get the chance, so I mix the powder from the bottom of the cat biscuits bag in with their "porridge"...
They catch mice in the coops - big treat!
They have also been seen catching and eating baby snakes!
You can absolutely see just how little evolution has taken place between dinosaurs and modern day chickens

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Isn't the liver the only organ that stores toxins much? The kidneys, skin, lungs, the intestines also clear toxins from the body but I don't think any of them store what they remove.

I feed lungs, intestines, skin back to my other birds. Its possible the kidneys don't actually store much (though having eaten kidney steak pie, it would be a challenge to convince me of that, kidney has a very distinct flavor and texture which strongly suggests to my palate that it concentrates metals, at least) - but they are also in an inconvenient spot, so I mostly wash them out with the hose while cleaning the organ cavity rather than making effort to protect them to feed back to the birds.

Perhaps lazy of me. If so, guilty.

 

[saysfaa]

Salt is very good for you. The Japanese have almost double the daily salt intake as Americans and they have the longest lifespan on Earth. The myth of salt being dangerous is due to a single faulty study done in the 80s

I almost completely agree.

I don't think it is quite as simple as a single study. That is how the myth started and has caused a LOT of damage.

But everything is dangerous at some dose. Even water. And diet isn't in a vacuum.

For myself, there is some evidence that salt affects the progression of osteoporosis (at least in a western setting); if I lived in Japan, I might be less concerned if the Japanese eat a lot of salt and don't have much osteoporosis. That could mean something helpful is common there but not here or something harmful is common here but not there.

For the chickens, I have more faith in the research on the best amount of salt for chickens than I have in the research on the best amount of salt for people.

 

[MiMito3]

So feeding question.

As chickens are omnivores.
Does it hurt them to eat meat every once in awhile??

I’ve seen a growing trend of people feeding their chickens meat scraps.

We’ve even given ours turkey breast carcasses to clean (was cooked). Or oats that soaked up some bacon grease for protein & fat.

But regardless of opinions; I would like to know the science of it.
Whether it’s bad or fine.

I’m in the camp of it’s fine as again they’re omnivores. They eat meat when they get it.

You wouldn’t expect a black bear not to eat meat because they’re an omnivore.
But I don’t want to harm my animals either.

Mine absolutely love meat and they’re very healthy so far.

 

[MiMito3]

I almost completely agree.

I don't think it is quite as simple as a single study. That is how the myth started and has caused a LOT of damage.

But everything is dangerous at some dose. Even water. And diet isn't in a vacuum.

For myself, there is some evidence that salt affects the progression of osteoporosis (at least in a western setting); if I lived in Japan, I might be less concerned if the Japanese eat a lot of salt and don't have much osteoporosis. That could mean something helpful is common there but not here or something harmful is common here but not there.

For the chickens, I have more faith in the research on the best amount of salt for chickens than I have in the research on the best amount of salt for people.

If salt was bad for you my husband would have died 40 years ago. He oversalts everything and is healthy as can be.

 

[BlessedChaosHomestead]

In this case, the FDA really said, "how about you be a *little* more specific".

Yeah, I have some issues with some of FDA's decisions, but this one seems rather reasonable all around.

Ahh 10-4; yeah true.
That way you know exactly what’s there.

 

[ArizonaSky]

I gave mine the leftover shrimp last week. They didn't turn their beaks up at it.

 

[Chopper923]

Salt is very good for you. The Japanese have almost double the daily salt intake as Americans and they have the longest lifespan on Earth. The myth of salt being dangerous is due to a single faulty study done in the 80s

Right! One of the problems with our salt intake is that we consume the wrong type of salt. Like most of the store-bought food, table salt is over-processed, which removes the magnesium (we are so depleted of magnesium!), calcium, and potassium. It is also bleached and heated, changing the chemical structure which then makes it unusable to our body's cells. Beneficial salts would be Celtic salt and Himalayan salt. Redmond is a reputable brand.

 

[Mountain Roost]

The dog would be greatly offended if we gave the chickens her meaty tidbits from dinner.

 

[Chrugger]

So feeding question.

As chickens are omnivores.
Does it hurt them to eat meat every once in awhile??

I’ve seen a growing trend of people feeding their chickens meat scraps.

We’ve even given ours turkey breast carcasses to clean (was cooked). Or oats that soaked up some bacon grease for protein & fat.

But regardless of opinions; I would like to know the science of it.
Whether it’s bad or fine.

I’m in the camp of it’s fine as again they’re omnivores. They eat meat when they get it.

You wouldn’t expect a black bear not to eat meat because they’re an omnivore.
But I don’t want to harm my animals either.

This might be too much of a nuance, but I would argue that chickens are actually opportunistic carnivores or insectivores, and are fine eating grains or pellet feed if that's what we give them, but always prefer bugs and other small protein sources. In general chicken farming, we just need to keep track of their overall macros (protein, fat, and carbs) and make sure they're balanced (along with balanced micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals). Industrialized feed gives them the specific macros they need, and pretty cheap, but I believe the trend of feeding meat scraps (especially leftover from butchers/meat farms) to chickens is from folks trying to get away from industrialized feed to either reduce cost or feed their flock more naturally. They usually also feed them separate carb and fat sources (i.e. seeds and microgreens). Chickens love meat, but you just have to make sure their macros are balanced or you'll end up with a deficiency or decreased egg production somewhere down the road.