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That chickens are vegetarians is one of the many misconceptions out there. They are omnivores- they will eat just about anything they can catch, including mice and lizards. I have more than once watched my chickens play keep-away with a frog they found underneath some leaves. It made me laugh when I looked out my window one day and saw one of my roosters smacking a baby snake against the ground to break it up so he could eat it. No, it will not encourage them to eat each other. . . mainly because they are cannibalistic anyway. You can bet if one of mine died in the middle of the night and I didn't discover the body until well after daylight that the living chickens would have no qualms about eating their flockmate. That's why on BYC we say, "Don't faint in the coop, you'll wake up missing an arm!" Chickens are related to dinosaurs, after all. They like meat, they absolutely crave protein. I mean, are they supposed to pluck the protein they need to make eggs or meat out of the air? No, they need it in their food. Now, some people absolutely do not feed their chickens any poultry meat at all so as to avoid spreading disease, and that I understand. And I would never, ever feed them raw poultry. But if I get KFC, they get to clean off the bones. At Thanksgiving, they clean the turkey carcass. They get freezerburned venison and the occasional can of cat food. Trust me, they love it!
That chickens are vegetarians is one of the many misconceptions out there. They are omnivores- they will eat just about anything they can catch, including mice and lizards. I have more than once watched my chickens play keep-away with a frog they found underneath some leaves. It made me laugh when I looked out my window one day and saw one of my roosters smacking a baby snake against the ground to break it up so he could eat it. No, it will not encourage them to eat each other. . . mainly because they are cannibalistic anyway. You can bet if one of mine died in the middle of the night and I didn't discover the body until well after daylight that the living chickens would have no qualms about eating their flockmate. That's why on BYC we say, "Don't faint in the coop, you'll wake up missing an arm!" Chickens are related to dinosaurs, after all. They like meat, they absolutely crave protein. I mean, are they supposed to pluck the protein they need to make eggs or meat out of the air? No, they need it in their food. Now, some people absolutely do not feed their chickens any poultry meat at all so as to avoid spreading disease, and that I understand. And I would never, ever feed them raw poultry. But if I get KFC, they get to clean off the bones. At Thanksgiving, they clean the turkey carcass. They get freezerburned venison and the occasional can of cat food. Trust me, they love it!
