anyone else feed road kill?

[NYRIR]

Ummmmm....no.

 

[ChickyLove]

I can't even get my chicks to eat grapes. Roadkill is definitely a no go!

... and ew.

 

[goldtopper]

I'd eat it............but I'd never feed it to my chickens!

 

[Opa]

When I butcher deer I place the trimmed carcass in the run to let the birds get the rest of the meat of the bones. The have a ball with it.

 

[classicsredone]

We mostly get dead skunks around here. Yuck. I think even the chickens wouldn't want to touch that.

I haven't picked up roadkill, but I probably wouldn't hesitate if I hit a deer or other animal. Chickens eat meat. They aren't herbivores. One of the most common feeds, Layena Sun Fresh, is animal protein free. They don't list what else is in the bag of course, but they tout it being vegetarian. I'm eating what my chickens eat if you think about it, so I want to know what they're eating. Fresh roadkill is probably fine. When I lived in the sticks, the deer would usually be hit while they were crossing to the irrigation ditch for a drink of water.

 

[jaseyboy1986]

I'm loving this thread, there's a real divide. I've not fed my flock road kill but I've never thought about doing it as it's never crossed my mind. I don't see the problem with it, it's extra protein for them, they would (no doubt) love it, chickens are natural scavengers so naturally they would eat road kill if they came across it next to the road. I would probably be okay with feeding road kill to the chickens if they are not too badly damaged (I.e squashed as a pancake).

As for those saying you don't know why the animal was walking by the side of the road, most small animals will gain heat from the road on a cold morning, some birds use grit and stones from the road side (as do chickens of course) to aid digestion but most animals that are killed on the road, I'm sure, have nothing wrong with them prior to being hit and have just unfortunately (or fortunately in the eyes of the road kill collector) ran through or been chased through some hedgerows, tall grass etc. right into the road having not known there was a road there. So in my honest opinion (and please bear in mind, we are all entitled to one) you can definitely feed your chooks road kill.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Considering that I eat what my hens produce, NO WAY!

Considering where eggs come from, I would think that eating an egg produced with the help of a little road kill would be the least of your worries.

 

[Papas Chickens]

I remember reading a few post on this thread from people who say they eat freshly hit deer, which I think this sounds like a really creative idea to get a lot of fresh, free meat.  I was wondering, does it affect the meat that the animal was not immediately bleed out or does is it sometimes bruised from where it was hit?

In some states you are required to contact Fish and Game when you hit a big game animal such as deer, elk, moose, ect. If you dont and they find out you can get fined and or get your hunting privledges takin away for a certain amount of time.