Beef

[NickyPick]

I've noticed lately that when I take my chickens a bowl of scraps from cleaning out the fridge, they go crazy picking out all the pieces of beef out first before they move on to the veggies and fruits. It got me thinking - what does the grocery stores do with the, say hamburger, that just passes its due date? Do they toss it? I wonder if I could get it from them and cook it up for my hens - a little extra protein for this molting season. The dogs might appreciate it too. Anyone do this?

 

[NickyPick]

No suggestions? opinions? comments?

 

[devora]

I'm not positive, but think it is illegal for stores to give passed-date food out. It's the whole "passed-date" as in "this may harm you and you may get quite ill" gig.

 

[jerseychix]

Well, for dogs, ground beef is pretty high in fat and could lead to GI upset and/or pancreatitis. The latter of which is life threatening and requires hospitalization. But a little here and there is 1) inevitable and 2) ok

For the birds, they need protein as well, but probably not as much as comes in a diet with a lot of hamburger. Plus the iron content of hamburger will inhibit absorption of calcium, which will lead to problems down the line.

As for what happens to the meat in the grocery store, it is pulled on its sell by date and resold to a rendering plant and ends up in pet food. But there is probably less than you think, because they'll pull it and re-work it into patties and sell them half price. Someone always ends up buying it!

 

[7L Farm]

Personally, I wouldn't feed my birds something I wouldn't eat but thats just me. I couldn't afford to loose my birds after all I have put into them. I have quite a few birds though.

 

[NickyPick]

I'm not talking about old, gone bad, grey beef. I've had beef in my fridge and it still looks ok on the due date on the sticker. Stores have to CYA and probably hedge the date a little.

So, what would you do to add some protein to your chickens' diets? I've got some bald hens and want to give them all the extra they need to get feathered again, but don't want to break the bank!

 

[hemet dennis]

I'm not talking about old, gone bad, grey beef. I've had beef in my fridge and it still looks ok on the due date on the sticker. Stores have to CYA and probably hedge the date a little.

So, what would you do to add some protein to your chickens' diets? I've got some bald hens and want to give them all the extra they need to get feathered again, but don't want to break the bank!

Turn them loose to eat bugs.

 

[triplepurpose]

I see no real flaw in your idea. It sounds frugal and clever. A diet based to heavily all on one ingredient is never a good idea for an omnivore, but as part of a balanced diet, why not take advantage of something that would otherwise be chucked? Chickens can eat all kinds of meats, no problem, since they are natural scavengers, even if insects are the number one preference.

I would be reluctant myself to use poor quality generic beef from anonymous feedlot sources for the same reason I don't want to eat the stuff myself or have it lying around--the antibiotic residues, the virulent pathogen issues, the unhealthy nature of the fat structure in corn-fed beef, etc, etc. But if the beef came from a clean healthy source I wouldn't mind using it--actually I woudn't even bother cooking it for them. However, I am aware that others may not share my compunctions about the CAFO-based meat industry.

Some friends of mine collect fish scraps from a fish market nearby, freeze them, and then feed them to their flock of over a hundred layers along with many other scavenged feed items. They buy almost no feed at all.

 

[mini-micro rancher]

Our excellent butcher actually sells 'pet quality' scraps frozen into tubes. You ask and he'll tell you what that batch has 'mostly' in it. He does sell beef only, and chicken only, but you can get it mixed. It's almost always the offal that we humans are too picky to eat nowadays. It's dated, and marked, just like any other frozen meat.

On the other hand, my son volunteers for our local food bank doing pick up from the local stores. They DO turn over three or so days left meat to the food banks. He picked up a full tote of Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage one day last week, and then was shocked when he was shopping with me when he saw that the packages were $4 a pound. Anyhow, stores get rid of meat before the pull date, so they don't have to waste it out as a loss. A donation to the food bank can be written off of their taxes, and goes to a good cause.

And finally, Foster Farms pays return to processing on all their meat that does not sell before the pull date, at least they did this in the 90s. I know this because my father retired from there

. It's weird when my sister and I 'talk chicken' around him. He DID work on the refrigerated trucks, so not like the battery trucks or in processing, but sometimes it's awkward.

Good luck. If you find a good source, share!