Bugs in the chicken feed

[Sequel]

I just picked up a bag of feed today and I made the guy find the mill date before we took it to the car. It was July 31 so I think I'm good! Thanks for starting this thread because it made me remember to check!

 

[Al Gerhart]

Those looked a lot like meal worm adults to me, could be wrong. Meal worms in a commercial flock are bad news as they eat the dead chickens that die and get covered up in the litter. Then you have whatever killed the bird being spread around along with rotting chicken being on the menu. But I don't believe those bugs are going to harm your birds if they are feeding on feed. Even rotting feed probably wouldn't pass anything on if the bugs ate it and in turn were eaten.

 

[RenoHuskerDu]

SNIP
Meal worms in a commercial flock are bad news as they eat the dead chickens that die and get covered up in the litter. Then you have whatever killed the bird being spread around along with rotting chicken being on the menu.

Wait, wut? In commercial chicken flocks there can be dead chickens just rotting there under all the poop? Crikey, no wonder they have to clean supermarket chicken meat with chlorine bleach. Which introduces trihalomethanes.

We eat a lot of wild hog meat, gotta freezer full right now. Safer when you skin and butcher it yourself, on ice right away. Then cook it well, stew it overnight, never rare. There's an apparently inexhaustible supply of wild hogs in Texas. We had 15 out at the deer feeder the other afternoon in broad daylight. We don't hunt deer around here.

 

[blackandtan]

Wait, wut? In commercial chicken flocks there can be dead chickens just rotting there under all the poop? Crikey, no wonder they have to clean supermarket chicken meat with chlorine bleach. Which introduces trihalomethanes.

We eat a lot of wild hog meat, gotta freezer full right now. Safer when you skin and butcher it yourself, on ice right away. Then cook it well, stew it overnight, never rare. There's an apparently inexhaustible supply of wild hogs in Texas. We had 15 out at the deer feeder the other afternoon in broad daylight. We don't hunt deer around here.

OMG wild boar is the best!!! If more people caught on to that they’d be hunted out of existence, and end of feral problem
If I could I’d have a freezer full myself but so far they’re only just becoming a problem here in Canada, and none in Ontario

 

[Al Gerhart]

Wait, wut? In commercial chicken flocks there can be dead chickens just rotting there under all the poop? Crikey, no wonder they have to clean supermarket chicken meat with chlorine bleach. Which introduces trihalomethanes.

We eat a lot of wild hog meat, gotta freezer full right now. Safer when you skin and butcher it yourself, on ice right away. Then cook it well, stew it overnight, never rare. There's an apparently inexhaustible supply of wild hogs in Texas. We had 15 out at the deer feeder the other afternoon in broad daylight. We don't hunt deer around here.

Yup, once they croak the other birds stomp them right into the litter and you won't see them till you step on one and hear the squish or crunch.

I always heard that wild hog is gamey tasting, even the sows. Not true? Can you make bacon with it safely?

 

[Folly's place]

Mature boars are 'gamey' for sure!
You can smell the 'boar bacon', not so nice.
Mary

 

[Al Gerhart]

So go after the sows or very young piglets. Interesting, I might need to take up hog hunting.

 

[Folly's place]

Happily, there haven't been any feral pigs around here, although they do exist in Michigan. The DNR wants them shot if seen, and hogs do breed like rabbits!
Mary

 

[RenoHuskerDu]

SNIP
I always heard that wild hog is gamey tasting, even the sows. Not true? Can you make bacon with it safely?

My wife is an excellent cook. The first couple tries were a bit tough and gamey. But now she can even make it into brisket or that shredded meat you pay an arm and a leg for at fajitas restaurants.

The key to reducing the initial gaminess is to take pigs that are putting on weight. That means young 'uns, especially pregnant sows. Which to choose depends on how big your family is. We have so many hogs around here that we can easily pick and choose which to shoot. There are monster males that you'd never want to eat, leaving rub marks on telephone poles up to 3 feet high! Hogs roll in mud then rub it off on trees or poles.

I'm surprised that you don't have them further up north. We lived in Alsace France, which is as far north as the Canadian border, and saw plenty of wild hogs there too. A favorite for country parties was to roast one on a spigot over a fire, and just tear off chunks to serve the partygoers. The French are excellent cooks.

 

[RenoHuskerDu]

Mature boars are 'gamey' for sure!
You can smell the 'boar bacon', not so nice.
Mary

My wife does make bacon with it. It has to be pretty darn salty, so we eat it in moderation.