Can dog food be used to supplement chickens calcium intake?

[Arlen1234]

first of all I am not giving my flock dog food. I was just thinking because of dogs diet it must be high in calcium & protein , if you have like layer hens that need lots of protein & calcium can dog food be used?
Guys tell me what you think about it?

 

[Sweetcheekslisa]

first of all I am not giving my flock dog food. I was just thinking because of dogs diet it must be high in calcium & protein , if you have like layer hens that need lots of protein & calcium can dog food be used?
Guys tell me what you think about it?

Meal worms or crushed oyster shells are good supplements

 

[Ruby Rogue]

I've heard of cat food being fed to chickens as treats but nothing about dog food was mentioned. Anyone know why cat food is on the list of safe treats but dog food isn't? Is dog food safe?

 

[Arlen1234]

yes I would like to know why cat food and not dog food?

 

[Kiraeh]

I can't think of any way that dog food would be bad off the top of my head, more that cat food would be better. You see it recommended most often for sick or molting chickens and it would be superior to dog food in those situations as the protein is higher and it's more nutrient-dense.

 

[Folly's place]

Better to feed a quality chicken diet, with oyster shell in a separate dish, rather than trying to 'improve' something that's inadequate in the first place.
Mary

 

[rosemarythyme]

I give mine a little bit of dog food, mostly since I don't have a cat and the dog food dust gets tossed otherwise. Good enough for the dogs, good enough for the chickens. I wouldn't use it as a calcium supplement though.

 

[LaFleche]

Well, taking in account that what you put inside the hens comes out enveloped in an eggshell...

I do not know what exactly the ingredients of dogfood in the US are, but I would not want to eat all kinds of animal lymphatic glands, gonads, thyroid glands, eyeballs, grated hoofs, stinking used fat of dubious origin, chicken feathers, claws and beaks and euthanized pet animals... just to name a few... All this "spiced" up with all kinds of artificial colourants, flavours and attractants

Calcium phosphate or oyster shells can be purchased at the feed store and to provide additional animal protein you might give them some ground beef or some scrambled eggs of their own production which would be even cheaper than commercial dog or cat food.

 

[LaFleche]

I've heard of cat food being fed to chickens as treats but nothing about dog food was mentioned. Anyone know why cat food is on the list of safe treats but dog food isn't? Is dog food safe?

Might be the difference in salt.

 

[Folly's place]

That's not an accurate ingredient list of what goes into dog food, at least legally, BUT as a calcium supplement, it's a fail, completely.
Oyster shell and a good diet are best.
mary