Can you feed broilers with broiler meat.

[Slinkytoys]

I am the owner/operator of a pet crematory. I started this because one of my dear friend's husband manages a rendering plant in Delaware. I didn't want my deceased pets to end up as dog food. Yes, euth'd pets ARE rendered down with the proceeds used for livestock and pet feeds. What do you think "Meat and meat by-products" are????? If it were beef or chicken, it would be listed as such. The end result of the rendering (after the fat is pressed out) is the reduced fur, skin etc..... which is then further processed and made into the other feeds. So, animals who were euth'd or died of cancer ARE included. Some vets have a crematory service for the disposal of dead pets, others use the rendering plants. Some crematories will sell the communal bodies to fertilizer companies. I don't, but can't tell others what to do. The cremains are simply reduced down to bone meal, wonderful for rosebeds. I guess you could say it is a "green" thing to do.
Most of my clients opt for an individual cremation with the cremains being returned to them. I've met some wonderful people and try to make this unhappy time as easy for them as I can.
We talk about people being too sanitized and not knowing where their food comes from (Chicken butt???), perhaps we are guilty of the same thing in just a different area.
Slinky

 

[Keara]

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Most animals in the pound are killed with CO2, not chemicals. It's much cheaper.

 

[johnscalido]

Please do not get me wrong. I am not being sentimental. I am not holding onto the ethos of whether doing this is right or wrong. My question is simply "can you feed broilers with broiler meat". I think the question is pretty straight forward. I did not phrase it as "can you feed broilers with broiler meat and now we should all cry".

Let me point everyone in the correct direction. There is a farmer in Alabama who is abusing this system. How do I know this. Well the guy who used to work for him for 10 years is now working for my wife. According to him this particular farmer is abusing the system by slaughtering his broilers (not via euthanasia) and feeding this meat to his broilers. Someone mentioned that he cannot be using broilers the whole time because the cycle would end. I do not see it that way. If he buys day olds and raises them or evens better if he is hatching day olds the ability to raise enough broilers for feed for the next broilers is now maximized.

I agree that not ALL the nutriants that is necessary for the growth of broilers is available in broiler meat alone but a large part of that is. That means he buys less feed from a feed company. What do broilers eat I am guessing soya, maize, wheat and etc.

This is how he is making a good living. So it is not about the car the guy drives next door! Again most individuals on this site have agreed that it is not such a bad idea to feed broilers with broiler meat. However as long as you do not feed them with the brain, or the head, or the spine (because that is how BSE in cows developed) then it is okay.

However I think that although there is been alot to learn I think that the experts on BYC still haven't answered my question completely.

 

[Winsor Woods]

Just some anecdotal experiences I'd like to pass along....

When I get set up to process my meaties, the laying hens that are out free-ranging make a bee-line to the processing area. The nastiest squabbles I've ever seen among those hens have been when they play "keep away" with some meatie tidbits that they snagged out of the discard bucket. They especially like the lungs and livers. Normally I save all the livers, but sometimes I don't get the gall bladder away very cleanly and I end up with a green liver so I toss it. Well the hens sure appreciate that. You'd think they haven't eaten a day in their entire lives when they get a hold of meatie liver.

I'm a firm believer in listening to your own body when it comes to deciding what to eat. Animals do this naturally because they have no other way. That's one of the beauties of free ranging. Let the animal choose what it wants to eat and provide a supplement for them in case they're still hungry. I think the chickens would know better than any one of us humans what their body needs. I don't think broiler meat should be the ONLY food offered to the rest of the meaties, but if it's offered to them as a free choice among various other diet options, then I think the chicken knows better than anyone else on this earth if it's beneficial to their body.

Dan

 

[johnscalido]

Okay. Saying that the animal knows best is similiar to telling a child it knows better what to eat than the parents. Why did the cows not complain when they were feeding it cow spinal cord and cow brains which lead to BSE. In fact the cows just ate it because of one thing. WHEN AN ANIMAL IS REALLY HUNGRY IT WILL EAT ANYTHING!. A little bit of tidbits from the kitchen is not the same thing as feeding them the broiler meat all the time as there only means of consumption. I think that not enough research has been done on this topic. There must be something on the NET.

 

[ourflockof4]

Your question has been answered many times already. They are NOT feeding the birds just broiler meat. As already mentioned the chain would have to end if they were. With using the typical 20-24% protein food the fed conversion of a broiler is about 2 lbs of feed per 1 lbs of added body weight. With feeding JUST broiler meat I'm sure the feed conversion would be worse. Even so if you are culling 2 or 3 birds to feed one then you can obviously see that the chain would end. When you figure in the cost to have an employee cull the birds, cook them, grind them, and the added cost of the equipment, it's it just not economicly possible.

They ARE feeding them something else for food or they would be losing a lot of money. I'm sure that he is feeding them grain based food, with any culled birds mixed in, with is pretty standard.

If your main issue is how is he making enough money to drive those expensive cars then have you ever thought about what else he does to make money? Does he have another business, or what does his wife do for a living? Or maybe the guy that used to work there is not telling you the whole truth?

 

[TimG]

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I don't see why there should be a connection between BSE in cows and chickens eating chicken spine or chicken brain. Cows and chickens are very different animals with different digestive systems and different natural diets.

In the wild, brains and spinal cords are eaten all the time by mammals and birds alike.

 

[TimG]

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You say you are not judging, but then you use a word like "abusing" which indicates a clear opinion on your part. If you were simply interested in the question of health, there would be no need for judgments like "abusing". Further you're making a distinction between "slaughtering" and "euthanasia", it seems that one is OK with you while the other is not, again an opinion of right and wrong.


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If the birds are being raised exclusively on broiler meat (as you've said elsewhere in this thread) then even if there is a perfect feed conversion rate of 1:1, the system will fail. There would be no way of getting back the weight that is the broilers being sold for human consumption.

Perhaps you mean that the broilers being raised to be feed to other broilers are raised on grain while the broilers being raised as meat for humans are fed exclusively broiler meat? Unless the end product broilers are converting 100% of what they eat, this system will be less efficient (cost more money) than feeding grain to the end product broilers.

 

[johnscalido]

I am going to disagree with all of you again. Yes, initially the system should start with the birds being fed grain. Understood. But as you all mentioned that he should be growing birds just for consumption purposes. This is the only part that makes sense. I do not think that the cost of labour is going to make things more expensive though. That just does not make sense. The cost for labour to cook, grind and feed the birds is NOT a massive cost factor. In fact it can be cheaper though. If you look at the cost factor. If he does have a supply of broiler meat sufficient enough for a flock of birds, he simply does not have to fork out money for the cost of feed, or if he does buy feed then it is only the absolute minimum. Maybe just the starter crumbles for the chicks because I reckon they will not be able to digest meat from day one. This what I am talking about.

 

[ranchhand]

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My question is simply "can you feed broilers with broiler meat".

That is your question and the answer is yes.