Can you feed dog food to chickens?

[ontimeborzoi]

Hmmm, debated whether to say anything....
Its okay ( though expsensive ) to feed cat food to dogs, but do not feed dog food to cats, at least not long term. Dog foods lack taurine. Cats require taurine for their eyes.

 

[Jwsmith111]

I was told if I would feed my chickens the high protein dog food they would lay double yolks Has anyone tried this.

 

[Chris09]

I was told if I would feed my chickens the high protein dog food they would lay double yolks Has anyone tried this.

That's untrue, you would have a better chance giving your chickens other health problems and shortening your chickens life before you got double yolk eggs form feeding high protein feed.


Chris

 

[Texark]

My Ladies LOVE some dog food soaked and floating in water like soup (very special, add little milk too). High in protein and calcium, I don't have any scientific data but they're laying great and they get it several times a week along with table scraps and plenty of scratch.

My big beautiful Langshan, Queen of the backyard is a sight half running, half flying to try to beat the other ladies to it when she sees me coming with the doggie bowl. I get a good belly laugh every time.

Here is something that surprised me. Someone told me that they liked spoiled milk, so the next time we had some in the fridge a bit too long, the ladies got it and OMG I thought they were going to kill each other over it!

Is there anything stupider than a chicken?
I had to dig a hole in the ground to set the bowls in when I bring anything liquid to them, acouple of them just have to put their foot on the side of the bowl and flip it while trying to eat or drink from it. I dug the hole because one day I was spreading some scratch around, and I passed the big bowl I brought some dog food in the day before. It was flipped over as usual.
Well, out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw the bowl move. You guessed it. One of my poor ladies had spent a miserable night and morning squenched up under a heavy metal bowl. I think I'll sell my television, the best entertainment is in the back yard!

 

[jmfosberg]

A lot of times when you change dogs food they fart or get diarrhea, but if you look at the foods that are a little more expensive a lot of them are actually cheaper or the same price because the recommended daily amount is significantly less because they don't have all of the filler in them. For the dog food to the chickens, I haven't done it, because my dog food cost more than my layer food, but I know people who say they feed their chickens cat and or dog food, and I have heard cat food is really good to supplement their food with during molting.

 

[TalkALittle]

I occasionally mix some Bil Jac dog food in with my layer pellets and add water to make a mash. My girls go crazy for it. Bil Jac is a pellet and not as dense as other dog or cat food so it doesn't need to soak as long to soften. It's a little larger than the layer pellets. My big girls will eat the pellets dry but they are too big for the bantams.

I use the grain free formula. They get enough corn already. Yes, it's main ingredient is chicken so there's a bit of a Soylent Green thing going on, but it also has fish meal and other good quality ingredients in it.

I only feed it once or twice a week now that I have some birds in molt. I did it as a protein boost to support the ones who are molting but I've noticed egg production has increased in the others. I could probably achieve the same result if my 11 year old would stop sneaking them extra scratch though.

 

[Lizvivian]

I asked because someone said it would darken the yolks......a snack

 

[TalkALittle]

If it increases the carotenoids in the hen's diet it will. I imagine that if the dog food had lots of carrots, leafy greens, or sweet potatoes in it then, yes, you might get darker yolks. All those are foods high in carotenoids which give the egg yolk a dark yellow/orange color.

I also imagine that, even if you used a dog food with ingredients high in carotinoids in it, in order to feed enough of it to consistently affect yolk color you would have to feed so much as to risk screwing up the hen's nutrition in other ways.

 

[emmalynn587]

my chickens go nuts for any kind of food they mostly like oranges just break one open throw it in the coop and its gone they also love chicken, roast, table scraps, strawberries, and dog food they love everything!

 

[TheFoxyChicken]

Its a commonly held "Secret blend" around here(SC) to give 1/3 oatmeal, 1/3 crushed dog food, and 1/3 starter to chicks to boast growth. Once of age you add black oil sunflower seeds. I Know several farmers that swear by this method for shiny and healthy birds. But, these are flocks fed only once a day and range the rest. Now reading this thread, has me concerned. Some suggest it might cause health problems if over done. Has anyone actually seen health problems caused by using too much dog food? Thanks for replies.