Chickens and beer?

[IamRainey]

I have been handpicking slugs in the morning and feeding them to my chickens but my back is killing me and I can hardly straighten up after an hour or so of that. So last night I set out beer traps for the slugs and I caught quite a few.

The question is: can I still feed the carcasses to my chickens with the beer that they've embed/are pickled in?

I can just toss them, of course, but I'd hate for the chickens to have to give up all that luscious sliminess if the beer isn't an issue for them.

 

[centrarchid]

I think they can handle ethanol levels likely in slugs pickled by most beers. If problems, then first thing to look for is dopey / disoriented behaviors. Chickens do get drunk easily on fermented fruit. Drunkenness can be a real issue at roosting time.

 

[chickens really]

Slugs carry parasites that can transfer to Birds. I know they eat them although I don't purposely feed them slugs either..

 

[centrarchid]

Virtually everything one can eat that is not cooked contains parasites. Most animals, most of time can handle the parasites either by not being a good host or they are able to tolerate the burden. Those that can not handle exposure to parasites can be culled.

 

[Rubysword]

I did not know that chickens got drunk easily... Fun fact for the day! lol.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Because slugs and snails travel over the areas where chickens have previously defecated (often for years) slugs and snails hold a plentiful and quite varied assortment of worm eggs and disease organisms all of which are highly adapted for infecting your chickens.

Lets face facts if we may. If free ranging were so healthful and good for chickens the farm women 140 years ago would not have started nagging their husbands to build them hen houses for their layers. Butter and egg money in most cases was these farm wife's sole source of personal income.

 

[centrarchid]

Because slugs and snails travel over the areas where chickens have previously defecated (often for years) slugs and snails hold a plentiful and quite varied assortment of worm eggs and disease organisms all of which are highly adapted for infecting your chickens.

Lets face facts if we may. If free ranging were so healthful and good for chickens the farm women 140 years ago would not have started nagging their husbands to build them hen houses for their layers. Butter and egg money in most cases was these farm wife's sole source of personal income.

Keep that in context of hens still free-range for most of their food intake.

 

[IamRainey]

Because slugs and snails travel over the areas where chickens have previously defecated (often for years) slugs and snails hold a plentiful and quite varied assortment of worm eggs and disease organisms all of which are highly adapted for infecting your chickens.

I don't really think this is a concern. The chicken yard is separate from the garden and pretty dry and uninviting to slugs. They live in the moist lawn and flower beds away from the chicken poo and I carry them into the run for the chickens' consumption.

I am not worried about slugs carrying parasites. The hens have already been eating dozens of slugs a day for a month or more. I'm worried about the effects of the beer that the slugs may have consumed and have been swimming in.

I'm going to try one pickled slug and watch the chicken that eats it. Then I'll decide how much of the pickled slugs seem safe.

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[rosemarythyme]

I'm going to try one pickled slug and watch the chicken that eats it. Then I'll decide how much of the pickled slugs seem safe.

Pickled slugs! A new delicacy!

(Mine won't eat slugs at all... maybe the super tiny ones, but bigger than that, they're just too slimy for them).

 

[gator75]

Because slugs and snails travel over the areas where chickens have previously defecated (often for years) slugs and snails hold a plentiful and quite varied assortment of worm eggs and disease organisms all of which are highly adapted for infecting your chickens.

Lets face facts if we may. If free ranging were so healthful and good for chickens the farm women 140 years ago would not have started nagging their husbands to build them hen houses for their layers. Butter and egg money in most cases was these farm wife's sole source of personal income.

I would assume it was because the women of the house didn't want to Easter egg hunt for their pay every day? If I were banking on my hens eggs to pay my mortgage, they wouldn't be allowed out of the run or coop at all! And not because of worms or slugs. Fwiw, my free ranged hens lay better eggs more often than my mothers caged hens and seem much happier.