Do you butcher your meat chickens in front of the rest of the flock? Can chicken guts be given to the chickens to eat?

[RUNuts]

The dogs get the head, sometimes the feet and the liver after making stock.

the chickens get the testes, spleen and the liver if the bile sac breaks and will clean up after I'm done. The also pick the bones after we cook everything and have our fill. Most of the bones disappear into crops. The long bones and breast bone get buried the next time a hole is dug.

I'll usually bury the feathers and offal.

 

[Kennas_Kritters]

Butchered 3 cornish X today. Cooked them up and gave my dogs and the chickens some. they loved it!

 

[Parront]

I have and it doesn't seem to make any difference to the others for longer than a few minutes. I generally don't but that's as much of where the shade and water is as trying to stay out of sight. When I butcher I keep the others in the run so they won't bother me.


When I butcher I keep one bucket for stuff that will go back to the flock to eat and one for stuff that will be buried in the orchard or garden. I figure by burying that stuff in the garden or orchard it is not wasted.

For the "to eat" bucket I cut the intestines into pieces maybe 3" long, cut the crop in half, toss in testicles, lungs, bits of fat, and other bits. I only keep enough that they can finish up before dark, as NatJ said I don't want to attract predators. I toss that stuff on the grassy ground so a lot of what some people might call undesirable disappears into the ground. Some of that smell does remain so it's not perfect.

As for diseases or parasites I figure they have already been exposed to what the others might have, I don't see a risk there. I split the intestines on a couple when butchering looking for worms. If one has worms I figure they all do. I haven't found any tapeworms or roundworms yet but I keep checking.

Good tip looking for worms. I have not noticed any but now I will be looking!

 

[Parront]

I realize it's odd but... do y'all feel it's ok to butcher a chicken in front of the rest of the flock? Also when I butcher a chicken and take the inside out can I feed the insides to my laying flock? I just don't want to waste anything off of them if I don't have to... Any advice helps... thanks!

Yes. They are waiting for treats, like a flock of vultures! They are not like us, they just want food. They know I bring them the food.

 

[HomesteadMom5]

Yes and I swear the egg layers are laughing to themselves at the meat birds lol
Our chickens are always at foot when we’re butchering just waiting for whatever bit falls. Since I set the discards out in between so many carcasses the chickens flock to them and peck away. They’ll even peck at the blood too.

 

[Kennas_Kritters]

Yes and I swear the egg layers are laughing to themselves at the meat birds lol
Our chickens are always at foot when we’re butchering just waiting for whatever bit falls. Since I set the discards out in between so many carcasses the chickens flock to them and peck away. They’ll even peck at the blood too.

I butchered 3 of the cornish X and all of my layers (plus my emu) lined up at the fence. I gave them the carcass to pick clean. I also have them the intestines. The dogs got the heart, liver ect.

 

[Alternatives Homestead]

I don't butcher them in front of the others and don't feed the guts to them. But they can eat it. Chickens are known for being cannibals sometimes after all. It won't hurt them.

Do not butcher in front of the others. It is traumatic and all animals grieve.

 

[Xouie]

I take mine to another room of the meat bird house or I’d be overwhelmed. The other birds all try to come in during butchering because they think somebody is getting special treatment.

I’m possibly over cautious about the guts, because I won’t give it to the birds. But if they can get to it, they will gleefully eat it.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Do not butcher in front of the others. It is traumatic and all animals grieve.

With respect, the only grieving my dinosaurs seem to do is grieving that i won't throw them more of their previous flockmate. its traumatic, yes, but they seem to have very short memories. not much object permanence.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Did a nasty little bantam Cochin male today, my mama brought her chicks over to peck the blood still dripping onto the leaves.