Do you think it is wrong to feed chickens chicken scraps?

[americanvalkyrie]

Personally I think its a bad idea. Mad cow came about by feeding ground cow scraps to cows in cow feed. A well known / Brand name producer of corn based cow feed was using cow bones and scraps to fortify its feed. There was also a news article on dogs becoming sick from dog food made in china. The dog food was fortified with ground up animal bones from the local animal shelters.

Human cannibals that eat people on a regular basis begin presenting signs of neurological problems such as ticks and loss of coordination. I don't believe were meant to eat our own kind and that doing so can cause issues down the road. I believe this is true for most animals. Since I intend to use my chickens for my own food supply, I am not comfortable feeding them chicken.

Personal opinion

Riki

Hmmm I wonder if the neurological problems are due to the cannibalism or because the practice mainly exists within small, isolated communities with very little contact with the outside world (inbreeding) and a limited diet as well. If they had access to other types of meat and an otherwise balanced diet, with human meat added in, I wonder if the neurological problems would still develop. Now I'm intrigued... I'll have to ask my husband. He's an anthropologist.

 

[humphrey farms]

We share all meat leftovers and cooked eggs with our dogs, cats, and chickens. All need protein for muscle developement and brain power for our hunting dogs.

Most animals do consume other forms of protein other than veggie or soy. Just look around you.Tigers & lions eat the stomach & intestional organs with contents from grazing mammals. Even more domesticated pets if finding a dead carcass would do the same. People have higher brain function so they view survival differently.

 

[Chris09]

Personally I think its a bad idea. Mad cow came about by feeding ground cow scraps to cows in cow feed. A well known / Brand name producer of corn based cow feed was using cow bones and scraps to fortify its feed. There was also a news article on dogs becoming sick from dog food made in china. The dog food was fortified with ground up animal bones from the local animal shelters.

Human cannibals that eat people on a regular basis begin presenting signs of neurological problems such as ticks and loss of coordination. I don't believe were meant to eat our own kind and that doing so can cause issues down the road. I believe this is true for most animals. Since I intend to use my chickens for my own food supply, I am not comfortable feeding them chicken.

Personal opinion

Riki

Riki,
You may want to acutely want to look into Bovine Spongiform Enecphalopathy BSE (mad cow disease).
The feed has to be contaminated with prion disease which is found in the brain and spinal cord not the actual meat or bones.Now keep in mind that in some cases of BSE there were no Bovine by-products even used[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif].
The prion disease can be be found in many types of animals,
Bovine - [/FONT]Bovine Spongiform Enecphalopathy (BSE),
Sheep - Scrapie,
Humans - Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD)

Also chickens are Omnivores and not Herbivores like Bovine.


Chris

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

Personally I think its a bad idea. Mad cow came about by feeding ground cow scraps to cows in cow feed. A well known / Brand name producer of corn based cow feed was using cow bones and scraps to fortify its feed. There was also a news article on dogs becoming sick from dog food made in china. The dog food was fortified with ground up animal bones from the local animal shelters.

Human cannibals that eat people on a regular basis begin presenting signs of neurological problems such as ticks and loss of coordination. I don't believe were meant to eat our own kind and that doing so can cause issues down the road. I believe this is true for most animals. Since I intend to use my chickens for my own food supply, I am not comfortable feeding them chicken.

Personal opinion

Riki

There is a big difference between feeding chicken flesh and mad cow disease. The prions that cause mad cow disease were found solely in the brain and spinal material of ruminants, never in the muscles. The human cannibals you cited also ate the brains of their victims. You can't cause "mad chicken" or something similar by feeding chicken flesh.

Chickens have been known to cannibalize each other. I had a pullet get pecked to death and eaten in one night by a particularly aggressive cohort of hens. We had to sell all those hens and start over, because they LIKED chicken and started on the next lowest pullet on the totem pole after they ate the first one.

 

[barkinghills]

I personally see no problem with feeding chicken meat to my flock, and they certainly love it. I do not feed them any brain or spinal cord tissue.

I think most people that object to this practice as cannibalism are placing misguided human morals onto chickens.

Just my two cents worth.

 

[yo burrill]

Agreed Barkinghills!!! We humans tend to tie human emotions and reactions to what animals do. The big thing with feeding back eggs or meat to chickens is that they are cooked well so that they dont get a taste for the raw product so they don't become egg eaters and murderous cannibals. Many species will eat their own kind even their own young if there is not enough food. We need to remember Chickens are one of the few species that really haven't evolved very much since dinosaur times.What they do obviously works for them so well that they have had no need to change it for ages!!

 

[Chris09]

Agreed Barkinghills!!! We humans tend to tie human emotions and reactions to what animals do. The big thing with feeding back eggs or meat to chickens is that they are cooked well so that they dont get a taste for the raw product so they don't become egg eaters and murderous cannibals. Many species will eat their own kind even their own young if there is not enough food. We need to remember Chickens are one of the few species that really haven't evolved very much since dinosaur times.What they do obviously works for them so well that they have had no need to change it for ages!!

Quote: I just want to hit on this,
You don't need to cook the eggs or meat, I have for 30 some years feed raw meat (including chicken) and raw eggs to chickens and have never had a problem with egg eaters or cannibals.

Chris

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

Oh, I also want to state for the record that no cows are currently fed any ruminant brain or spinal products. None. And that the ban was voluntary and went into place in this country years before there was a mad cow problem in the UK. Mad Cow is not a concern in the U.S. food supply.

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

I think its fine!
It doesn't hurt them and it brings down your food bill!

 

[growyourbrew]

I feed them everything (except anything that's rotten or moldy of course) also no raw potato skins. Apprarently, they can't digest it. I have no problems giving them the last of a chicken carcass. I do only given them cooked chicken though. I'm not sure if they can get anything from raw chicken so only cooked. I do given them raw venison from our hunts. Also any cracked eggs are hard-boiled then mashed up, shell and all. I used to scramble them but I've found hard-boiling is less cleanup for the pans!