feeding meat scraps to chickens

[Jon Giovani]

Hi, i have been led to this site several times via google when i have had questions pertaining to our little chicken farm i started with my kids about a year and a half ago. Most questions have been answered by browsing the site and i have seen tons of great ideas for upgrades. But i thought i would put this 1 out there so I can get some feedback. I see that a lot of people feed table scraps and the such, to add protein to the chickens diets without having to buy expensive protein feed. so here's the question I have, we hunt and we process our own deer, and inevitability we have scraps that go to the dog, cats, coons coyotes foxes, etc. my question is, is there any harm in feeding it to the chickens instead? I just ground up 50 pounds of trim into 'Burger' and put it in quart freezer bags and froze it, thinking that would help to add protein to their diet during the lean times. what are your thoughts on this? do I risk the chickens becoming more cannibalistic? do you think it is safe to feed them raw meat? we currently have about 40 chickens, a couple turkeys in a couple pheasants, since they obviously cannot all free range due to the wild animals and where we live, I thought this might help give them a more balanced diet. any input and advice would be greatly appreciated thank you in advance. Jon

 

[Nathan Sampson]

Welcome to the forum from South East Missouri.

 

[sumi]

Hello and welcome to BYC

Personally I wouldn't feed my hens raw meat, I'd cook it first.

 

[onedoodle3]

from West Virginia! I don't know the answer to your question (sorry!

). Try posting it under Raising Backyard Chicken in the Feeding and Watering Your Flock section. Someone there may be able to answer it pretty quickly.


Good luck and Welcome to the Coop!!

 

[nurse_turtle]

My son has to do a senior project. He chose to document the decomposition of a deer carcass then articulate the skeleton for presentation. The local wildlife biologist delivered a fresh deer carcass to us, we wrapped it in chicken wire and placed it about 30 yards into the brush behind the house. By day 3, it was covered in a thick maggot blanket. The chickens and guineas went hog wild for 2-3 more days feasting on those maggots. I wouldn't hesitate to feed meat, raw or cooked, to my flock. They eat much nastier stuff than raw meat. My flock will do tricks to get a nibble of meat.

 

[1muttsfan]

Hi and welcome to BYC from northern Michigan

The reason you should not fed raw meat is because of the risk of bacterial contamination, particularly with ground meat. Birds can become infected with bacteria and incorporate those organisms into the eggs, and pass then in their stools, leading to a risk of human illness. Cook the meat.

 

[Red Barn Farms]

Hello and greetings from Kentucky! There really is no reason why you shouldn't feed chickens raw meat. I don't see anything wrong with it as long as the meat is fresh! The chickens need to be able to consume it in one feeding with none left over.

 

[weimarmama]

& from Alabama. Glad you joined us.

 

[Big A Chickens]

Hi,

So glad you joined us!!!

 

[mickey328]

Welcome Jon! Glad to have you aboard.

Since you've frozen the meat, the risk of any sort of contamination and even worms is minimal. I'd definitely add it to their diet. My girls go nuts for meat, either raw or cooked. First time I gave it to them, it was like the "Chicken 500"...one would grab a bite and take off with all the others chasing her, LOL. It's an excellent way to add protein to their diet. In some articles I've read, they suggest that feeding them raw meat will actually quell their blood lust so they will peck each other less since their desire for meat is satisfied.