Feeding Meat to Nine Weeks Old Rhode Island Reds?

[charityh]

Howdy,

This is my first post and i am your brand new member as of a minute ago...I sort of on the spur of moment decided to own two then seven weeks old Rhode Island chicks and, gosh, LITTLE did i ever know i could even come to the point where i would wish i could squeeze-hug them like i could with a dog or a cat! So, being brand new to the poultry world, i'm obviously a rookie here and i have noticed that my chicks go c...r...a...z...y... over meats/blood from meats. I never knew chickens loved meats! Or, could it be that my chickens are not that normal?? When i step outside into my backyard they would literally flap and run to see me so fast and when they found they were getting veggies/seed/grain mix they steer away quickly and would walk around me in circle waiting and hoping i would give them meat. So when i do at other time, boy, they gobble that lump of ground chicken or turkey meat up so fast!! I even left a shelf with blood outside in backyard from fridge that i put raw meats on for feeding to my dog and cats and the chicks would peck and peck at the shelf until they could get every speckle of blood from it. Again, is this normal for chickens to go this crazy for meats/blood from meats??

One other question--nothing related to this topic, but, speaking of normalcy, is it also normal for chickens to want to be affectionate with you? Mine would love to hop on my lap when i sit on a rocking chair and then soon they would hop onto my shoulders with one on each. They would just sit there and fall asleep at nighttime. Also, when i put them in their coop at nighttime they simply refused to leave my hand. They would sidestep every time i tried to push them off my hand, so I could close the coop's door. They would just move around and literally giving me a real hard time to get them off my hand. How darling they could be!

 

[Chick Charm]

 

[charityh]

Thanks!

 

[Chick Charm]

I would not recommend raw meats for your chickens because of he issues with bacteria. However chickens are OMNIVORES, they will eat just about anything, including you if you were to fall over dead in their coop. Gross but true. My chickens likewise go nuts when they see blood. I keep them away from any butchering that is being done.
Cooked meats (including chicken) seem to be a favorite and supplements their protein.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Agreed. I feed meats but only cooked, knowing full well that a chickens system is designed to handle a multitude of bacteria with ease. Just raw meats is the ICK factor I can't get over.

Chickens are omnivores and opportunistic. Little velociraptors with feathers.

Look at it this way. If mama hen has the chicks to raise, she's going to be directing them to lots of good things to eat and that includes meat. Once you see mama and chicks dining on a nest of baby mice or a little frog, you'll realize it's how nature designed them and it's perfectly okay.