Feeding Meat

[Wolf-Kim]

I was some advice and personal opinions.

The local butcher usually has extra scraps of beef, pork, and poultry and I could probably get them for free.

I think meat would be excellent source of extra protein and it would keep the flock fat and amused.

Can I feed it raw or should it be boiled? It has been kept in a refridgerated room, so the meat is not bad, just extra tidbits and bones that couldn't be sold.

Any kind of meat that chickens cannot eat? Could I feed to much by letting them pick off of it at will?

-Kim

 

[silkiechicken]

They would love meat. Some may be wary about chicken eating chicken, but given the chance, they will eat each other. I personally would cook first to reduce flies and spoilage, plus break down the proteins to a more digestible fashion.

 

[catfish]

I should be fine raw, ever see a chicken eat a mouse? They'll eat almost anything that won't eat them first. I would cutitup in bite size pieces.

I would wonder about pork being raw, cause of parasites.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Thanks. I think they would enjoy picking the bones clean. I know the little buzzards would jump at the opportunity to eat each other dead or alive. I think I will give it a try and just try to keep it to a moderation.

Thanks again,
Kim

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Quote:
Well, alot of the larger pieces of pork and beef would be boiled up for the dogs. That is what got me wondering about the butcher's scraps. I went there to ask if I could get the larger bones to boil up and dish out as treats. But, the butcher said he threw all the scraps into a trashcan so he worried about me feeding poultry scraps to the pooches.

I think I will give it a try. I will pick out the larger pieces of beef and pork to boil for the dogs and the mini-vultures will get the rest.

-Kim

 

[patandchickens]

Personally I would be inclined to boil it first. Partly b/c it seems to me that would make it easier for them to peck the last bits off the bone. If you're worried about loss of nutrients, cook some rice or oatmeal in the resulting broth and feed them that too

And partly because, I don't know how evidence-based this concern is, but I'd worry about raw meat from a butcher shop having a nonzero chance of carrying the Salmonella species that can be transmitted via eggs. I am sure the risk is, at most, very low, but still, it is a pretty *avoidable* risk. I would not have the same reservation about, like, bits and pieces from one of my own chickens butchered at home, mind.

JMO,

Pat