Fish heads and stuff.

[ocpoolguy]

I am a fisherman for fun. After cleaning fish should I or could I feed the chickens some of the fish heads and back bones? Pure protien I think.
FIY no chickend yet, we want layers building coop soon loking at getting chicks this easter.

 

[Josie]

I would be a little bit worried about the bones. I am sure people around here have tried it successfully, but it seems a bit risky.

The other thing I would worry about is if large amounts of fish would begin to effect the taste of the eggs. I know garlic and onions can have that effect. The omega-3 eggs from the grocery store are from hens fed fish oil, and they have an unusual flavor to me, though some people like it.
You could always try it, see if the eggs start to taste fishy, and stop if you don't like it. The eggs would go back to normal after awhile.

 

[peepacheep]

I can our fish scraps for the dogs, cats and chickens. That way any parasites are taken care of and the bones basically dissolve in the canning process. Too much oily fish like tuna can make the eggs taste fishy. Had to separate 2 hens from the flock this winter when they went through a hard molt. Gave them a 1/4 cup of fish for about 3 weeks while their feathers grew in. They feathered out beautifully but the first week of eggs from those 2 when they started laying again were fishy. Kinda like eating fish omelets, okay, but different.

 

[motoclown]

Kids were feeding live minnows to the girls this past summer, It was like fish football.

What is the recipe for canning fish?

 

[Attack Chicken]

Tryed to give mine heads and they were scared of it except for one

AC

 

[DTRM30]

I've never tried, but I think as long as it's an edible food thing it would be OK - I'm guessing that's where fish "meal" comes from anyway - the left over parts, no ? Not sure about the bones. Seeing that they swallow everything whole and don't chew it - I'd be afraid the bones would cause a problem in their crops.

 

[classicsredone]

I'm thinking of asking my dad to save the salmon heads this fall for this exact purpose. They'll probably go in the deep freezer to get doled out once a week or so.

 

[aggie9296]

I would think the heads would be fine. I think they would peck the flesh and eyes off. The back bones, if too large to eat, would probably be OK and they could pick off flesh. Small bones, however, could cause internal problems. Mine just ate the shrimp shells from last night's dinner out of the compost pile.

 

[Arielle]

Fish meal is ground scraps, bone and all. I would worry about the spiney rib bones and fin bones--like the canning idea if it softens the bones so much. We eat canned sardines, bones and all, but they are tiny to begin with.

 

[AtholCoop]

My brother used to keep turkeys. Any time he pulled in the yard with his boat all the birds would be bouncing around back and forth at the fence like a bunch of hungry velociraptors. We'd fillet the fish right there on the tailgate and just chuck all the leftover bits over the fence. They could reduce a 40-50 pound salmon's bones etc to NOTHING in a few short hours. What they couldn't eat was picked clean.