fish-how do you feed chickens fish

[centrarchid]

Some of the freshwater fish I provide as food is not frozen for one reason or another. Bluegill I an get in extreme abundance and is prefered fresh while trash fish like bighead and silver carp are bigger than what my little freezer will handle. Cooking also makes so chickens can pick fish apart easier.

 

[Chambertin]

Chambertin,

I can not place why but your avatar looks a lot like what I see in mirror. It is unsettling. Are we related?

Possibly, ever work at the docks in the south side of London?
Picture of a character from one of my favorite shows: Little Britian

Good advice on the fish and I commend your mirror on its survival as well.

 

[Barry Michelle]

Here in Michigan I do a lot of ice fishing. We can always catch a lot of little perch and bluegill. We let the fish lay on the ice and freeze. When we get home, what doesn't make it on the supper table(the ones that are too small to bother with and the guts, etc. from the rest.) go through my grinder. This is the only treat that they will come off the roost to eat!

 

[Greg in Carpinteria]

I only give my birds carcasses of marine fish, and just chuck the whole thing in the run, often the carcasses are from pretty big fish (like 50-100+ pounds tuna) and the chickens ravenously reduce them to bones in a few days, then continue to pick away at them until there isn't much left but a mummified skull and spinal column. The presence of bones has never been an issue, they seen to eat every bit of bone they can peck off and I'm sure the calcium is beneficial.

We've never noticed any off taste in the eggs at all.

 

[centrarchid]

Also be carefull with feeding fish with remains lasting until dark. Oppossums and raccoons are just as attracted to the smell which can cause increased risk for roosting birds once other options are considered. I have done crawfish boils where the oppossums would come out of woodwork and keep working at screens of house for hours before giving up.

 

[YukonMel]

I live in the Yukon and raise 25 hens (Rhode Island Red/Plymouth Barred Rock cross) and 10 turkeys (Orlopp Bronze) a year keeping 10 hens through the winter. In the summer they all love Fire Weed & Spruce Beetles. I nail cobs of raw corn to trees as treats and they don't last long...But in the winter I always supplement their feed with mash, Bone meal, finely crushed eggshells in the mash for protein and salmon, lake trout and sardine bits. I cook the fish only because I believe in heated feed as an extra with the bought feed. But my neighbor gives raw as long as the bones are removed.
My eggs never taste fishy and the slow laying season isn't that much slower.
I have a healthy and happy bunch of girls even when its -45c...I think its a pro choice what to feed. But in the extremes in weather where I live especially in winter my way works for me.

 

[mrsc1951]

Yukon Mel. We love salmon so when it goes on sale, I stock up the freezer. If I have been too lazy to cut the filets in half before freezing, my girls get leftovers and that seems to be one of their favorites. I have offered canned tuna on occasion and they will eat it but not like they do with the salmon.

 

[CrosStitching]

Anyone ever bred small fish (guppies, minnows, mollies, platys) for their chickens? I'm thinking of setting up a "pond" with an whiskey barrel or large pot and throwing some livebearing fish in there with some lilies and anacharis water plants and just scooping the fish out a little every day or two for the fish to boost the protein levels.

 

[skeller]

This thread was super helpful, thanks to all! I had some leftover swordfish (didn't care much for it) and the hens went nuts!! I've got another cooked swordfish steak that i'll break up and feed them over the next couple days (I've just got three ladies). Thanks, folks!

 

[sandman55]

We live in a dry climate and we harvest rainwater from our roof I would have to be careful that I don't leave fish carcases out for the seagulls to lift up on my roof to rot. After reading this thread I gave a half a dozen prawn heads to my chooks (only enough that I knew they would eat them all) and they loved it. I have an old mincer (grinder to you guys on the other side of the ball ) so when I catch some fish I might mince (grind) the carcases and feed that to the chooks.