How many on the go at once to sustain your consumption?

[Taranakian]

I'm under the impression that bones left out increase parasites. Which wouldn't be an issue except for the whole meat birds thing

I wouldn't have thought so much about this. Thankfully, the dog will also swoop in and get anything the chooks don't eat. She's a filthy, disgusting, awesome little farm dog who would survive the apocalypse for her ability to scavenge food.

I've been wondering about chicks 'n dip (Ha!). Namely, instead of coffee we have bone broth every morning. We buy from the butcher, but in return we've been able to process and store enough fat to offset hundreds of dollars worth of olive oil and butter use a year. It's been a really financially sound decision for us. At the moment the dog is eating the remaining bones, meat scraps, and any fat that doesn't render - I haven't fed her kibble in months. At some point I'll take her off of it and give it to the chooks instead. I've been curious whether I needed to mash it or if they were going to be capable of breaking down the very brittle bones. Sounds like mashing it up may be the best for them.

Nature is brutal. There's no two ways about it. Incorporating that brutality into any plans trying to work alongside nature simply makes sense.

 

[SnackMeat]

Make sure your dog is getting some of the offal for all the mineral content. I also like veggies, canned, frozen, or fresh for dogs. I do think an occasional foray into diverse nutrition helps offset any creeping deficiencies.

Yeah we render a lot of beef fat as well. Sometimes pork fat but not as much since that's not a preference as the last few years there's been more boar taint coming through the commercial farmed pork.

Definitely check out hot process soap (you can do cold process too but hot process is easier.)

You can do 100% animal fat bar and it creates a hard soap bar. But I tend to like around 10% coconut oil, and 2-3% castor oil because I like lather bubbles.

I've even used tallow for dog nose/feet balm., mixed with other stuff or by itself. And if you or your SO uses tretinoin for anti-aging, tallow as the nighttime face moisturizing has been the best thing for any peeling that I've found.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'm under the impression that bones left out increase parasites.

Do you have a link or something where that came from? I've never heard that and am curious.

When I catch a possum, raccoon, rat, or such I slit open the abdomen so they can get to it and leave it out all day for them. To me, that is good protein for them. But just before dark I get rid of the carcass. Same thing for any chicken carcasses or other bones I leave out during the day. That's to avoid attracting predators like coyotes or dogs, nothing to do with parasites.

I'd love to understand if there is a nutritional benefit...? Or is it just that it seems less gross to feed chooks insects instead of animals? I'd love any insight into this.

Chickens are omnivores. They will eat plants or animal materials. Chickens can hunt and get fresh meat or they can scavenge dead meat. I feed mine dead mice as long as the mice were not poisoned. When chickens evolved they were feral. They were able to feed themselves without any help from people. The vast majority of us do not have the land or circumstances where the chickens can free range and feed themselves. I grew up on a farm where they did. I grew up hunting and we ate what we hunted or fish we caught. The vast majority of people on this forum did not. They are much more likely to find things gross that I consider natural.

Also, thanks heaps for taking time to explain the sense behind not having a rolling flock. Reading your reasons makes tota sense, but without any prior experience in animal husbandry it's not as obvious as it might would be to others.

That's exactly why I suggest trial and error. Don't be afraid to try things but if is isn't working don't be afraid to change it. And do not take anything that any of us say as gospel for everyone. We all have different goals, climates, set-ups, experiences, and conditions. What works of some do not work for others. You have to find your own way.

 

[SnackMeat]

I used to feed my dogs raw bones so partially it was the bones drying in the hot summers and then having to do with shards, but in cooler weather it was the stink but I do think I remember seeing worms if one of the dogs badly hid it and it was out longer than normal before being tossed.


It's not even that I object to stuff like flies laying eggs on it and the chickens eating that.

If I remember I will try to look this up. I had my dogs on worming treatments occasionally plus I wasn't worried about eating them and having parasites from them digging in to something bad.

I feed my chickens bits from chickens and ducks I am processing so I don't have an issue with the circle of life or the omnivorous nature of chickens. They also occasionally get leftover BBQ from the neighbor. And everyone can feed their chickens whatever. For me, and this is something I probably picked up 20 years ago as info but would need to go look up support for it, I would pick up bones by the next day. I don't even necessarily care about nighttime predators (yet) so even picking the bones up next day is fine or even in a couple of days. After that though, because I want to eat my chickens (and because I haven't wormed them though maybe I will) I want to keep the chickens from that.

I'll have to try to come back if I can find a source for that.