Is cat food bad for chickens?

[ChickenWinner22]

Hello I have a few very stubborn young chickens who I Believe are addicted to dry cat food. I get a big bag of dry cat food from sam's club every so often to feed 5 farm/feral cats. I have noticed 3 chickens absolutely can not resist cat food they end up scaring off the cats from their little kids jungle set I put their food on top of.
I am wondering if the cat food is bad for them to eat since I feed the cats free choice about a pound a day before I leave. I have caught some of them red handed a few times and they are very stiff body and about 3 times the weight of the other chickens but they are not bigger or fat. Can this cause problems to their health ?

 

[rosemarythyme]

A little bit should be ok as some folks feed cat food as a protein supplement, however I think it's also higher in fat and perhaps some other components than you'd want to be feeding regularly/in larger amounts.

 

[NC_Quail]

Hello I have a few very stubborn young chickens who I Believe are addicted to dry cat food. I get a big bag of dry cat food from sam's club every so often to feed 5 farm/feral cats. I have noticed 3 chickens absolutely can not resist cat food they end up scaring off the cats from their little kids jungle set I put their food on top of.
I am wondering if the cat food is bad for them to eat since I feed the cats free choice about a pound a day before I leave. I have caught some of them red handed a few times and they are very stiff body and about 3 times the weight of the other chickens but they are not bigger or fat. Can this cause problems to their health ?

Thanks for posting this thread, i have the same problem! My one Amaracauna hen is very mischivious and likes to sneak up on the porch when she thinks I’m not looking . Unfortunately, we always put the cat food on the porch, and this has trained them to hang out (and poop) on the porch, even when there is no food. So far no health issues with my chickens.

 

[kerbotx]

Chickens like cat food because of its high protein content, usually around 30%, whereas a basic layer feed starts at 16%. I think it's one of the minerals in cat food that can be toxic in too great a quantity, maybe methionine or the taurine, but I don't remember for sure. But the fat content is another problem.

 

[LaFleche]

This would depend on the ingredients of the cat food in question and the ingested amount.

Be aware that the ingredients of the cat food will show up in the eggs and in their meat, in case you butcher and process your own.

One thing one can say for sure is that putting out cat food free choice will attract all kinds of other interested parties such as rats, mice, hedgehogs, snakes, opossums, raccoons etc. This equals to starting rat/mice infestations and inviting predators to your place that will follow up by feasting on your chickens/chicken eggs and/or other fowl.

 

[Phaedra Geiermann]

This would depend on the ingredients of the cat food in question and the ingested amount.

Agreed! The ingredients of the cat food is an important agenda to have in mind. Dry cat food is the most convenient option for cats, but some specific cat health issues related to it need to be noticed. Even the wet ones - cats are carnivores, a proper cat diet should not fit what chickens need. It might be okay under specific situations as an emergency protein supplement.

 

[ChickenWinner22]

A little bit should be ok as some folks feed cat food as a protein supplement, however I think it's also higher in fat and perhaps some other components than you'd want to be feeding regularly/in larger amounts.

Ok yeah that makes sense