Is meat good for chicks

[rooster-red]

My Roo's love eating small snakes and mice
when they can find them.

 

[SandraChick]

I'll just go back to basics....

CHICKENS ARE OMNIVORES

meat is an important part of their diet.

Sandra

 

[silkiechicken]

Quote:
Yeah, exactally. That's why I think it is funny to see "fed all vegetarian diets" on eggs and feed. They eat meat and need a source of protein other than soy! Geez, it's like a mild version of putting cats on a all veggie diet due to their owner's beliefs!

 

[SandraChick]

Spot on silkiechicken!

My biggest concern over the all vegetarian diet is the protein source.....Mostly soy.

As with all things, moderation is key--I'm not going to say all soy is bad, but when there's too much then it's not good.

Soy has natural estrogen in it---and so I worry about messing with their hormones (extra estrogen means fewer eggs---it's like birth control).

Types of protein--- getting protein from only one source does NOT guarantee that you get the necessary proteins---remember the building blocks of protein--there are several different kinds that you need and soy does not have all of them.

Purpose of feed---Chicken feed was developed for the chicken industry whose chickens are not meant for the greatest health nor long-lives. Most of us here at BYC have smaller flocks and expect our chickens to live out most of their lives--at the very least longer than only a year-1.5years. Feed was made to have the cheapest form of food that will produce eggs, or put on weight for broilers.

When speaking to old timers (pre mad cow disease- which is when meat by products were taken out of feed)....they talk about feather condition not being as good and fewer eggs in general which is often "fixed" by adding meat protein. Those old times I talk about have been raising chickens for a long time and I look up to their opinions on things. It seems they can look at the chickens and in just a few minutes tell you their condition--I guess it's just long years of experience.

Thus, I use feed as a supplement--and well my chickens have pretty much shown me that they will only eat it in quantity when I have them locked up with no other sources of food! I feel fortunate that I can freerange my girls and that there is enough around for them to eat well--of course supplemented also with my leftovers from the night before's dinner and all the raw meat scraps from processing the fish we caught or meat we've hunted.

I applaud those folks who spend the time and energy to mix their own feeds. I don't have the resources where I'm at to do that for such a small flock, but when I get my "ranch" (thus being able to get way more chickens), I can see myself doing just that.

Sandra

 

[silkiechicken]

Yeah, not only are there different amino acids that make up proteins, there are R and L chiralities(sp) of each type, and at least in the human body, only the L form is used. When assaying for proteins, often they don't check for the R and L forms which means it is possible, especially in syntetic types of proteins, that half of it is not usable. Different isoforms of the same molecules can even be poisonous but thats a whole other boat of stuff not really related to this.

I am all for the animal proteins in feed. Makes for healthier birds and since more is usable by them, less catfood to supplement their rations.