Oooooooooops! My bad! I guess
My chickens get into the garden regularly. They do a wonderful job of "mini tilling" some "weed control" and are the perfect "insecticide". They eat pretty much anything they can reach up to, in to, on to and or dig at, including onions and garlic, tomatoes and potatoes, as well as rhubarb and corn and crab apples and....and...
Ya,,,,,, true about iceberg lettuce.......and yogurt and cottage cheese...eeewwww
About mouldy foods now. Chickens evolved from jungle fowl that lived on the floor of the "jungle" and from what little I know of any forest there is always moulding food to pick at.
I do not make it a practice to feed my chickens mouldy foods but due to the size and environment of their range it is inevitable they will get some mouldy foods.
I figure that if they can scratch around in a cow patty and eat grains and bugs and stuff and/or scratch around in a pile of discarded venison viscera or fish viscera for the same(bugs and stuff) and even eating some of flesh the little bit of "mouldy foods" they find in their range ain't gonna hurt them too much.
I am one of the lucky few people alive today that still is connected to my food. We(my family and I)still practice gathering and preserving wild berries, fruits and vegetables as well as wild and tame meats. The frame of mind "It didn't kill "them" so I guess I can eat "them". It came from Nature so it can't be all that bad." is kinda what describes me on that account.
As opposed to... Pesticides and Herbicides and Fertilizers etc.,.. .
..HMMMMM! I think of Monsanto and Beyer(and what ever corporations)
It's pretty tuff to get away from P's and H's and F's and GMO's all of which are big parts of pretty much any foods prepared for livestock and humans. That said the cereal grains that are used to prepare not only feed for our chickens and beef and other "foods" but also our pet dogs and cats, are pretty much the cast-offs of the human food industry("Corn Flakes", "Porridge Oats", "Light Rye Bread" pastas etc). A great deal of it also contains dead(really, really dead) and diseased grains, mouldy grains, mishappen grains all of which predominantly were "ripened" by use of "Round-Up". As well remains from diseased animals and even some euthanized pet remains goes into the "pet-food industry'. There is also dead and diseased animals used in the "commercial livestock feeds" industry.
I use as little as possible of the commercially produced livestock feed for my chickens and my other stock (including my K9's). I also make a conscious effort to refrain from feeding mouldy foods and dairy products(bread,yogurt). If they eat from the garden or the surrounding wilderness and still make it home alive, and are still alive in a few days, and in good health then I think I won't worry too much.
The eggs I get from my chickens are "mucho delisioso" as is the sweet spicy firm flesh. Unlike the bland (actually very "eeeeyyuck!") eggs from the store, and indeed the flesh that doesn't even require chewing and slides down the throat like a small oyster....and pretty much as slimy....and about as much flavour.
My family is pretty healthy according to the local "health authorities" and I firmly believe that it is directly related to what we put into our bodies.
In conclusion, I'm gonna stick with my free roaming, pretty much feral chickens.
...........and turkeys and ducks and geese..and rabbits.
And I am gonna continue harvesting our local wild fare be it flora or fauna.
Aint really that much P's, H's, F's, GMO's, Monsanto's and Round-Up's in them things. Not where I live at anyhow.
