okay to feed cooked eggs...seems weird but...???

[davidb]

The eggs and also the shells are good for them

 

[rebbetzin]

Quote:

From a religious/moral standpoint, feeding eggs, chicken meat to chickens just seems wrong somehow. In scripture we are only told not to take both the mother bird and the eggs at the same time.

Deuteronomy 22:6-7

6 “If a bird’s nest happens to be before you along the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, with the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young; 7 you shall surely let the mother go, and take the young for yourself, that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days.

As a "fence" around this commandment, it is said we are to "shoo" the mother bird away before taking her eggs. Or not to take them while she is watching. Lest we cause the mother bird distress.

I am thinking though, that if she comes back to an empty nest she will not be very happy anyhow. My husband thinks my chickens will not be happy with me once I begin to "steal" their "babies" on a regular basis. Even though I have no rooster. The chickens probably think they will get chicks to raise when they lay eggs. I would love to have a rooster and let them hatch some chicks. That would be fun!!

There are conflicting opinions about eating fertile eggs, some say they are not Kosher if there is a blood spot. Some Rabbis say you can remove the blood spot and use the egg, other Rabbis say to throw the entire egg away. ( I would think you could feed it to your dog or cat instead of throwing it out.)

For sure chickens seem willing to eat about anything you give them. But for me it just doesn't seem "kosher" to cause canniballism. Though I realize they do these things on their own, and are not subject to "moral judgement" as humans are.

But you asked for opinions, and that is mine. My husband the Rabbi says it is not "Kosher"to feed eggs to chickens.

It appears I am the only dissenting opinion.

 

[ji]

I was only recently introduced to the idea of feeding eggs back to the chickens by a friend. I am snowed in with thirty five chickens that won't quit laying. I complained to my friend that I am swamped with eggs and he said he boils them up, mashes them and feeds them back .
Well something always seemed wrong about it to me before but under the weight of too many eggs I was forced to really think about it.
I decided I could not think of a reason not to feed them back. One concern was that I would be creating 'egg eaters'. In my reading on BYC I found that many people thought that if they were cooked first that it would not create egg eaters. Certainly it did not happen to my friend. (Or subsequently to me)

I decided to try it. Well, as others have noted chickens LOVE to eat boiled eggs. I felt good too that it was a nice treat for them on a snowed in, cold winter day. I am short on treats and I know that even an unlimited supply of regular feed gets boring to them. So, I think it contributes to their quality of life, something that I take very seriously.

I think the passage in Deuteronomy in no way precludes the practice of feeding eggs back to the chicken.
I think this because in my reading of the passage the only intent is that the welfare of the bird be considered and that if the welfare of the bird is considered it will follow that my own welfare will be secure. To me it admonishes thoughtless greed - to take the mother AND the young.
It is a great example of early ecological consciousness. Don't destroy the circle of life. (Cue Elton John song)
It only says I may take the young and let the mother go. When I gather eggs this is what I am doing and it considers the welfare of the 'mom'. Cooking the eggs and feeding them back to the mom also considers the welfare of the mom (and the circle of life) especially since it doesn't create egg eaters or encourage cannablism.(My girls peck at each other but only for sport, not for food)
As for removing the blood spot from the egg to be kosher. Well, I don't know, but my understanding for eating kosher is that it applies to the food that people eat. I don't know of any instruction that our animals eat kosher food.
I would be curious, why does the Rabbi think it is not kosher to feed eggs to chickens? Are we instructed to feed our animals kosher food?

 

[rebbetzin]

Quote:
He is still asleep, but when he wakes up I will ask him. I think it is just the principle of the thing.

And given the whole "mad cow" issue, that the disease was caused by what the cows were eating. Other cows and sheep, something that was never intended to be food for them.

http://www.umm.edu/features/madcow.htm

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/30663/history_and_symptoms_of_mad_cow_disease.html?cat=5

But, I will ask him his thinking on the issue.

 

[wjallen05]

that's a good idea! I was wondering this same question, but figured it'd be okay since the egg (yolk) is what nurishes baby chicks before they hatch.

 

[lisamr]

Thanks for all of your opinions and advice on this subject. I value all of your input. I have chosen to feed my girls the leftover quiche squares and they devoured it!!!! Wow!! As far as the shells go, how do you dry the shells, etc. and prepare them for the chickens?

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Chickens will happily gobble up raw eggs whenever they find them. I think the egg-eating troubles come when a bird makes the connection that those hard round things coming out of their bottom are filled with tasty food, and that they're not too difficult to break open with their sharp beaks either. I know some folks just mash up raw eggs & egg shells with a stick right in the feeders for their chickens.

I don't want to run the slightest risk of promoting egg-eating, so I always cook the ones I give to my chickens. Just so they don't look at all like the eggs in their nests. Of course they get any left-over eggs that the humans in the family cannot eat. But if I have a number of eggs to feed back to the chickens I'll put them in the blender, shells & all, then scramble them in a pan with garlic & red pepper & other goodies.

Eggs also are a good strengthening food for weak chicks or ill adult chickens.

I want to add that sometimes when I have a number of egg shells, like after making quiche or something that uses a lot of eggs, I'll dry the shells in the oven or microwave & grind them to a fine grit, and mix them in with their feed. It helps strengthen the shells of the eggs they lay. I also do this if I find too many thin-shelled eggs coming in each day.

 

[ji]

We all can have a different view point on this. I respect people making a decision that makes the most sense to them - its what I do too.
I view the chicken egg the same as cows milk. Unfertilized it is nothing more than a container of pure nutrients that are perfectly designed and balanced to raise a chick embryo up to the size that it can eat other food on its own.
Just a like a calf drinks milk from the mother cow untill it can eat on its own. Drinking milk is not cannabilism and neither is feeding eggs - in my opinion. They do call them 'hen fruit'.

Sunny side I'm so glad you mentioned feeding the eggs to an ill chicken. I have a six month old bird that developed crook neck and I am trying to nurse her back to health - well, to a straight neck. She seems perfectly healthy and is even a good layer. She just has the neck problem. I'm going to try and add a steady diet
supplement of eggs and see if that helps her. Thanks.

 

[crtrlovr]

Quote:
I have a Bunn coffeemaker, which keeps hot water in its tank all the time. On top of the coffeemaker I keep a plastic dish into which I toss eggshells after opening them. The heat from the coffeemaker dries them out nicely, and when the bowl gets full I crush them into fine pieces and feed them back to the chickens either in scrambled eggs or some other treat, or just scatter them out in the run for them. They love it! (I don't do this with any heavily soiled shells; those go in the trash). Some people dry them in the oven or just let them air-dry; as long as they're good and DRY it shouldn't encourage any egg-eating behavior.

 

[farmerlor]

Just the other day, it was very cold out so I made my girlies some rice and while it was still hot I mixed in about a dozen extra eggs so they'd cook in with the rice. Added a little milk to cool the mess down and those girlies were just purring with pleasure.