so i finally tried feeding some raw meat...

[eggchel]

Okay.... Ive cleaned out this thread and returned it to the forum because it is a good topic.

I deleted many posts in entirety and some were edited to remove snarky comments.

A few posts needed to be edited only to remove portions of quotes that were deleted from other members posts.

Please keep this thread on topic and polite. It is possible to express differing opinions without rude comments.

 

[technodoll]

Funny thing... I gave my flock earthworms this summer (was gardening a lot and they were eeeeverywhere LOL) but the hens didn't want to eat them, LOL!

They'd peck at them and fling them around and then stomp on them then leave the poor critters to die in the sun.

So I stopped giving them what I thought was a treat

I don't have access to mealworms or crickets (very expensive here in petshops for the tiny treat they provide!) and since I've done my research and found that chickens are omnivores, that's when I figured a bit of raw meat wouldn't hurt... it's not a grub for protein but it's still unprocessed meat, right? At least that was my line of thought!

Now my only question - to those who have experience with this - does giving a bit of raw meat as an occasional treat make the eggs taste bad?

(the flock is thriving, btw, no ill effects after the treats!)

 

[lauralou]

I feed my chickens meat.

Now that it's deer season, they'll be getting a lot of raw meat. I save out the livers, some of the more attractive looking innards, and all of the little scraps that are left over after processing.

They've even been seen picking at the carcasses before we bury them.

No problems at all. They love it.

 

[txchickie]

Mine devoured a raw hamburger patty on several occasions while I was cooking on the grill this summer. I "accidentally" drop them

They loooove raw hamburger.


I do believe in the raw food diet for our dogs and cat. I don't believe that feeding a chicken any type of raw meat would be anything NEAR harmful.
I've personally seen my chickens fighting over mice, toads, and baby snakes. They gobble them up like candy. They steal mice from the cat.


The whole "Mad Cow" thing is because cattle are HERBIVORES, not carnivores or omnivores.
Chickens are omnivores, therefore feeding them meat is not harmful, but beneficial.

 

[Amethyste]

This topic makes me laugh

Chickens are omnivores. They are meant to scavenge and glean off the land. Their motto, imho, is If It Looks Good Then Eat It!!

Chicks will raid you garden and devour your plants. They will eat their way thru a bushel of corn if you let them. They have and WILL eat meat if they can catch it and if they can get it....dead or alive. Frogs, lizards, hamburgers, hotdogs.... they realyl don't care. It's not going to kill them if they eat chicken either.

I remember vividly being a little girl at my grandads farm. He had a small dairy farm, and had a few horses, and a lot of chickens. One day we went for a walk and noticed a LOT of commotion in the field, so we went to go look. It was the flock of chickens, and they were having the time of their life eating off the carcass of a poached deer someone had left in the field. I asked my grandad if it was ok for them to eat it...and he said to me "Chickens are chickens....they have cast iron stomachs."

As for the mad chicken disease from chickens eating chickens lol Not gonna happen imho. See, as my grandad said to me... Cows were meant to eat grass, and plants. Chickens were meant to eat EVERYTHING lol So of course the cows would get sick cos they werent meant to eat meat...they were never created and meant to eat animal proteins in their diets....now chickens will eat animal protiens cos they are meant to do so. Leave a dead cow in the field and the other cows will avoid it. Leave a dead chicken and the chickens will be checking it out to see if its edible.

 

[Akane]

I just want to say I'm appalled. I did have a bird get a dead frog my wife hit with the lawnmower but I would not encourage meat eating by my birds unless I wanted to find a coop full of dead birds.
Feeding chickens meat and yuk just cause they eat it is like feeding your dog cat poop or other dogs poop just cause they'll eat it and they will.
Not only are you what you eat but you are what they eat. Which is why people want organic food.
By the way there are many plants that have protein. (edited by staff)

Actually there are reasons dogs and other animals will eat feces. In fact it's very common in young animals, those with digestive tract problems, or who cannot get the nutrients they need. It can give them the bacteria they need to digest food because we are not sterile. We require bacteria living inside us to turn out food into something we can use. It can give them nutrients they couldn't get the first time. For example only herbivores have the bacteria and structures needed to make b12 from food and absorb it. Many omnivorous and I believe all carnivorous animals must absorb the b12 in the beginning of the intestine after eating a product from a herbivore otherwise the b12 is created too late and none is absorbed but pooped out. If that part of the intestine isn't functioning, things go by too fast due to diarhea, or any other number of causes that b12 gets missed. There are other cases like that too. After it comes out of the body it could be reingested to get such vitamins or minerals that were missed. It's also a common practice by many animals to produce 2 types of feces one of which is reingested and when treating small animals for diarhea one good solution is to dissolve one of these feces in water and syringe it to them.


It may sound gross to you but is it actually unhealthy? No not really. Sometimes it's beneficial. Eating cat poop may contain some undesireables so probably shouldn't be encouraged but eating chicken poop or feces from herbivorous actually has health benefits and the only risk is possibly parasite ingestion.

Same with meat. Does it sound bad to you? Yes. Is it unhealthy? Absolutely not. It provides something they need. Chickens require animal products to live just like dogs and cats. Humans actually require animal products to live if they don't eat fortified foods and vitamins. Many vegan societies have failed because they tried to grow all their own organic food without animal products and did not take vitamins or eat fortified foods. Many of the vitamins we require from animals we can store for a long time. If you stopped eat all b12 sources today you might not notice symptoms for 10years. Babies that are born in these situations though do not have stored vitamins and quickly become ill. Much the same happens to cats attempted to be put on vegetarian diets. I'm sure the same would happen to chickens. They require animal protein or products to get everything they need. Plant protein is not animal protein and missing essential amino acids. Humans can overlook such things and we get by on other poor diets because our government requires all sorts of vitamins, minerals, etc... to be added to certain foods like breads and cereals so even if we don't eat something that normally has that source we get it from those foods that wouldn't otherwise have it. You could easily argue that isn't the healthiest way to eat and many find their pets end up much healthier if they go back to feeding what they need like they would normally find it. For omnivores and carnivores that means raw meat.​

 

[technodoll]

Love, love, love all your information-rich replies!

This is such a great forum to learn all there is about chickens (and humans too, LOL) - I feel safe and well surrounded here.

My flock thanks you

 

[eggchel]

Wow Akane, that post was fascinating.


Thanks

 

[mamaKate]

I picked up some severely malnourished chicks last summer that had eye and breathing problems. I gave them medicated chick starter, wormed them and supplemented with active yogurt and raw chicken liver. Amazing turnaround.

 

[nancysmith2]

I don't think I would risk raw meat which may have parasites or worse. Is it worth the risk, when you could just give it to them cooked or some tuna or peanut butter for protein?