The Evolution of Atlas: A Breeding (and Chat) Thread

[speckledhen]

If it was only due to becoming rancid too early, then I believe none would have animal protein, but mine does. It's always been fresh-smelling and unless a bag was on the bottom of a stack for too long, non-dusty, too. I've never had a bag of rancid Tucker Milling feed, not in the dozen years I've used it.

On what planet would a cow willingly eat chicken litter? Again, as with chickens, if it's all they have, they will eat it rather than starve. Same with chickens. They are hungry, they'll eat what they have.

Every time I see companies marketing their chicken as "all vegetarian fed" it just makes me sick.

Me, too. In fact, I've been known to say in the store, a bit too loudly, "Vegetarian chickens? What a joke! Who are they kidding?" Apparently, a lot of people!


Athena is the same. I put her back with her group again since she was up and scratching around in the shavings in the cage. She is not eating what's in her bowl (chick starter, mostly) so I figured why keep her away from her peeps?

By the way, does anyone know if computers have card readers in them anymore? I'm looking at them now and I cannot find one with a media card reader. I use that all the time.

 

[Pyxis]

It's an amazingly disgusting practice - and it's certainly "convenient" to market "vegetarian fed chicken" to the millennials and the supposed "health conscious" that have no clue that the vegetarian fed chicken and eggs that they buy can't possibly be a healthy bird.

Hey now, I'm a millennial As is everyone born between the early 1980's to the early 2000's. I promise we're not all idiots.

Anyway, I totally agree with your post. There are way too many people who think 'vegetarian' automatically means healthier, which is just not true. Take it from me, I was a vegetarian for three years. Oreos are vegan. That doesn't mean they're better for you.

And feeding cows the used chicken bedding is something I did not know about. That is just disgusting and awful No way they would eat that of their own free will, but like Cynthia said, if that's all they have access to, they'll eat it so they don't starve. It's very sad.

 

[kitkat5505]

Oh man, I had no idea they fed the cows chicken litter. so gross!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

On the tail end of our dairy farm days, around 1994, the feed guy came around to tell about a few revolutionary new product that was cheaper than roasted soybeans and would boost the protein intake for milk production at half the price.

The products were feather meal and blood meal. We tried both, and the cows refused to eat either. We were told it had to be mixed in good with the silage in order to get them to eat it. That didn't work either and we went back to soybeans, but the products continued, and I have no clue if they still use them in total mixed rations or not.

I would assume the blood meal was made illegal after mad cow, but feather meal is a different thing. Cows aren't meat eaters, so that was as unnatural as denying chickens animal protein.

I personally am a vegetarian. I cannot stomach the idea of eating dead animals, but I'm not anything like my die hard preaching vegan brother, who due to his self righteous attitude doesn't talk to me much anymore. He says my chickens are cannibals because I feed them scrambled eggs.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@Pyxis
I meant no disrespect to millennials! Just to say that a lot of young people are very health conscious and there are people that take advantage of them with marketing. Same with any age, unfortunately.

@kitkat5505
I know, right!!!

When I first heard that I was dumbfounded. I already knew that conventionally (factory) farmed cattle were not being fed a species-appropriate diet. But chicken litter?

 

[1muttsfan]

That's right up there with farmed Tilapia being fed pig poop

She may be a blob, but she's OUR blob

Anybody tried the Purina Omega supplemented feed?

 

[getaclue]

They seriously are feeding chicken litter to cows? What the heck are they thinking? How can a diet like this possibly provide people with all the beneficial nutrients that they should be able to derive from eating good beef?

They wonder why people are unhealthy, and overweight? They're not getting all the nutrients their bodies are needing, so their hunger is not sated with less food. That goes for fruits, and vegetables too. Far too many ingredients are put into fertilizers to make them grow, and ripen before they have a chance to absorb enough vitamins, minerals, trace minerals, and enzymes from the soil, so they fill the belly, but people have to eat substantially more to get the needed nutrition.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Why I only buy meat direct from the farmer where I know their husbandry practices. I'm grateful to have some good grass fed/true Pasture raised sources.

 

[speckledhen]

On the tail end of our dairy farm days, around 1994, the feed guy came around to tell about a few revolutionary new product that was cheaper than roasted soybeans and would boost the protein intake for milk production at half the price.

The products were feather meal and blood meal. We tried both, and the cows refused to eat either. We were told it had to be mixed in good with the silage in order to get them to eat it. That didn't work either and we went back to soybeans, but the products continued, and I have no clue if they still use them in total mixed rations or not.

I would assume the blood meal was made illegal after mad cow, but feather meal is a different thing. Cows aren't meat eaters, so that was as unnatural as denying chickens animal protein.

I personally am a vegetarian. I cannot stomach the idea of eating dead animals, but I'm not anything like my die hard preaching vegan brother, who due to his self righteous attitude doesn't talk to me much anymore. He says my chickens are cannibals because I feed them scrambled eggs.

Lisa, your cows were smart. They know what they should eat, right? I could almost be a vegetarian myself. I am fine with a burger once in awhile when out, but if my husband was not here, I would never buy a piece of meat or chicken to cook for myself. I am less and less in love with eating chicken after seeing how amazing they are, though that's just a personal thing, not something I'm crazed about, like the video I saw of the fruitcake in the coffee shop wailing at the top of her lungs about a battery chicken she saved named Snow. I have a Snow and she just wants to live and be held and petted, too, but I don't go all ape in public over it. That just made her look insane. Here it is:

And chickens ARE cannibals! They'll eat each other if given half a chance, seriously! Your brother should realize that egg yolk is a natural food for chickens....they absorb an entire yolk into their bodies when they hatch and it sustains them for as long as three days. Case closed, LOL.

Why I only buy meat direct from the farmer where I know their husbandry practices. I'm grateful to have some good grass fed/true Pasture raised sources.

I wish I could afford that, if only for my meat-eating husband. We can barely afford the cheapest beef in Walmart. Steak? Haven't had any in many years. He cannot conceive of a life without some sort of meat, though on occasion, we do have a vegetarian meal.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I am seriously blessed to have a farm connection that has low-line cattle that are completely pasture/grass fed. The low-line makes them smaller so that purchasing a quarter at a time doesn't break the bank and their hanging weight price is the same as non-grass fed in our area.

Usually once a year they butcher one just for ground and sell it at the same price per lb. that I'd have to pay in the grocery for the lowest quality meat. When they do that I purchase as many lbs as are available then other friends and family that don't have larger freezers purchase theirs from me (not marked up) as they need it. (I actually primarily use ground myself.)

If I go to a grocery or butcher shop and see the prices for their frozen grass-fed beef it is as much as 2 - 2.5x higher in price. If I had to buy it at that price it would be unrealistic.

So I encourage people to keep their ears open and ask around to see if you can find that kind or source in your area. I actually heard about this particular farm from a friend that somehow found them. Not even sure how. And whenever I run into folks that are interested I hook them up with the farm for themselves.