The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[subhanalah]

Not if the swine were raised on pasture/woodland, etc. and not confined with antibiotics in feed, etc.

I only feed any meat items if I know how the animals were raised.  So...if you don't know how they were raised I wouldn't likely feed it raw or cooked.

I feed my dogs raw liver (rabbit) but worried about it for the chickens?

 

[Leahs Mom]

I feed my chickens raw meats from hatch. I have 3 right now that I started feeding raw ground meat at day 1...just haven't gotten out the liver to chop it that tiny yet.

 

[ki4got]

My hubby processed our 300lb hog last night. I had him save the liver and kidneys for the chickens. It is in the fridge, had to work 7-7 today so tomorrow plan to do whatever I need to do with it. I imagine I can give raw pieces to the adult chickens while it is fresh but there is ALOT more than they can eat in one day. And can the one week old chicks eat any? Then what do I do with the rest??

several things. one I've done is 'blenderize' it and mix with finely chopped pieces. spread to about 1/2" thick on a large cookie sheet with wax paper, and also cover it with wax paper. when it's been in there a bit and starting to firm up, I use a pizza cutter to score it into meal sized pieces then finish freezing solid. then I stack the cut sections into ziplock bags and keep frozen.

 

[4Hgirl]

Thanks for all the suggestions! They have my wheels turning. I love the pizza cutter idea!
I obviously know how the hog was raised, humanely in my barn paddock, and surely well fed! But I purposefully did not deworm for past few months as I did not want any of that in our food source. But she was dewormed twice and she was only 6.5 months old. She could have had parasites as she was living on a natural surface (dirt/mud). Still think the raw is ok? My inclination is to feed raw but want to be safe too.

 

[mlowen]

I feed my chickens raw meats from hatch. I have 3 right now that I started feeding raw ground meat at day 1...just haven't gotten out the liver to chop it that tiny yet.

I feed raw, too. I have mixed (in the food processor) raw liver and raw ground beef. I feed little bits at a time from a container until it's gone. Right now, I have liver frozen & hamburger frozen in small amounts. When the girls need some, I'll thaw a piece of each, blend 'em together, and feed out until it's gone. I just keep the jar I'm working out of in the refrigerator.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote:
When you blend the liver in the fp, does it liquify? Just wondering what kind of texture you get because that would be way less time consuming than chopping

 

[armorfirelady]

When you blend the liver in the fp, does it liquify? Just wondering what kind of texture you get because that would be way less time consuming than chopping

When I put liver in the food processor for to long it was like thick jelly

I just cut it up into small pieces with my kitchen scissors now.

 

[Leahs Mom]

It's just so hard to get it tiny enough for the new hatchlings when I chop. I always think it's the right size then take it to them and find it's just a little large for them. I hate the idea of blending too...but maybe if mixed with ground meat like mel was saying it won't be so gross!

 

[aoxa]

My dogs get raw chicken, which is like the #1 food you must cook thoroughly according to food safety sites. But it is my chicken, and I know how it was raised and processed. I do not think it's all about how you raise them though, it's also how you process. No matter how awesome you raise your chickens, you can still contaminate the meat if you aren't using clean equipment.

 

[delisha]

My hubby processed our 300lb hog last night. I had him save the liver and kidneys for the chickens. It is in the fridge, had to work 7-7 today so tomorrow plan to do whatever I need to do with it. I imagine I can give raw pieces to the adult chickens while it is fresh but there is ALOT more than they can eat in one day. And can the one week old chicks eat any? Then what do I do with the rest??

freeze it raw..
liver is easier to cut or chop when frozen. Just chunk it up..place in zip lock freezer bags and freeze. You can toss the frozen chunk into the processor and it is good to go...If you thaw it first than process... you get a yucky gross mess. Than just add it to dry crumbles.

Quote: nope..

Thanks for all the suggestions! They have my wheels turning. I love the pizza cutter idea!
I obviously know how the hog was raised, humanely in my barn paddock, and surely well fed! But I purposefully did not deworm for past few months as I did not want any of that in our food source. But she was dewormed twice and she was only 6.5 months old. She could have had parasites as she was living on a natural surface (dirt/mud). Still think the raw is ok? My inclination is to feed raw but want to be safe too.

it will be fine..you are confident to eat it..

My dogs get raw chicken, which is like the #1 food you must cook thoroughly according to food safety sites. But it is my chicken, and I know how it was raised and processed. I do not think it's all about how you raise them though, it's also how you process. No matter how awesome you raise your chickens, you can still contaminate the meat if you aren't using clean equipment.

x2 and great reminder..about food prep. Watch the cross contamination.