URGENT! Chicken layer feed has "dead animal bodies" in it?

[Laigaie]

Redeather: Point us in the direction of your extensive research, please.

 

[lavacaw]

Come on peeps! We're talking chickens here. They will eat pretty much anything that doesn't get them first! Ever gone out to the coop and found a chicken that has died and the others are canibalizing it? There may be feed in the feeder but they prefer something new and different! They eat bugs and worms and any kinds of grains, seeds, etc. they come upon when free ranging. Unless you are raising them in cages (why have them if you are?) they are gonna eat things you may not approve of and that are definitely not for human consumption. Just give 'em chicken feed already!

 

[slc]

Some stuff out there is pure tinfoil hat stuff, other stuff is real but exaggerated.

I've seen my chickens eat mice. Meat per say is not bad, they are omnivores just like us, however, I doubt those mice ingested arsenic, antibiotics, grown hormones, or chicken feces. I wouldn't raise mice on those things and then feed them to my chickens. Sometimes wild does not mean worse.

Yes, rendering plants do turn animals that drop dead into animal feed. I can't comment on pounds (ie cats and dogs). Watch Dirty Jobs season 5 episode 14 where you will see how they do it. It’s very educational, but disturbing. There are clips on you tube I believe.

Our industrial food production system wastes nothing that can be turned into a product. It’s not a shocking secret, people just normally do not choose to “look behind the curtain” about such things.

By-products can contain anything. It can include parts from beef, pork, turkey, meat chickens and battery hens from egg factories, fish parts, organs, blood, bone. Even chicken poop is used in feed. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirby/you-want-chicken-poop-wit_b_530404.html

Some things are used for human food too. A common additive to ground beef is a product made from the outer fat layer that is exposed after skinning. Because it comes from the outer exposed surface of the animal it needs to be treated with ammonia solvents to retard bacterial growth in it. Then it is ground into paste and added back to processed meat. It’s been in our diets for many years, even our school’s USDA meat but most are not aware of that. http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_19947.cfm

This all sounds shocking and crazy and some over react when talking about it but it’s not tin foil hat stuff, it’s business as usual. It’s just the way the National Food Industry is, they have to find a use for the waste or it’s money down the drain for them.

If you have immediate problems you can always work your way little by little towards an alternative. Supplement with the feed and try different things until you find something that works for you then wean your self onto your independent food source.

Have you considered duckweed? It’s easy to grow in a backyard kiddy pool and its about 40% digestible protein.

Don't forget that commercial feed didn't exist 100 years ago yet people kept chickens just fine. Keep trying.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Chickens and livestock that are raised in big commercial operations are not eating the same feeds that you will see at the feed store. Yes, they feed some nasty stuff to them sometimes. That's not the same thing as the feeds that are at the feed store. It's also why a lot of people raise their own animals for meat or have chickens.

Just read the label on the feeds at the feed store. If you have any questions about what any of the ingredients are, just ask here. People will be happy to answer your questions. The Purina feeds that have no animal ingredients might be a good place for you to start.

 

[speckledhen]

The animal protein in the feeds I use is listed on the label. Porcine meal (meaning from pigs) is listed as the animal protein ingredient. Chickens are omnivores and their natural diet should include animal protein. I purposefully do not feed them vegetarian feeds like Purina. Of course, mine also get to free range several times each week and find more animal protein on their own. And I occasionally feed them salmon or mackerel for even more high quality animal protein.

If you feel better feeding them vegetarian feed, that is your choice, however, they do better with their molts and their general feather quality on a more balanced feed. The vegetarian feeds were created in order to make the people feel better after all the mad cow stuff, not because they were better nutrition for the birds. Afterward, more companies jumped on the bandwagon and folks began seeing worse feather quality, more feather picking and more cannibalism in their flocks, especially the ones that were always confined.

And yes, given the chance and the right conditions, they will eat each other and be none the worse for it, either.

 

[ranchhand]

Quote:
Yep.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Cynthia, I do think you are right. The Purina feed is a safe bet and also available pretty much everywhere. That's really why I said it was a good place to start. Most of the other feeds seem to be only available in certain areas. No matter what feed you look at, all you need to do is look at the label for the ingredients.

 

[GallusGal]

I think many of these rumors about ground up dogs and cats in animal feed go back to the pre-mad cow days when rendering was not NEARLY as tightly regulated as it is now. At any rate, chemically euthanized animals of any sort can not be legally rendered, and as another poster said already, most shelter animals are either incinerated or go to a waste disposal facility appropriate for such. But honestly, even if dogs and cats were in chicken feed, I can't really see how that is morally any different than fish, cattle, or pigs being put in poultry feed.

I personally feed a vegetarian layer pellet, not because I don't feel that chickens shouldn't have animal protein, but because I'd rather control the source of it. I am not comfortable with the possibility of poultry products in my feed, not because of ethics but because I am always leery of feeding conspecifics from a pathology perspective. I'd rather control the protein sources in their diet, and I do: I feed back many of their eggs, as well as plenty of bugs. They also receive grains and legumes, seeds, and plenty of fresh greens, veggies, and fruits, as I'm more worried about diets that are excessively soy based than I am about animal products in their feed.

 

[speckledhen]

Quote:
I realize why you said that, WW, and I agree.

Gallus said:

....as I'm more worried about diets that are excessively soy based than I am about animal products in their feed.

Me, too. Soy-based feeds are very hard to get away from.​

 

[Cindiloohoo]

My chooks ate a snake last week...I don't approve exactly but I wasn't gonna fught them for it either

The eggs are still tasty too...with a slight snakey hint