Vegan diet for chickens - is it unhealthy?

[Henhouse Harlot]

Point taken. On rereading your original post I stand corrected.
If there is any way to turn it around on her it may be to accuse Her of speciesism. How does she get the right to foist her Ideology on a chicken. Was it given a choice? (This probably won't sway her but it may be fun.)
Actually by taking over the care of livestock she is (we are) engaging in Animal Husbandry. We have to act in their best interest, in return they trust us to care for them. It is a sort of social contract. Much more complicated than I can express here, but as Saint-Exupere said in "The Little Prince" "You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed." Someone else added, "And if you can't handle forever, then don't start, just don't."

This took me from laughing myself silly (imagining standing up to self-righteous person with cries of "Speciesism is the WORST kind of 'ism'!!!"), to simply happy, because I'm not the only one quoting The Little Prince.

 

[BeefQuesoritto]

I know this is an old thread, but I thought it was very informative and just wanted to also add in some information I came across while I should have been getting ready for bed...

Monsters? Cows with udders like the one in that picture just aren't seen in any progressive dairy any more. ... For one thing they are a nightmare to milk. For another an udder like that would be very prone to injury.

I can't find the source of the image that was linked or the story behind the udder here, besides this photo collage website which gives absolutely no context except that the cow is in a field somewhere in the Netherlands. There's no evidence that the cow is the result of some planned breeding to produce an udder of this shape. This type of pendulous udder is most likely caused by an injury and is not purposeful, and it indicates imo bad management.

This is a more typical dairy cow's udder.

Also note that for these dairy shows, the cows get 40% of their points based on their udder, and a capacious udder is prefered, but a pendulous one is certainly not. An udder that's high and tightly secured to the body is best, with level teats. High and tightly secured indicates a long milking life. It's better for a milking cow to stay in production as long as possible, and stay healthy throughout.

Dairy bulls are judged on the udders of their daughters, and that's why on most AI sites selling bull sperm, you typically won't see many pictures of bulls. The ones that do have bulls haven't yet produced daughters (brand new to market).

Milk letdown happens in dairy cows too, and it's an important process. Epinephrine (from stress and pain) inhibits this process, so it's extremely important to keep the dairy cows from being stressed. These are extremely valued and cared for animals, even in factory farming situations. A pendulous, painful udder not supported by the suspensory ligaments will not give much milk, if you can even get the milker set up on it.

I've only AI'd slaughter reproductive tracts and fake plastic cows so far. But I can say with borrowed experience (from my instructor) that it's much safer for the cows and humans to not have bulls on property. Bulls can hurt cows way more than an AI depositor can. AI sperm can also be sex selected so fewer male calves are born. Females become future dairy cows, they're not surplus.

So, uh, what ever happened to that poor "rescued" chicken, anyway?

 

[Chicken poppy]

Old thread but i wanted to add something,

Don’t force a animal that your getting to swap diets. Do you like it (as a vegan) to have a few people tell you meat eating is the only way, and forcing you to change? Then don’t force animals to be vegan (or anyone for that matter). Get a animal that eats vegan food or don’t get one at all, that’s kinda as simple as it gets if you get uncomfortable feeding bugs/meat.

I’m vegan and it makes me very sad to see people do this. I have no problem feeding my cat some meat and non vegan treats, dry, wet, etc. Some people do, and if you do, get a hamster or something. People can’t seem to understand not all animals can survive off of some leafy greens. If you can not provide something as basic as a diet to keep a animal alive (or at the very least healthy) then you shouldn’t own one at all.

 

[cassie]

I know this is an old thread, but I thought it was very informative and just wanted to also add in some information I came across while I should have been getting ready for bed...

I can't find the source of the image that was linked or the story behind the udder here, besides this photo collage website which gives absolutely no context except that the cow is in a field somewhere in the Netherlands. There's no evidence that the cow is the result of some planned breeding to produce an udder of this shape. This type of pendulous udder is most likely caused by an injury and is not purposeful, and it indicates imo bad management.

This is a more typical dairy cow's udder.
View attachment 3486194
Also note that for these dairy shows, the cows get 40% of their points based on their udder, and a capacious udder is prefered, but a pendulous one is certainly not. An udder that's high and tightly secured to the body is best, with level teats. High and tightly secured indicates a long milking life. It's better for a milking cow to stay in production as long as possible, and stay healthy throughout.

Dairy bulls are judged on the udders of their daughters, and that's why on most AI sites selling bull sperm, you typically won't see many pictures of bulls. The ones that do have bulls haven't yet produced daughters (brand new to market).

Milk letdown happens in dairy cows too, and it's an important process. Epinephrine (from stress and pain) inhibits this process, so it's extremely important to keep the dairy cows from being stressed. These are extremely valued and cared for animals, even in factory farming situations. A pendulous, painful udder not supported by the suspensory ligaments will not give much milk, if you can even get the milker set up on it.

I've only AI'd slaughter reproductive tracts and fake plastic cows so far. But I can say with borrowed experience (from my instructor) that it's much safer for the cows and humans to not have bulls on property. Bulls can hurt cows way more than an AI depositor can. AI sperm can also be sex selected so fewer male calves are born. Females become future dairy cows, they're not surplus.

So, uh, what ever happened to that poor "rescued" chicken, anyway?

Great post!!

 

[Henhouse Harlot]

Fortunately, this post seems to be like a good cheese , as time goes by, rather than decaying it's gaining an excellent flavor!

This continues to be a relevant topic, and I very much enjoy reading what the folks here have to say!

 

[BelovedBirds]

Fortunately, this post seems to be like a good cheese , as time goes by, rather than decaying it's gaining an excellent flavor!

Speak for your own cheese, my vegan cheese grows mould within two weeks, and it's not the good kind.

 

[Henhouse Harlot]

Speak for your own cheese, my vegan cheese grows mould within two weeks, and it's not the good kind.

Ha!! Good point! How about a good bottle of wine..?

 

[Chicken poppy]

Speak for your own cheese, my vegan cheese grows mould within two weeks, and it's not the good kind.

Come on, we all like some good cheese fuzz. (Joking, nasty.) I once left watermelon slices in a turned off mini fridge for about 5 months and it was so fuzzy it looked like mini trees.

I got dared to smell it for $50, did i do it? Yes.

 

[The Birb King]

Her poor health is probably a mix of all of those things. Cornish broilers are not known to live past 10 weeks and if they do they will most likely have serious health issues. Also vegan diets are not super healthy for chickens they are 100% pure omnivores and need a good mix of plants and protein in their diet. If she is indoors all the time she is also probably lacking fresh air and vitamin D. You should tell the owner that this is not the correct way to care for a chicken and if they dont listen they maybe you or someone else can take her and give her a proper home.

 

[The Birb King]

Old thread but i wanted to add something,

Don’t force a animal that your getting to swap diets. Do you like it (as a vegan) to have a few people tell you meat eating is the only way, and forcing you to change? Then don’t force animals to be vegan (or anyone for that matter). Get a animal that eats vegan food or don’t get one at all, that’s kinda as simple as it gets if you get uncomfortable feeding bugs/meat.

I’m vegan and it makes me very sad to see people do this. I have no problem feeding my cat some meat and non vegan treats, dry, wet, etc. Some people do, and if you do, get a hamster or something. People can’t seem to understand not all animals can survive off of some leafy greens. If you can not provide something as basic as a diet to keep a animal alive (or at the very least healthy) then you shouldn’t own one at all.

Exactly! Some people even feed their dogs nothing but vegetables which is just wrong considering they are carnivores.