Vegetarian Chickens?

[Elwar]

Ok, I was in Sam's yesterday and they had some expensive eggs that were being sold as "vegetarian" chicken eggs...from chickens who had never eaten meat.

Is there a point to that? Or is it just a way to make vegetarians think that eating those eggs is ok?

Also, I finally got my chickens to try some watermelon yesterday. They haven't eaten any of the treats I've tried to give them yet. And when I put the watermelon pieces in their run they were all doing everything they could to get away from it...I had to literally pick one up and scrape some watermelon onto her beak to get her to taste it. She eventually decided she liked it and started eating it and the others followed suit.

 

[hikerchick]

With vegetarian chickens you don't have to worry about eating eggs from chickens that have eaten infected meat products. meat products can be infected with all kinds of nasties.

 

[mamaKate]

Your probably right about vegetarian eggs being a marketing ploy. I think chickens need animal (insect) protein for optimal health. My chicks were super slow to accept treats, too. Keep trying-they'll catch on eventually.

 

[edb]

I can't imagine a poor chicken not enjoying bugs, mine love crickets that are plentiful in my yard. Anytime I get the chance I give them bugs, I even feed them fish parts leftover and any small crustations I find in the creeks. High protein and shells, bones are great calcium.

 

[Heelers&Chickens_OhMy]

I think it's part marketing ploy part safety on the company's end. We (consumers) are being told that chickens are being fed raw cow and chicken parts.....yuck! I feed my birds insects and they are good catchers of their own. However, they also like fish & steak. Chickens are omnivorous and I believe in feeding them so. Also, vegetarian feed probably means lots of corn and soy....I would really prefer this NOT to be the majority of my girls' diet!

 

[Wifezilla]

Since chickens aren't naturally vegetarians, I think it is...
1) cruel
2) a marketing ploy
3) an excuse to charge more for the eggs
4) an excuse to feed low quality soy protein to the chickens

 

[elmo]

If the chickens truly have access only to vegetarian food, then you know they are caged and have no access to the outdoors.

Blech.

 

[hikerchick]

I am not sure why vegetarian chickens would be denied melons or berries. But I agree, the ideal would be to let them eat their natural diet, free from animal byproducts but full of juicy bugs and fresh fruits and veggies. processed soy meal is not really the way to go, either.

 

[Heelers&Chickens_OhMy]

Quote:
I'm just thinking...organic vegetarian eggs are not required to be from free range chickens. If it's a big operation, how do you have time to 'treat' all of your hens? Things like melons or berries with a lot of water content would clog up dry feed systems, so they would require a lot more human intervention.

I would hope those hens got treats....but I just don't think they would :-/

 

[edb]

I don't think bugs are a bad thing for chickens to eat; but pulverized cow bones and chicken by products should not be part of their diet, in my opinion.

From what I've been reading bone meal is good and fish meal is outstanding for poultry feed.​