What can I temporarily sub for chicken feed?

[citychicks99]

If you're feeding the dog chicken you must have a supply of chicken available. Toss some of the chicken into the porridge you're creating.

It won't make them cannibalize each other. My birds get the carcasses and the soup scraps all the time.

I'm just paranoid and think giving them meat outside might attract more dangerous predators.

 

[3KillerBs]

I'm just paranoid and think giving them meat outside might attract more dangerous predators.

Don't give them more than they'll eat in a reasonable amount of time and pick up the bones afterward.

 

[azygous]

When I give meat to my chickens, they eat it so fast, the smell can't travel any farther that my fingers to their beak. No danger of wild animals being attracted to thin air.

 

[Nodakj]

I have been rationing leftover ham to my chickens. We got 4 hams from our employers. We like ham just not a gazillion lbs of it. My pullets seem to enjoy it.

 

[saysfaa]

I have been rationing leftover ham to my chickens. We got 4 hams from our employers. We like ham just not a gazillion lbs of it. My pullets seem to enjoy it.

Do you soak it first to get at least some of the extra salt out of it?

 

[3KillerBs]

I have been rationing leftover ham to my chickens. We got 4 hams from our employers. We like ham just not a gazillion lbs of it. My pullets seem to enjoy it.

I'm very cautious about giving ham to my birds because of the salt. Usually only a bone that's been boiled twice (once whole for boiled ham, again the meaty bone for soup).

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Echoing the above - a commercial ham is easily 5x higher in salt than a chicken wants or needs. Often much higher.

 

[Sally PB]

What about flax seed/flax meal? I've read it's a good way to up the Omega-3 in their eggs. I've also read it can lead to hemorrhage issue in the liver.

 

[AGDependentFarm]

Food Science is real and real hard to undestand. But your not talking about changing the diet forever just a couple of days till the snow melts.
Chickens and well all birds are cannibals' and can and will eat just about anything including themselves.

I say don't stress it too much. Give them as healthy a choice as you can. End goal is keeping them fed till you can get more feed. their diet and nutrition needs will restore then. They can eat just about anything you can and more.

Make 'em a peanutbutter sammich if you have to.
Yes, it's safe for chickens to eat peanut butter in limited quantities. One tablespoon of creamy peanut butter provides almost double the amount of protein a light-breed hen needs to consume in a single day. That same peanut butter also gives the hen about a third of the necessary fat.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

What about flax seed/flax meal? I've read it's a good way to up the Omega-3 in their eggs. I've also read it can lead to hemorrhage issue in the liver.

Flax Seed (before correction for moisture, which will lower these about 10%) are (on average, per Feedipedia) 23.7% Protein (good), 10.4% fiber (high), 37.2% fat (VERY HIGH), are good to quite good on Met, right where you want to be on LYS, and will help make up for significant deficiencies in other ingredients on both Thre and Tryp.
They are also REALLY expensive pound per pound compared to most other ingredients, so I try to avoid relying on their use, even temporarily - the little extra protein, in my view, is typically outweighed by the much higher fat - and on temporary basis, its less critical to hit all targets.

Now if my ingredientc choices were corn and flax seed? Corn is low across the board, I'd be looking at flax seed, and worrying about fat. Mostly, I'd be finding other ingredients.