What is wrong with feeding chickens meat?

[HLAC]

I feed my chickens all sorts of meat.

Also, I once composted about 100 lbs of carp. Just piled a bunch of grass clippings on 'em and under 'em and smashed it down. Composted quickly and without much smell. (had to stand right over it to smell it... and the compost pile usually smells kind of funny if you stand right over it)

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

Literally just came back inside from throwing scraps to the chicken, including bbq chicken and chicken tenders, corn on the cob, and tossed salad remains...they can and will eat anything and I will continue to feed it to them...It does not hurt them..they love it and I love the nice wholesome eggs I get. Win Win Situation.

 

[bibliophile birds]

mine LOVE ham. i threw half a ham in the run the other day and by night it was picked completely down to the bone. they only get treats like that periodically though, cause you can give them TOO MUCH protein. plus, ham ain't cheap (this one was donated by my aunt who doesn't believe in left-overs).

btw, you can compost meat, you just don't want to throw it in your regular old compost pile. like others have said, it attracts pests and requires different organisms to break down. there's some info here. look into black soldier fly larvae.

eta: my chickens are the holy trinity: pets, eggs, and meat. they all eat the same feed, which includes meat. having said that, i wouldn't throw them an uncooked cow's brain and go about my business. it's the ingesting of brains that is a concern in the spread of things like Mad Cow. but i wouldn't worry a bit about the little mouse brains that the gobble up so happily when they find one in the coop... (sorry for being graphic)

 

[PortageGirl]

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FUNNY! ^^ But yeah, I'd actually compost any fish, especially raw, but never meat, meat products, or things that are greasy. It has long been known that fish is an excellent source of good stuff for a garden, and it breaks down much faster than any other kind of meat.

On another interesting and somewhat off topic thing, here's a very interesting article about milk, specifically RAW milk and it's use as a garden/yard aid. http://www.greenpasture.org/community/?q=node/228 I remember my uncle who raised AWESOME pumpkins who swore by feeding them milk. I wonder if that's a related sort of thing?

//edit to add, I'd be careful about Ham because of the salt content. too much salt is dangerous for them, or so I believe.

 

[bibliophile birds]

Quote:
i would definitely worry about that if you fed it regularly. mine get ham as a treat about every 6 weeks. and it's almost always locally raised and traditionally prepared anyway, so the salt content is a LOT lower than commercially processed ham. they sure do love it!

 

[Doodle_Doo]

wow i didnt know they could be fed meat

i was always told it would make them agressive
i always leave a saipan i have loose aroind the patio and
we started making a bbq and a small piece of raw meat fell and he ran for it.
but my uncle picked it up quick saying it was really bad..
soo would it be raw meat in speacial that is bad for them? they never tell me
even though ive asked..

 

[pattgal]

Quote:
i would definitely worry about that if you fed it regularly. mine get ham as a treat about every 6 weeks. and it's almost always locally raised and traditionally prepared anyway, so the salt content is a LOT lower than commercially processed ham. they sure do love it!

I would never have to worry about tossing them ham Since mine barely lasts a day. DH loves my honey glazed ham. the only ham they will ever see is what the kids have turned into mush (they are 1 & 2 years old) those kids really know how to take a good meal and spread it all over their bodies. Ive found gold fish in their diapers once or twice and the odd peas.
this is the whole reason why I am posting this by the way. My meats are hungry and my babies are wasteful. what a beautiful combination

 

[PortageGirl]

I don't find that it makes them any more aggressive, except that they dive for it so eagerly, just like they do if one hen gets a nice juicy bug, and they all try to get it from her.

Farmyard hens have been getting meat scraps for centuries, better that the leftovers and scraps go to animals that can use that protein source to use to produce useful additions to the household table like eggs and yes, even more meat. It's the whole circle of life thing I guess.

 

[technodoll]

Mine get meat every day, mostly raw - it's always a fight to see who gets the meat bits first from the breakfast bowl

 

[gritsar]

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yes, this is what i thought about in the first post!

(to the op, has your husband seen jurassic park?)

oh and the person who said they wouldnt fall down in the pen.

When my flock was younger and before they learned crows were their friends, I saw them stalk a crow. I swear! Looked just like that scene from Jurassic Park where those dinos were stalking the kids in the kitchen.

Believe me, if you fell down dead in your chicken yard your chickens would wait maybe half an hour (not out of respect, more like waiting to make sure you were really dead) then you'd be dinner too.