Young cockerels- is it worth it to raise & butcher? Are there other options?

[Poodle Lucy]

Adding to the opinion that it might be worth feeding to other animals, people who feed raw diets to their dogs, cats, or even reptiles would be interested. I don't solely feed raw, but my dogs definitely get the butchering scraps.

Would I have gut them in order to prepare them for my dogs?

 

[NatJ]

Would I have gut them in order to prepare them for my dogs?

It probably depends on the dog.

I know that some dogs are happy to eat the entire chicken, including guts and bones and feathers. Those dogs might leave a few big feathers from the wings but nothing else.

The smaller the chicken and the bigger the dog, the more likely that a dog will eat the entire thing with no gutting or other processing. I would not expect a chihuahua to eat a big chicken whole (at least, not in one meal!) but I've seen a 25 pound dog eat a 2 pound bantam, and a 70 pound dog eat a much bigger chicken. If you are dispatching young cockerels (2-4 weeks old), almost any dog can probably eat one of them whole. If you have a big chicken and a small dog, you might need to cut the chicken into sections and feed it over multiple days, but I don't think you would need to gut it even then, unless the specific dog refuses to eat certain parts.

 

[Poodle Lucy]

It probably depends on the dog.

I know that some dogs are happy to eat the entire chicken, including guts and bones and feathers. Those dogs might leave a few big feathers from the wings but nothing else.

The smaller the chicken and the bigger the dog, the more likely that a dog will eat the entire thing with no gutting or other processing. I would not expect a chihuahua to eat a big chicken whole (at least, not in one meal!) but I've seen a 25 pound dog eat a 2 pound bantam, and a 70 pound dog eat a much bigger chicken. If you are dispatching young cockerels (2-4 weeks old), almost any dog can probably eat one of them whole. If you have a big chicken and a small dog, you might need to cut the chicken into sections and feed it over multiple days, but I don't think you would need to gut it even then, unless the specific dog refuses to eat certain parts.

Thanks! I'm dispatching 5 cockerels who are already obnoxious at just over 8 weeks old and will be feeding them to large dogs. I'm planning to skin them then cut into pieces. I'll probably hose them off. Should I do anything else?

 

[NatJ]

Thanks! I'm dispatching 5 cockerels who are already obnoxious at just over 8 weeks old and will be feeding them to large dogs. I'm planning to skin them then cut into pieces. I'll probably hose them off. Should I do anything else?

That should be fine. I do not think you need to do anything else. You might not even have to do that much.

Depending on the dog, it is sometimes safer to feed whole chickens than pieces, sometimes the other way around. Dogs who gulp their food without chewing need it small enough to gulp safely, or else large enough that they are forced to slow down and chew (I once saw "as large as the dog's head" as a guideline for how big will force the dog to chew instead of gulping it whole.) For dogs that will chew their food, you can serve whatever size pieces are convenient for you.

I would say skinning is worth doing if you want to, but it generally seems to be safe enough for a dog to eat the skin and feathers if it wants to. If you skin the cockerels, that does make it easier to dispose of the feathers neatly, rather than finding some lying around when the dog finishes eating. If you are trying to keep the dogs from making the connection of chicken = food, I do not know if skinning will help or not, but I am sure it would not hurt either.

 

[Poodle Lucy]

That should be fine. I do not think you need to do anything else. You might not even have to do that much.

Depending on the dog, it is sometimes safer to feed whole chickens than pieces, sometimes the other way around. Dogs who gulp their food without chewing need it small enough to gulp safely, or else large enough that they are forced to slow down and chew (I once saw "as large as the dog's head" as a guideline for how big will force the dog to chew instead of gulping it whole.) For dogs that will chew their food, you can serve whatever size pieces are convenient for you.

I would say skinning is worth doing if you want to, but it generally seems to be safe enough for a dog to eat the skin and feathers if it wants to. If you skin the cockerels, that does make it easier to dispose of the feathers neatly, rather than finding some lying around when the dog finishes eating. If you are trying to keep the dogs from making the connection of chicken = food, I do not know if skinning will help or not, but I am sure it would not hurt either.

Thanks so much!