cute-chickens Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 I seem to recall having read somewhere that we shouldn't feed meat to our girls - although I have seen that some get bacon bits as treats. We sometimes have leftover cooked minced lamb & beef - ideal size for beaks - but are not sure if they should have it. Does anyone else feed meat to their chooks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louise Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 Its personal choice here You can't feed meat or fish products to meat producing animals anymore - brought in after the BSE crisis but for your own hens it is what you are comfortable with My girls get a small amount of leftover meat and they are fine with it at the end of the day they will eat almost anything and if they get their beaks on a mouse or a frog they will scoff it too so in nature they do eat some meat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Cooks Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 The advice I was given was not to let them have meat, in case they twig that there is a large selection of undercooked chicken living with them! I don't know if there is really any danger of them turning cannibal, but I'm not risking it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feemcg Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 I read somewhere yesterday of a cockerel being fed tins of sardines! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gallina Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 Chickens like meat and fish more than anything, but it is illegal because of BSE etc. So the official answer is Yes, you can feed them meat, and Yes, they will love it, but No, you should do what DEFRA tells you. Unofficially you can make your own choice. They work out from eating worms and other things that they dig up from the soil that meat exists. They won't start eating each other after tasting a bit of beef: they aren't cannibals, but scavengers who by nature are designed to clear up carrion. They do a wonderful job on the remains of a joint of lamb (so I understand). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 One thing I would warn against is them eating too much fish. Apparantly,it makes for fishy tasting eggs Can't verify this as mine have never had eggs,but I have heard this from several people who have owned hens for a long time.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 (edited) Ditto all the above. Mine love meal worms and they are a great source of protein. Of course, I would never admit to giving them the odd bit of tuna in the winter when there's less protein around in the garden Edited October 26, 2006 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzy J Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 I agree I cant see that a small amount of meat would hurt them as said above they do eat worms and bugs and things (frogs and mice ) although I wont be giving mine pork chops to munch on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suandtim Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 Since we got the chooks, I've always been very careful to turn away from the kitchen window whenever I'm roasting a 'you know what' at the weekend, so as not to upset them. Last weekend, the cats managed to liberate the previous night's carcass from the dustbin and spread it all over the path by the back door. And on their way to try and barge in through the back door, as usually happens when we're around and the girls feel they're getting ignored... You can guess the picture we were confronted with last mid-Sunday morning............They haven't taken bites out of each other though since they tried their, er, brethren. Touch wood, it doesn't seem to have done any harm..but YEEEUUGGHHHHHH..... Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barnabydaisy Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 They like a nice bit of slug but i would not give ours anything else. M&J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura & CTB Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 You can guess the picture we were confronted with last mid-Sunday morning............They haven't taken bites out of each other though since they tried their, er, brethren. Touch wood, it doesn't seem to have done any harm..but YEEEUUGGHHHHHH..... Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
