Feeding the chickens table scraps and such.

[Frantz]

Hey guys & gals,
My wife is having a fit that we are starting to feed our chickens table scraps and such. I feed them a wonderful diet of regular chicken feed, flax seed and vitamin E. I also love supplementing that with table scraps etc. My business has been doing weekend bbq's lately and I have been taking the left overs to the chicks. Anything wrong with that? Its just left over potato salad, hot dogs, pulled pork etc. Nothing wrong with that right?? I am more that willing to admit when I am wrong, so let me know. I think that her biggest worry is that we are feeding chickens stuff that we wouldn't eat (old potato salad) and such and then eating the eggs.
Give me something to calm her down a little and I will be eternally greatful.
F

[poka-bee]

Isn't that one of the perks of having chix?  As long as the food isn't spoiled it's ok.  I have been doing it for 20 years.  Don't give em potato peels or avacado (avacado isn't good for birds or many animals) It's amazing how they can pick bones clean! They eat bugs = protein like meats.  They will even eat each other if too crowded.  If you don't get organic veggies or out of your own garden you will have to wash the greens, tops, yada of salad things.  They can clean a watermelon or cantaloupe down to the very outside rind.  As long as you are feeding them a quality food for the main staple, the scraps are a treat, much like if they were free ranging! Jody

[Frantz]

Ok, but if the potato salad is old should I not feed it to them then?? Its old enough that I don't want to eat it. I guess that is my main question. We used to feed the hogs and chickens anything and everything. Rotten or not, maybe I am just taking it a little to far??
Frantz

[poka-bee]

Their systems can handle more than ours but I wouldn't push it too far, how old is old?  Has it been refridgerated??  I have given mine some questionable stuff & they are ok, but it's always been refridgerated the whole time.  I eat things I wouldn't give my kids....I would just use common sense, no mould, no smell, no off colors...  Jody

[danno]

We feed everything except fish and potato skins.  In fall they get all the deer carcasses and scapes and  they just love chicken. 

[kathyp]

feed away.  they are great garbage disposals.  look at it this way....you are recycling.  you'll get the scraps back 

[Frantz]

10-4,
Thanks guys, got it.
F

[Vetch]

We feed everything except fish and potato skins.  In fall they get all the deer carcasses and scapes and  they just love chicken. 

You might get away with that for years, but eventually, it could cause problems with prion diseases. Mad cow disease was multiplied massively by feeding cows to cows, and kuru (laughing disease) in people is linked to people eating the brains of their deceased family or enemies in New Guinea.  Maybe its an emotional reaction on my part, but cannibalism (even among chickens) is just not right. 

[SmokeEater2]

We feed our table scraps with the exception of potato peels,fish and onions. They love it and I like the fact that less is going to waste.

[danno]

I only feed cook chicken scraps.  When I loose a bird they are quickly taken away and desposed of

[Vetch]

Prions are not destroyed by cooking.

[danno]

well if your right I guess we've gotton away with it for 50 years.   

[ooptec]

Hey,

The way I see it now I have chickens they have become the intermediary step between scraps in the kitchen and the compost bin. A great step too as they poot out eggs and then their effluent and straw end up as compost anyways.

BTW why not potato parings?? Just curious as mine won't eat them or citrus rinds anyways. Favorites are

1 - Meat scraps and bones (dogs just hate that but when my dogs start laying eggs they can have the first shot again   lol)
2 - Pasta
3 - Everything else    lol

They love it too as one catches me going out w/their tin loaf pan they come tearing over from far and wide. I don't even have to call them anymore.

Took brooder off chicks and they promptly scurries to a corner of the coop and haven't budged, I guess to them it's a suddenly scary big world out there. Knew any of the hens wouldn't have anything to do w/them but was surprised when went out this AM and a guinea was setting on them keeping them warm as they obviously didn't move under the heat lamp at night.

cheers

[Jerrymac]

Yeah... Why not tater peels? My wife said her dad always fed them to their chickens.

[danno]

I really cant answer the tater skin thing it is just been the family rule forever. The pasta thing is the best to watch.  I think they think they got a nice fat worm and run with them so they dont have to share

[Vetch]

well if your right I guess we've gotton away with it for 50 years.   

And might get away with it for another 50 more, maybe longer.  It took a while for the mad-cow epidemic to hit the UK ... decades of feeding a bit of chopped beef to live beef.  Eventually, the prion load went way up, and cows and people got rather sick. The shorter life-cycle of chickens probably reduces the risk compared to cows and sheep.  Still, I worked in veterinary research at a lab that did a lot of scrapie work, and am convinced that animal cannibalism is the best way to multiply certain diseases and is not generally a good idea.

[danno]

This kinda brings up another point that I was wondering about.  Our chickens are replaced every two years if the neighbors dogs stay away

[dpence]

We clean out the fridge routinely and the chickens get everything except potatoe peels, onions, and stuff that has a green tinge to it.  LOL.  I don't feed them egg shells either, I have heard both sides on the argument it will increase the possibility of them starting to eat eggs. 

David 

[ooptec]

Hey,

Yea I saw that too about egg shells but I have to say I do feed mine back to them but I do crush them and put them thru a kitchen sieve so they are so fine I don't think they even notice them..... so far so good anyways.

cheers

peter

[danno]

egg shells rinsed and crushed are a great calcium suppliment