Can you feed hens meat

But very few are actually fatal. Nevertheless, my research has shown that some foods are potentially killers for your chickens. Dried beans are known to create very serious illness and even death in adult humans. Kidney beans are the worst culprit, but any bean which has not been properly cooked is potentially lethal for your chickens.

Beans contain a toxin called phytohaemagglutinin which is always fatal to poultry. Illness will occur after eating as few as three or four beans and will progress very rapidly, killing in as short a time as an hour. Once eaten, there's nothing to be done to save the bird 2.

They will probably avoid them anyway, but to be safe, keep any bean plants well out of the way of your chickens. Any beans you want to give your hens should be thoroughly cooked.

Soaking alone is not enough , nor is cooking in a crockpot or slow cooker. They don't reach high enough temperatures to de-activate the toxins. You should not use dried beans for sprouting, either. Seeds such as sprouted lentils are healthy and carry no risk of poisoning. To make them safe for both humans and chickens, beans should be soaked in cold water for at least five hours - preferably longer. Then, discard the water, rinse the beans thoroughly and boil rapidly in fresh water for at least thirty minutes.

Some moulds, of course, are good. Penicillin was developed from a mould and some cheeses have mould deliberately injected into them. But others, including the mould which grows on soft fruits, produce toxins and it's not possible to judge which moulds are good and which are toxic. Some, in particular aspergillus flavus , the mould which grows on nuts, corn and apples, produces a toxin called aflatoxin which is known to contribute to the development of liver cancer in both humans and animals.

Simple - don't feed your chickens food which has any signs of mould or is in any way going rotten. It's equally important to make sure your flock's feed does not become damp , which is one of the mediums in which moulds and their toxins flourish.

Avocado is a controversial one. You'll see information all over the internet stating categorically that avocados as a whole are poisonous to chickens. It's right to say that chickens are particularly susceptible to the toxin carried by the avocado, which is called persin. In large doses, persin will cause birds to have heart problems followed by difficulties breathing. It can cause death in less than 48 hours. Persin is carried mostly in the skin and the stone of the avocado and the bark and leaves of the tree, if you happen to have one.

The flesh has lower levels of persin but it still contains some because persin is fat soluble and leaches into the flesh from the stone.

It is simply because the rotted meat can contain bacteria which can be toxic for your chickens. As with most things that you are feeding your chickens, you will want to clean up after them the same day.

You will want to clean it out to ensure that it is not attracting pests! Chickens should not be raised purely on a vegetarian diet. Some people will do this, but it is very difficult to do. If you are raising chickens on a purely vegetarian diet, then you are going to be struggling to get enough calcium and protein into their diet.

This is something which is going to be incredibly important if you want your chickens to produce eggs, or at least become meat later on. But, you will want to adjust other protein sources accordingly. Too much protein in their diet is not going to be a good thing! Skip to content One of the good things about raising backyard chickens is that they are not too picky about their food.

Chickens are not fussy when it comes to meat choices and this means that you need to be quite intentional about what meat sources you feed them.

To get the benefit of animal protein, many will feed their chickens a combination of chicken feed mixed with some cat food meat-based. Processed meats are high in salt and preservatives, both of which can cause your chickens to potentially suffer from dehydration, digestion issues, or eggshell defects.

This would mainly be raw egg or raw eggshells as this would then encourage them to eat their own eggs which would result in a serious habit in your flock that would be very difficult, if not impossible to break.

Cooked scrambled egg for example is fine and is often a great option because of the complete protein that egg provides and it would in no way resemble an egg. Chickens can eat raw meat; however, caution has to be taken to ensure that the raw meat is not moldy, foul-smelling or rotten. So, do chickens eat meat? Yes , chickens will feast on bugs given the opportunity and if you provide them with a form of meat on a bone then they will fight over it and eventually peck the bone clean some will even peck into the bone for additional calcium.

There is no issue with feeding your chickens meat and due to the high protein content, it can actually be a healthy food staple for them. Hutch and Cage.