Leftover turkey for…the chickens?

I feel a little weird about writing this post.  I mean, it seems a little strange to me that I would feed my poultry some other poultry.  However, I did a lot of research about this, and figured that I might as well give my omnivorous chickens leftover turkey.  And I have to say that they seem to like it, so that is a plus in my book.  I am all about using as much of an animal as I can, especially considering we don’t eat an awful lot of meat in this house.  Throwing bones and extra meat to the chickens to pick at seemed like a good idea.

And I have to be honest, we have given our chickens leftover scrambled eggs.  I do like that the chickens eat all of our veggie scraps, but to have them also eat other foods that we would typically put in the trash is definitely an added benefit of owning the chickens.  I like to know that they are eating well.  Organic veggie scraps, and now turkey, are all great foods for them.

The fact that the chickens are omnivores is something a lot of people don’t realize.  Before we had chickens when I would buy eggs at the store, I was always slightly concerned to read on the organic egg cartons that the chickens were fed an all vegetarian diet.  It seems so strange.  I can understand that there have been issues with what is in chicken feed in the past – that no living thing should actually consume – but instead of correcting commercial feed, it seems they have come up with an alternative that probably isn’t healthy for the animal either.

Do you feed your chickens leftovers?  Did you give them the turkey after you were all done with it?  Anyone else’s chickens go crazy over scrambled eggs?

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7 Comments

  1. Interesting post, good to research it. Dogs and cats can have raw bones and meat. It's when the bones have been cooked, they become a hazard. Think about animals in the wild, nobody is cooking what they eat. 😉

  2. As long as you've researched it, they should be fine. I know turkey/chicken is a meat that dogs and cats can be highly allergic and the bones can be a choking hazard but chickens must be different. I guess if they are eating away without issue you are good to go

    1. I didn't realize that turkey and chicken meat could be an allergy for dogs and cats – because I thought that was what was in dog food and cat food anyways 🙂 But, thanks for the reminder on the bones. Never give cooked chicken/turkey bones to your dogs, they can splinter and really damage your dog. My chickens loved that turkey though! Kind of grossed me out 🙂

  3. Ha well I definitely watched one of the chickens slurp up a worm today so I think your turkey is fine. I guess I hadn't even thought of it about giving them fish or anything—-good thoughts! I have cleaned out the fridge lately though and they were glad to benefit!!

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