Cat food

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Emchicks

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I was wondering what you all thought about giving chickens cat food? I have used it a few times during the moult and found it helps them through it and was wondering whether to use it again as I have a hen that has been struggling with the regrowth of her feathers after mouting.
Em
 
no, i do not feed cat food for a number of reasons. but mainly because cannibalism.

this btw is the only post i will be making in this thread. :-)11 *grabs popcorn*
 
cat food is meant to be good for them during the moult but i dont think your meant to give it to them on a regular basis someone esle might be able to give more of an answer as i have only ever given mine it twice in the years i have kept them .
 
why would it cause cannibalism? and why is this that the only post you'll be making, sorry but I don't really understand your post :-?
I don't give it to them on a regular basis, only use it when I think they need something extra.
Em
 
more like the girls finding a toad in the run will cause cannibalism :lol: mine have probably had more of them then cat food .
 
Just popped in for a look around and this was top of the active topics

Cat food is very good for giving Show Poultry condition

A big thumbs up from me :-)17
 
Surely it would only be cannibalism if it were chicken flavoured :lol:

And yes its high in protein gives them a boost.
 
that's what I thought re the cannibalism so it's fish flavoured not chicken... :-)07 :-)07 :lol:
Em
 
:lol:
ccm said:
Surely it would only be cannibalism if it were chicken flavoured :lol:

And yes its high in protein gives them a boost.
Click to expand...
:lol: :lol:
 
Cat food is cooked so won't resemble flesh and won't have that much protein in it compared to maggots. It's very cheap and to hand if you have a cat I suppose. The thought of a chicken having fishy breath!! They used to feed hens a very tiny portion of raw minced beef during problems in the moult says Lewis Wright in 1867. Maggots are good for cleansing the crop as well, because the hens eat them alive and they wriggle about.

So I think we will pass on the cat food and stick to maggots.
 
I was told tuna gave an instant boost, - tried it, and boy did they love it!!
Chickens must have a very good sense of smell, as the whole gang, in various houses, erupted at tuna time, semed to be VERY much appreciated, and seemed to give them the needed boost. Did'nt stop my Whitestar feather munching as I had hoped, but everybody else went mad for it.
It did'nt affect the eggs, either, tastewise.
 
An absolute no from me. Don't aaprove of it at all and I doubt if anyone can prove it does any good.
 
chrismahon said:
Cat food is cooked so won't resemble flesh and won't have that much protein in it compared to maggots. It's very cheap and to hand if you have a cat I suppose. The thought of a chicken having fishy breath!! They used to feed hens a very tiny portion of raw minced beef during problems in the moult says Lewis Wright in 1867. Maggots are good for cleansing the crop as well, because the hens eat them alive and they wriggle about.

So I think we will pass on the cat food and stick to maggots.
Click to expand...

I know this isn't a direct reference to feeding Maggots to poultry, but some years ago when I kept foreign birds, I would supply some of their live food in the form of Maggots, which by and large worked well, until I suddenly began to lose birds. Young birds in the nest at first, then their parents. Tests showed botulism was the cause of death and further checks found that the Maggots were the source.
Even though they were 'cleaned' and were supplied by a reputable live food dealer, and I had fed them on numerous occasions before without a problem, I never used them again. Maybe poultry are Immune to such contagion, I don't know.I know there is an element of risk in feeding any live food to birds, but from experience I would be very cautious in feeding Maggots.
I occasionally supply my bantams, and large HF with a little animal protein in the form of small amounts of tinned Dog food. I avoid chicken/Turkey ' flavoured' varieties, and select beef, lamb or fish based feed, although I am aware that Chicken by products do end up in most proprietary pet meat brands. I only offer it in small amounts, enough for birds to consume every scrap in a few minutes. Over the years, I've yet to lose a bird from feeding them thus. At various times I also offer a few mealworms or boiled wild rabbit.
In certain breeds such as the Saipan,a Malayoid breed, it is deemed essential for the birds well being to feed fish-based Protein regularly, as it is said that their physiology has adapted to a high animal protein diet through years of Isolation on their Pacific Island home where this no Grain, just wild fruits, vegetation, insects, Lizards and the fish and Molluscs from the rock pools and shoreline. Rather in the manner that North Ronaldsay Sheep have adapted to a Seaweed diet on their native Island, and will sicken if they are grazed on pasture only.
 
Cat food is a good source of animal protein and a small amount can help top up your birds protein levels. Dog food also contains protein but this comes from grains so isn't as valuable. Cat food protein comes from animals and is rich in amino acids that birds require.

I have never tried live maggots.

And of course technically Defra do not allow the feeding of animal products to Chickens....so I'm not recommending you do any of this...
 
If a protein boost is needed, you could always feed hulled sunflower seeds which are about 25% protein, or indeed give chick food which is usually about 19%. They love both of these. I also give cod liver oil sometimes, especially for feather regrowth after moult, as the oil seems to help with this as well as compensating for low sunlight levels in winter.
 
I mix CLO in my feed right through the winter Marigold, liquid sunshine, does them the power of good.
 
Seldom, if ever, do birds need a 'boost of protein', even during or after the moult and in my opinion may well be the cause of many of the health problems that occur with 'pet' chickens, most of which are not productive enough to warrant feeding even layers rations on a daily basis.

Those who have ambitions in the show world and those who want to make 'extreme pets' of their birds will not want to take on board anything I have to say but those who keep a few hens because they enjoy them and for home produced eggs or even meat, just might, which is why I keep bashing away !
 
I have given cat food very occasionally only a tiny amount but I have frequently given mealworm, they like it and it doesnt hurt them. I have also given them worms when I have found them while digging the garden, I'd let them out while I was doing this but they get in the way, I'm frightened of taking a head off!
 
My approach to the matter is moderation in all things. In the wild, a junglefowl consumes all manner of foodstuffs from grains and seeds, fruit, leaves, shoots, flowers, fungi, insects, small molluscs, small rodents, lizards, frogs, snake hatchlings,etc etc even the young of other birds that have fallen from their nests!
All chickens, No matter how domesticated they are, are hot wired to Investigate and utilise potential new food sources of all kinds, it's part of their nature, and providing variety in their diet stimulates them and enables them to fulfill this natural behaviour.

A good staple diet of a balanced Pellet or mash feed, with a scratch feed of wheat is sufficient for them, but occasional small offerings of other food items will not harm them, particularly for birds that don't have the option to vary their own diets through unlimited free range.
 
i think that, between you, Chuck and Lordcluck have covered all the bases! I really agree with Chuck about the futility of giving all sorts of 'extras' to compensate for supposed 'deficiencies', or indeed 'treats' of stuff which will only unbalance their diets, make them fat and thus prone to being eggbound. I suppose that where this happens, it's another version of the 'I just can't resist it when they look at me' mentality that has given us so many obese pet cats and dogs. Chickens are very fine pets, and have individual personalities, as we all know, but they do need to be treated as chickens, not stuffed with all sorts of unsuitable junk food and quack remedies for imaginary illnesses.
However i also agree with Lorchuck's point about the value of variety, in moderation, and of the right kind of food, for birds that are living to some extent an unnatural life in some degree of confinement compared with what they would have access to in the wild. Whilst Chuck is right in saying a protein boost isn't usually needed by a healthy chicken, I do think it can sometimes help a bird that has got run down and underweight through illness. Here again, commercially such a bird would just be despatched, but as a lot of our birds are pets really we sometimes want to help them through, even if they are not going to be very productive afterwards. And as for preparing birds for showing, that's another world to me, i'm sure there are lots of tricks of the trade there!
 
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