Raising Chickens! Yikes!

[ClickyClack]

Here's the "Straight Dope" answer.

[Hala401]

So, I need some sage advice figuring this out. Tonight we are speaking about the performance of the chickens and Hindi mentioned that chickens were omnivores. I was gonna throw them some small potatoes that had started to sprout and get soft and she said they needed to be cooked. Hmmm I wonder who cooked for them before? Do you think the Pilgrims cooked the chicken's food?

Is there record of it in Mormon Annals?

I promise that neither of us was drinking intoxicans or weed. I promised to obey the prophet and I know she had not had time yet.

So then we started talking about what an Omnivore was and I mentioned that for a while when I was little, we had some black and white pigs and my step father fell into the pen and cut himself with a machete doing it. I was quite little and did not see it but everyone said that the pigs tried to eat him. I guess pigs are omnivores also?

After that we had white pigs and they were nicer. I do not know where the black and white ones went.

So then we started talking about chickens again and then she thought about the fact that Humans are generally omnivores, except those who are not. Curious that.

Then she said she always wondered how humans tasted and I told her I had no idea but I had heard that we are not really tasty. Apparently we are tough and stringy.

Does anyone know?

This all while cooking dinner.

[Iggy]

Originally Posted by Hala401

So, I need some sage advice figuring this out. Tonight we are speaking about the performance of the chickens and Hindi mentioned that chickens were omnivores. I was gonna throw them some small potatoes that had started to sprout and get soft and she said they needed to be cooked. Hmmm I wonder who cooked for them before? Do you think the Pilgrims cooked the chicken's food?

Is there record of it in Mormon Annals?

I promise that neither of us was drinking intoxicans or weed. I promised to obey the prophet and I know she had not had time yet.

So then we started talking about what an Omnivore was and I mentioned that for a while when I was little, we had some black and white pigs and my step father fell into the pen and cut himself with a machete doing it. I was quite little and did not see it but everyone said that the pigs tried to eat him. I guess pigs are omnivores also?

After that we had white pigs and they were nicer. I do not know where the black and white ones went.

So then we started talking about chickens again and then she thought about the fact that Humans are generally omnivores, except those who are not. Curious that.

Then she said she always wondered how humans tasted and I told her I had no idea but I had heard that we are not really tasty. Apparently we are tough and stringy.

Does anyone know?

This all while cooking dinner.

After a quick search, this is what I found:

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Will_chick...t_raw_potatoes


Yes they will however you must peel them...raw potato peel is not good for chickens as it contains solanine which is toxic to chickens. Potatoes are part of the nightshade family of plants. If you wish to feed peeling to the birds as a treat with other kitchen scraps you must cook the peels first.


Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Will_chick...#ixzz1vkdQNs6T

Bolding is mine.

[anatess]

Originally Posted by Hala401

So, I need some sage advice figuring this out. Tonight we are speaking about the performance of the chickens and Hindi mentioned that chickens were omnivores. I was gonna throw them some small potatoes that had started to sprout and get soft and she said they needed to be cooked. Hmmm I wonder who cooked for them before? Do you think the Pilgrims cooked the chicken's food?

Okay, chickens in their natural state do not eat potatoes... they won't dig potatoes out of the ground. So, they didn't have to peel it or cook it before eating it. But, if we want to give a chicken a potato, then we kinda have to make it "chicken safe".

[anatess]

A vegetarian is someone who eats nothing but vegetables.

A humanitarian is someone who eats nothing but.... humans?

[Vort]

Originally Posted by Wingnut

The comparison still works.

Not really. Only in placental mammals is ovulating tied to bleeding clotty, chunky, bloody flux. Invoking the idea of a "period" when talking about a chicken doesn't really make sense. "Eating the hen's period" gives an idea of eating a clotty soup of menstrual blood and other bodily fluid, which is untrue and simply doesn't have any meaning for birds. Chickens do not have periods.

[annewandering]

Originally Posted by anatess

Okay, chickens in their natural state do not eat potatoes... they won't dig potatoes out of the ground. So, they didn't have to peel it or cook it before eating it. But, if we want to give a chicken a potato, then we kinda have to make it "chicken safe".

Actually chickens dig really well. Mostly for bugs, I would suspect. Anyway if a chicken can digest grain I dont see why a potato would stop them.
If potatoes are not good for them naturally why feed them to the chickens at all?

[anatess]

Originally Posted by annewandering

Actually chickens dig really well. Mostly for bugs, I would suspect. Anyway if a chicken can digest grain I dont see why a potato would stop them.
If potatoes are not good for them naturally why feed them to the chickens at all?

No, they don't dig for potatoes. We owned a brood of chickens in the Philippines. We had potatoes growing with the chickens.

Potato is not a grain. It's a tuber.

A dog is an omnivore with a carnivorous preference. That means they will eat non-meat stuff but only as an opportunistic food and not as a main staple. The dog does not have the proper enzymes to process carbs like true omnivores (like bears and humans for example). Yet, every single dog food kibble you find at your regular grocery store contains a very small portion of meat and very heavy on grains. Protein is provided mainly by corn - something a dog cannot digest efficiently.

Corn is not good for cows either. Yet every single beef you find at the grocery store came from a cows fed corn as its primary diet.

Sunflower seeds are not healthy for a pet parrot. Yet, you see people feed their parrots mainly sunflower seeds.

Who knows why people do what they do?

[annewandering]

lol who said potatoes were grains? I said if they can digest grain they can probably digest potatoes. From what I have seen chickens eat most anything in front of them.
The things they feed cows would make any one gag. It stinks like something very very rotten. Around here they mix greens with rotten potatoes a lot. Tasty lot!
As far as dogs go a lot of dog food disagrees with them and they let lots of gas off so you know. I have noticed that ours likes rice and it does not mess with his system like some official dog foods do. Speaking of dogs WHY do they put garlic in dog food? Even homemade recipes call for lots of garlic. No wonder dogs can smell so bad.

[Iggy]

Originally Posted by annewandering

Speaking of dogs WHY do they put garlic in dog food? Even homemade recipes call for lots of garlic. No wonder dogs can smell so bad.

Don't know why the commercial companies do, but I added it to help repel mosquitoes, fleas and tics. Plus the Vet said it was heart healthy. Her heart was stressed from lead poisoning.

She also loved it. Onions & garlic. Plus it made her drink more water. Being on prednisone pills, she needed to drink more water. Oh, fyi- she smelled sweet and clean. Even the Vet was impressed. Her breath was sweet and clean too. Giving her beef rib bones two to three times a week helped with that too. Local tavern has All You Can Eat BBQ Ribs on Tuesday night.

I knew the bartender and cooks, they would set aside 5 to 6 bones for her that I would pick up on Wednesday morning.