Raising Chickens! Yikes!

[Vort]

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]

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?

[Guest]

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]

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.

[Wingnut]

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.

You know, I'm really starting to believe that you're my brother, Vort. He can't leave anything well enough alone. Pretty much anyone who has any sort of conversation with him ends it shortly by saying, "Okay, sure. Whatever." There's no sense in arguing with him because he's always right (according to him).

I wasn't speaking literally. It was a comparison for the sake of understanding.

[Vort]

You know, I'm really starting to believe that you're my brother, Vort. He can't leave anything well enough alone. Pretty much anyone who has any sort of conversation with him ends it shortly by saying, "Okay, sure. Whatever." There's no sense in arguing with him because he's always right (according to him).

I am sincerely sorry to hear this, Wingnut. I have never interpreted our conversations in this way.

I wasn't speaking literally. It was a comparison for the sake of understanding.

But that was precisely my point: The comparison does not provide understanding. The comparison was a humorous attempt to point out the inherent grossness of eating chicken eggs. My point was that, whether or not eating chicken eggs is disgusting, it's not disgusting because it's a "chicken's period", because that term has no meaning. It's like talking about pig wings.

[Guest]

lol who said potatoes were grains? I said if they can digest grain they can probably digest potatoes.

That doesn't necessarily follow. And the reason I say this is because I have an Amazon Parrot and an English Bulldog. First off, I can't feed the Parrot potato skins. It has sola-something acid that is toxic to him. Secondly, the digestability of the proteins in potatoes is different from grains. In my English Bulldog, you give him grains, you're not picking up her poo, you're spraying it down with the hose. Proteins from potatoes or tapioca, no problem. There's a difference between the two and I'm not expert on chickens, so I don't know how that difference would affect them.

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.

As far as dogs, a lot of dog food are made from faulty science to provide marketing gimmicks. And what's worse, in the pet industry, the veterinarian and the dog food company are tied to the hip like siamese twins. They are so tied that the dog food companies drive veterinary education. So, I have this really great vet, except she is trying to sell me Science Diet for my English Bulldog stating, "you don't want to feed your dog these crap food from the grocery". And I'm like... guess what, lady. Science Diet is just as bad. So, there's no surprise that you got gassy dogs, stinky dogs, sick dogs, short-lifespan dogs, etc.

Rice is okay for dogs (except for mine - she can't digest it properly) in small quantities. Dogs don't have the natural enzymes in their digestive system to properly break down carbs so all that processing has to be done in the liver (or is it pancreas) and kidneys which is very taxing on those systems. A dog doesn't need carbs - it takes all its energy from proteins and fat. Diets consisting of over 50% carbs is really bad. High protein, low carbs is the key. And - not all proteins are created equal. My shoe leather is full of protein but no matter how much my dog likes to eat it, he can't digest it. Protein from animal meat is more digestable for dogs than plant matter.

Garlic is added to dog food to stimulate the immune system, fight cancer, and provide antioxidant properties. It comes in small quantities in some commercial dog kibbles which is not enough to repel fleas. But, if you're using garlic in home-prepared meals, you need to be careful in quantity. Too much garlic for too long is not good either.

Okay, I think I've hijacked this thread long enough.

[Dravin]

It has sola-something acid that is toxic to him.

Solanine? It should be noted it's toxic to us too, thus the counsel not to chow down on green potatoes (the green is associated with high toxin levels, the green itself is harmless, it's just chlorophyll). Luckily it is bitter and we outweigh parrots by a fair amount so it's not a common problem for people. But if one ever wondered why you've always heard green potatoes are poisonous solanine (and chaconine ) are why. The joys of growing something related to nightshade as a food crop (tomatoes are also related, and green tomatoes contain amounts of tomatine, but luckily human body mass and low tomatine levels come to the rescue for those who enjoy green fried tomatoes).

Edited May 30, 2012 by Dravin

[carlimac]

Here's another reason to be wary of chickens.

Hundreds of salmonella cases tied to chicks | ksl.com

[Guest]

Here's another reason to be wary of chickens.

Hundreds of salmonella cases tied to chicks | ksl.com

It's just standard operating procedure for people, especially children, to be taught proper hygiene with live animals. We have 6 pet snakes. They're salmonella-prone too. Everybody that goes to handle our snakes knows to first wash their hands before touching a snake and wash their hands after touching the snake and wash their hands in between touching more than 1 snake. Now, it's as easy as rubbing hand sanitizer up to your elbows.

They do the same with their dogs, birds, turtles, and whatever critters they bring in from the backyard.

The petting zoo, the pet store, the school show-and-tells, the farm they visited for field trips, the horse-back-riding place... they all teach the same thing. Wash your hands before and after handling live animals. This is not just for the health of the humans, but for the health of the animals as well.

[bcguy]

Hala, if these are free range chickens and not hand fed chicken, the eggs will taste even better. BTW, how much land do you have for the chicken shack?

[Hala401]

We have 4 chickens in about 10 X 15, I think. I hope that is enough. We tried to let them out but they go tresspassing all over the place.

[Guest]

For some reason I thought you lived in an apartment with your roommates.

[Hala401]

No, 4 of us live in a house with a nice lot. Portland is the only city that I know of that lets you have chickens, but no rooster.

[Guest]

Ah, that is easier to imagine. :) I'm glad you don't have a chicken coop in a bedroom several stories up.

We can have I think 6 chickens but no roosters in city limits. Not nearly the size of Portland, though.

[Guest]

It is illegal in the county I live in to have chickens - including pet chickens - in a non-agricultural zoned area. I live in a residential zoned area, so no chickens for us.

[Hala401]

It is illegal in the county I live in to have chickens - including pet chickens - in a non-agricultural zoned area. I live in a residential zoned area, so no chickens for us.

I am sorry that you have to face that. In Portland, Oregon where I live it is legal within the city limits, but no roosters. I was very surprised to find out the other day that 5 other homes close to us have chickens. With the cost of eggs, and their questionable origin, they are nice to have.