Free feed!

Blue Run Farm · #1 12/05/12, 09:36 AM

I was at my hay man's last night picking up a load of hay and he also does deer processing. They process 400+ deer a year, so he has a ton of leftovers. I had asked him what he does with the hides and he offered them to me for free, since he just buries them in a hole (we are learning to tan and these will be great for practice).

While I was picking up a couple of hides from his workshop, they were cutting up deer. I looked at the bins of leftover scraps and asked him what he does with them. He buries them too, and said I could have as much as I want, whenever I want! So I brought home two 5 gallon buckets full of deer spinal columns, necks with lots of meat still on the bone, ribcages, and several flaps of fat. Dumped it in the chicken pen and the chickens are in heaven this morning! They like to clean up the goat carcasses for me, but we only do 2-3 per year, so it's like a big treat for them. I am thinking what a great source of free feed to stretch out my chicken pellets.

So, is this a bad idea to give them the discards regularly (as long as deer season lasts anyway), or is it a good source of added protein in their diet? I am thinking I could save a good bit of money if it is a healthy way to feed them. I know chickens love meat and it is natural for them to eat it, just don't want to give them too much. They always have pellets available too, so they are not forced to eat the meat exclusively, they just seem to love pulling it off the bones and will even fight over strips of meat. They also have oyster shell at all times and we feed them kitchen scraps too.

Btw, does anyone else get a laugh out of the Perdue commercials where they are like "we feed our chickens an all vegetarian diet. We would never feed them meat products." I find that so odd, that they think it is a selling point to force chickens to be vegetarian when it goes against their natural eating habits.

KSALguy · #2 12/05/12, 09:58 AM

Nothing wrong with it at all. I would be feeding the dogs too. Are there any livers or lungs in the heap? They would be great too. Just dont out too much out at once for risk of spoiling or attracting preditors

pancho · #3 12/05/12, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blue Run Farm

Btw, does anyone else get a laugh out of the Perdue commercials where they are like "we feed our chickens an all vegetarian diet. We would never feed them meat products." I find that so odd, that they think it is a selling point to force chickens to be vegetarian when it goes against their natural eating habits.

Companies have learned to make animal feed for people instead of the animals the people feed it to.
Does anyone really believe dogs or cats like a certain food just because it is different colors or different shapes?

Companies have also learned if they make animal feed that does not contain what the animal needs the people will buy other products to make up for it.

Most people do not take the time to learn what their animals really need to remain healthy.

Blue Run Farm · #4 12/05/12, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KSALguy

Nothing wrong with it at all. I would be feeding the dogs too. Are there any livers or lungs in the heap? They would be great too. Just dont out too much out at once for risk of spoiling or attracting preditors

Thank you! Can I give it to the dogs raw and on the bone or do I need to boil it up for them? I know people feed raw rabbit and such to dogs, I just don't know what bones might be unsafe for them from a choking standpoint. I was thinking it would be nice for the dogs if I can figure how to feed it, especially since DH is flipping out that we are paying $45 for a 35 pound bag of dogfood right now (ouch). Anything I can do to stretch that bag is a good thing as long as it is healthy for the pups. When we butcher a goat, the dogs LOVE the hearts and the trimmings I cut off when grinding meat. I give it to them raw and they are in heaven! They also get the leg and thigh bones after I cut the bulk of the meat off, so they are used to raw supplements, but the deer bones I got are not the long bones so much as ribcages and spines.

I wish there were livers and lungs, but it looks like the hunters must field dress the deer before they get to him so there are no "guts" in the pile. Oddly enough, my chickens do not like the goat lungs, although they adore the contents of the rumen, I cut it open for them and they go nuts with the half digested browse. The last goat carcass I put in there dried almost like jerky while they were eating it, it took them a few days to get through it but it was cold enough out that it did not get stinky, just dry. And no flies this time of year either.

I really wish we had a big freezer so I could stock up on these deer trimmings and feed them for longer. He is just digging a huge hole and burying them, it is such a waste when it is good feed and we can use it. If I had a good way to store it, I would take more for later.

Blue Run Farm · #5 12/05/12, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pancho

Companies have learned to make animal feed for people instead of the animals the people feed it to.
Does anyone really believe dogs or cats like a certain food just because it is different colors or different shapes?

Companies have also learned if they make animal feed that does not contain what the animal needs the people will buy other products to make up for it.

Most people do not take the time to learn what their animals really need to remain healthy.

Good point Pancho! It just makes me snort when I see that commercial. And I'll be honest, whenever I see a dog/cat food that is in goofy shapes, I will not buy that brand. I figure if they are wasting money on making it into pretty colors and shapes, that is that much less that they are putting into the actual nutrition and I don't want to pay for the extra processing. If I could afford it, I'd love to take my dogs off of commercial feeds altogether and raise our own food for them. But DH says no bunnies for feed!

Amaranthus · #6 12/05/12, 10:45 AM

I've heard that raw bones are safer because they don't splinter as much as cooked bones do. After all, raw meat is a dog's natural diet. But am not an expert.

Bettacreek · #7 12/05/12, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blue Run Farm

Good point Pancho! It just makes me snort when I see that commercial. And I'll be honest, whenever I see a dog/cat food that is in goofy shapes, I will not buy that brand. I figure if they are wasting money on making it into pretty colors and shapes, that is that much less that they are putting into the actual nutrition and I don't want to pay for the extra processing. If I could afford it, I'd love to take my dogs off of commercial feeds altogether and raise our own food for them. But DH says no bunnies for feed!

I've been debating on raising quail to help supplement the kitten's diet of commercial feed. She also LOVES lamb (that's her all time favorite). Maybe you could start out with hunter's scraps, and maybe add quail to the diet as well?

dkhern · #8 12/05/12, 11:02 AM

dogs wolves coytes catch kill and eat deer all the time no one to cook it

pancho · #9 12/05/12, 12:11 PM

My dog wishes I could find more deer meat and bones for her.
Raw deer meat and bones are her favorite.

KSALguy · #10 12/05/12, 12:24 PM

Raw bones and meat is best for dogs. I would get as many of the meaty bones as possible and freeze themfor the dogs all year.

Blue Run Farm · #11 12/05/12, 12:49 PM

Oh how I wish I had a big freezer!!! Thanks guys, I am really excited now, even if I can't store much it'll at least be nice to have it as long as deer season lasts

oregon woodsmok · #12 12/05/12, 02:30 PM

[[[[[..........Btw, does anyone else get a laugh out of the Perdue commercials where they are like "we feed our chickens an all vegetarian diet. We would never feed them meat products." I find that so odd, that they think it is a selling point to force chickens to be vegetarian when it goes against their natural eating habits. .......]]]]]]

I haven't seen any poultry feed that contains animal protein for about the last 30 years. My birds have to go out and catch their own. Plus, I feed a bit of fish based cat kibble. But a commercial bird in a little cage would just get plant products. So, yeah, that commercial fryer is going to be vegetarian. Might as well turn that into a selling point. It's not like they can brag about how the hens are raised and treated.

danarutan · #13 12/05/12, 08:40 PM

This year I cut the meat/fat from between the deer ribs and canned it in qt jars to feed the chickens this winter. Then I threw the rib cage over the fence for them to pick clean ( they loved it). I ended up with 6 qts.

K.B. · #14 12/05/12, 09:03 PM

If you are worried about the small bones, an hour or so in a pressure cooker will turn bones into "gravy" for the dogs or chickens

Awnry Abe · #15 12/05/12, 09:30 PM

Nothing gets "tossed out", so to speak around here. It all goes to the chickens. I let them decide if it is good for them or not. When I was skinning a doe a couple of weekends ago, I had about 20 hens gathered around like begging dogs. I laid the pelt down fatty side up and they had the thick layer of fat picked clean in minutes.

I would warn against putting too much meat glop out at one time. I have had to shoo coyotes away lately that are coming in the yard with the chickens trying to get some.

Joshie · #16 12/05/12, 10:23 PM

Blue, me thinks Santa outta put a big freezer in your stocking!

KSALguy · #17 12/05/12, 10:26 PM

the only bones that are dangerous to dogs is cooked poultry bones and occasionally other cooked bones. the reason is a raw bone will crunch up nicely or chunk off as the dog eats, raw chicken bones are even ok with a dog that is not rushed especially with meat on them, a dog thats rushed and trying to swallow too fast will get into trouble and a dog eating cooked bones that shatter in differint ways rather than crunch are apt to cause trouble, but a dog chewing slowly taking it time shouldnt have much problem,

these meaty bones are great for any dog, any meat scraps she can get would be awesome for the dogs too,

GrannyCarol · #18 12/06/12, 02:01 AM

There is a sticky on the pet forum about raw feeding your dogs - its a great idea and you'd save enough feeding raw venison to pay for that big old freezer! It's recommended certain rough percentages of bone, muscle meat and organs. Sounds like a wonderful way to use the carcasses!

notbutanapron · #19 12/06/12, 02:20 AM

Am I the only one that would eat the offal and boil the spine into a soup? Yes? Really?

Okay then.

It's cold there now, yeah? Boil the bones up with lentils, rice, brewer's yeast, pasta, veggies and all the icky fridge leftovers you are finding a bit odd that are puppy safe. Feed to dogs. I also freeze these mixes for summer to give them during the day. Doggy heaven. [They also get working dog food because work it, doggy.]

Belfrybat · #20 12/06/12, 07:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blue Run Farm

Oh how I wish I had a big freezer!!! Thanks guys, I am really excited now, even if I can't store much it'll at least be nice to have it as long as deer season lasts

You might be better off financially if you purchased a used freezer just to store the bones in. Chest freezers don't cost much to operate and I've seen large ones listed in the classified for as little as $50.00.