How to raise Backyard Chickens: Re: [CHICKENS-101] cat food? (was Molting and wind eggs)

some cat foods YES ..... some cat foods NO ..... there's good and bad , one with soy protein is bad , the one with meat&fish protein&fat is good !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They say a wolf is carnivore yet he eats meat, fish and berries , fruits & etc . Same with a Bear .........
A Chicken will eat more meat if given the opportunity (bugs , worms , snakes , grubs , crawdads , mice&babyrats , insects = any Meat it can get and and anything that goes with it) than plants grain & seeds if given the opportunity .
A little bacteria in cat food is nothing compared to what a chicken can and will eat if given the opportunity ..... they know more about what their bodies need than we do .
Though we are getting pretty good at guessing and offering . I mix seeds & grains (hearts of sunflower seeds , safflowers , proso millet , oats .milo ,flax ,canary seeds , peanuts , corn and wheat)(and meat&fish bits) together and offer to chickens(who are in different conditions like molt , egg laying , breeders , different stages of growth and even ones that are stressed= to see which they will pick ........ yes they are very smart and pick out whats missing in their diet in a hurry .

About acid in the stomach , remember the talk about how the acid in a cola(soft drink) could disolve something (lol) now think about what your stomach acids do to the food we swallow (just think about it) Cola can not hold a light to the ability of ones stomach acids .

shannon

----- Original Message -----
From: Linda
To: CHICKENS-101@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, September 17, 2013 10:37 PM
Subject: [CHICKENS-101] cat food? (was Molting and wind eggs)

Huh. Is cat food really recommended (or even ok) for chickens? A cat is an obligate carnivore (plus a mammal) and thus has a very acidic stomach. So cat food manufactures are allowed to have up to a certain level of bacteria in the food because the intended recipient has a stomach that neutralizes it.

I used to give my parrot a treat of a couple cat kibbles in a day. But was told that it's not safe for my bird. I stopped. Obviously parrots and chickens are very different birds so maybe it is ok for a chicken. But a parrot is also an omnivore like chickens are. Just curious here.

Linda