Chicken Mince

[RossP]

Never thought about the way chickens were raised & how it may affect their flesh.

Chicken meat and by products are the most common source of meat used in canned and dry pet foods. This is primarily driven by price. Chickens are the most cheaply and intensively farmed (mass produced) of all the domesticated animal species. The commercial chicken industry is massive, and the housing and farming of these chickens bares no resemblance to the traditional image of chooks running around the farmyard. Commercial "battery" chickens are raised and housed in sheds (in cages) their entire life, and are fed a man made diet from birth. The birds today have been selected and engineered to be fast growing, producing maximum sized breast and leg/thigh cuts, and to a lesser extent, wings. Most chicken meat in canned and processed dry foods is used as chicken meal (powdered meat meal), which utilises the carcass, some offal, and the beaks, feet and feathers.

Fresh chicken mince, available in most pet outlets (more often frozen) is generally just the carcass portion put through a mincer, so it contains meat, fat, cartilage and bone.

Chicken mince is very cheap, retailing from $1.50 per kg upwards, and as such, is commonly used by both pet food processors and pet owners alike.

Nutritionally, chicken mince is questionable. It is high in fat (18%+), and can be higher again in pet minces, where skin and fat often makes up a proportion of the mix. Of greatest concern is the diets the chickens are fed. The man made pellets and crumbles the birds are raised on are geared to maximise growth rate, and meat yield, from breast and thigh cuts. There is little emphasis placed on nutritional value, as taste, texture and yield are all that the producers are interested in for the end, human consumption product The diets are so basic in many minerals, that calcium density in the bones of the birds can drop from an expected 20% down to as little as 4%. These birds see little (if any) in the way of natural sunlight, and most likely suffer from vitamin D deficiency. There is no green grass or shoots to feed on, and no natural anti oxidants.

On top of this, the diets have a constant level of antibiotic included, to try and minimise the death toll, and a range of "growth promotants" included (not true "hormones", as they have been outlawed in most countries). Also, there is every chance that a significant proportion of the protein in these pelleted rations is actually derived from meat meal - and I haven't met too many carnivorous chickens in my time??

In short, battery raised chicken meat is only as good as the rations they are fed on, and given that these birds are slaughtered at 12 weeks of age, there is little chance the rations are designed for good long term health. We should not be fooled by the term "free range", these birds are still raised in sheds, and still fed the same rations, they are simply allowed to eat the pellets from the ground, and live in an open plan shed.

Chickens are a natural reservoir for salmonella, the bacteria being commonly found in the gut and faecal material. When the birds are stressed, the bacteria can multiply in large numbers, which creates a food hygiene issue. During the slaughter of birds, the viscera (organs and intestines) are removed from the abdominal cavity, and it is quite common for fluid from the intestinal tract (containing bacteria, and often, salmonella) to spill out onto the abdominal cavity wall, thus contaminating the carcass.

SUMMARY - CHICKEN

The modern farming practices of the intensive poultry industry leaves a lot to be desired, both on a nutritional level, and on an ethical level. The stress levels in housed birds are extreme, and there is the issue of bacterial contamination at processing. This is the primary reason why chicken mince spoils very quickly, and is most commonly sold frozen.

Luckily for our pets, cats will simply not eat "off" meat, and dogs have a cast iron constitution, which is nowhere near as sensitive to the presence of bacteria, even salmonella, as humans. A large quantity of chicken mince is produced and fed on a daily basis throughout Australia and on the whole, the overall health of dogs and cats does not suffer. Chicken mince has its place, as a cheap ADDITION to the diet and as long as it is handled correctly, frozen, and thawed out to feed, it is relatively safe to use. However, it should definitely not form a major part of any pet's diet and I would definitely rate chicken as the least suitable of all fresh meats.

1. Kangaroo - very, very good - the perfect 10/10.

2. Tripe - also very, very good. Its difficulty in sourcing sees it score 9/10.

3. Offal - if obtained correctly, an important part of the diet - 8/10

4. Sheep - very good, the best of the farmed meats - 7/10

5. Beef - next best of the farmed meats - 6/10

6. Fish - only if purchased fresh, then it is good, owing to inconvenience and price - 5/10

7. Rabbit - excellent if from wild rabbits, owing to extreme difficulty in procuring - 5/10

8. Chicken - still better than canned and processed, as long as it is fed as part of the diet only and is purchased and stored frozen. It's related health and ethics issues see it rate poorly against all the other good meats on offer. It is cheap though - 3/10

9. Pork - the least suitable and not recommended at all - 0/10

[persephone]

and I haven't met too many carnivorous chickens in my time??

I think you have not met any chickens! :)

Chooks are foragers, and a part of a wild/true free range bird is insects/ carrion etc . Our Chooks always get meat as part of their feed .. they thoroughly enjoy picking bones clean , they hunt & eat mice , and they adore maggots/slaters, earwigs & flies.

Chooks can be problematic if in close confines and presented with another chook who is bleeding ..as they will peck and peck and eat away at that wound

Kangaroo is , IMO not a perfect 10 at all ... nowhere near enough fat ..

the rest of it I won't comment upon, as I do not have the expertise .

I would like to know though why pig meat is not an acceptable pet food?

[Podengo]

and I haven't met too many carnivorous chickens in my time??

I think you have not met any chickens! :)

Chooks are foragers, and a part of a wild/true free range bird is insects/ carrion etc . Our Chooks always get meat as part of their feed .. they thoroughly enjoy picking bones clean , they hunt & eat mice , and they adore maggots/slaters, earwigs & flies.

Chooks can be problematic if in close confines and presented with another chook who is bleeding ..as they will peck and peck and eat away at that wound

Kangaroo is , IMO not a perfect 10 at all ... nowhere near enough fat ..

the rest of it I won't comment upon, as I do not have the expertise .

I would like to know though why pig meat is not an acceptable pet food?

Ditto to all of that.

Had to laugh one day when out at my parent's farm walking around the paddocks and could see a flock of chooks all chasing one poor chicken that was madly trying to fly away... The one being chased had found a dead sparrow and was apparently not sharing :laugh:

[persephone]

The one being chased had found a dead sparrow and was apparently not sharing :laugh:

LOL

any old budgies who fall off their perch in the aviary are ,ermm, cleaned up , by the bantams who share the aviary

[Guest lavendergirl]

RossP - Are you quoting from a any particular article or is this your own summary as a result of research. Are the ratings of the various foods at the end your own opinion or published somewhere?

[persephone]

RossP - Are you quoting from a any particular article or is this your own summary as a result of research. Are the ratings of the various foods at the end your own opinion or published somewhere?

You will find all the above info ..plus some, in this OLD topic on D O L LINK and the original... LINK

Edited July 16, 2012 by persephone

[Guest lavendergirl]

RossP - Are you quoting from a any particular article or is this your own summary as a result of research. Are the ratings of the various foods at the end your own opinion or published somewhere?

You will find all the above info ..plus some, in this OLD topic on D O L LINK and the original... LINK

Oh thanks - I thought I had seen something similar about chicken on the VAN site.

[espinay2]

Hmmm, as a chicken breeder I can tell you that chickens DEFINTELY eat meat :laugh: In fact animal protein is very important for their health.

Kangaroo as mentioned above is way too low in fat to be 'perfect'. In fact I have found my dogs don't generally do well on it so now feed it only rarely.

Is this leading to a product promo? I would also like to understand your purpose/source for the info.....

(edited to add - have read the links and see the 'subtle' product advertising now.......)

Edited July 16, 2012 by espinay2

[Guest Augustine Approved]

Great read RossP.

To me kangaroo is the perfect 10/10 but I wouldn't rely on it for fat, just like I wouldn't rely on it for many other nutrients.

I ran out of organic chicken carcass last week and as a one-off I bought free range chicken carcasses from the local butcher. I hadn't fed my dogs free range chicken for over a year and once again, my Maltese started itching frantically. She has never had a reaction to organic chicken.

[Diva]

Kangaroo is the only meat I have ever had a dog be intolerant of. It gets 0/10 for my mob.

Rabbit is good but I also find it too low in fat for everyday use, it is an occasional but regular treat these days or they drop weight.

Pork, lamb and chicken they do very well on at the moment.

Edited July 16, 2012 by Diva

[Allerzeit]

and I haven't met too many carnivorous chickens in my time??

I think you have not met any chickens! :)

You got that right pers! :laugh:

Throw a dead mouse in our chook pen and see the girls go mad! They LOVE dead mice, and will chase each other around, each trying to get a bit :laugh:

We feed our girls leftover meat all the time, they love it and they need the protein :)

[sheena]

and I haven't met too many carnivorous chickens in my time??

I think you have not met any chickens! :)

You got that right pers! :laugh:

Throw a dead mouse in our chook pen and see the girls go mad! They LOVE dead mice, and will chase each other around, each trying to get a bit :laugh:

We feed our girls leftover meat all the time, they love it and they need the protein :)

No way would I fancy having a black out in my chook pen.....I don't think there would be much left of me, by the next day :laugh:

[persephone]

No way would I fancy having a black out in my chook pen.....I don't think there would be much left of me, by the next day:laugh:

eeewww...

it always makes me think.....these cute, fluffy- bummed , friendly chookies .. behaving like lions at a kill!

[Allerzeit]

and I haven't met too many carnivorous chickens in my time??

I think you have not met any chickens! :)

You got that right pers! :laugh:

Throw a dead mouse in our chook pen and see the girls go mad! They LOVE dead mice, and will chase each other around, each trying to get a bit :laugh:

We feed our girls leftover meat all the time, they love it and they need the protein :)

No way would I fancy having a black out in my chook pen.....I don't think there would be much left of me, by the next day :laugh:

:laugh: Oh No! I never thought of it that way!

[persephone]

:)

Now, THIS I found fascinating , if gruesome .

many years ago, I had a pet Khaki Campbell duck - Frances.

Frances used to get the odd sparrow .. (possibly stole them from the cat? ) . The sparrows would then be left in a water dish for a couple of days , to, ermmmm, marinade and tenderise ...

then she would rip off the feathers, and eat !

odd behaviour, I think?

[RossP]

RossP - Are you quoting from a any particular article or is this your own summary as a result of research. Are the ratings of the various foods at the end your own opinion or published somewhere?

Not my own summary, got it from here.....Chicken Mince

[RossP]

Hmmm, as a chicken breeder I can tell you that chickens DEFINTELY eat meat :laugh: In fact animal protein is very important for their health.

Kangaroo as mentioned above is way too low in fat to be 'perfect'. In fact I have found my dogs don't generally do well on it so now feed it only rarely.

Is this leading to a product promo? I would also like to understand your purpose/source for the info.....

(edited to add - have read the links and see the 'subtle' product advertising now.......)

Not advertising and the link you read is not the same one I read, my later post has link.

I never said chickens don't eat meat, ours eat left over chicken.

The only reason I posted it is that I just didn't think about the chemical content of the chickens we feed our dogs, whether it be good or bad.

[espinay2]

It is the EXACT same chicken we eat ourselves. If concerned about it for the dogs, be concerned about it for yourselves too and seek out a better source of chicken for all.

Besides, in a good raw diet, anyone feeding it will generally feed a variety of meats anyway and not just one type. That is 'balance over time' as no one item is 'perfect' as some would claim.

Edited July 16, 2012 by espinay2

[valleygirl]

We have a beef farm and our dogs are usually fed raw beef and dog biscuits but I do buy chicken necks also. These come from the Chicken processors like Tegal. 3 of my dogs have no problem but one when fed them for a few days will break out with a skin condition - the same when she is fed the cheaper sort of biscuits. I am sure she would be ok with chicken from next door but the neighbour wouldnt be.