Chick Feed ?
Thu, 07/02/2009 - 04:06
I bought grower/finisher feed to start switching my chicks over to and was reading the feed tag label and noticed that one of the ingredients was Hydrolyze Poultry Feathers...Is this common in feed for chickens or do I need to switch to something else(I.E>Is this healthy for them?) and what should I be looking for in chicken feed as I am totally new at this. Thanks so much in advance
Chicken feathers are 85% protein. Chickens will eat feathers if not fed properly, usually resulting in cannibalism and other sorts of maladies when they ingest whole feathers.
Since there's not much else to do with chicken feathers these days, I guess grinding them up and "hydrolyzing" them is a cost-effective way to use an otherwise useless part of the bird. So, they _should_ be safe for your chicks.
For an interesting read on the process, go here.