# Uh Oh! Chickens ate "bad" meat.



## LFRJ (Dec 1, 2006)

Was doing some refrigerator clearance and tossed a tupperware container of cooked rice to the chickens. Only _after_ giving it the heave ho to the anxiously waiting flock did I notice that there had been some bad smelling meat in the bottom mixed with that rice. Of course, I wasn't going to join in with the gang who were now racing after the winner to try and steal the bad meat strips. 

Can chickens get sick from eating bad meat? Or do they have pretty strong constitutions? Seems as though they'd be wise enough to know the diff, but I can tell you that even if they do, the little cockeral who won the prize gulped it down so fast he didn't stop to check.


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## suzyhomemaker09 (Sep 24, 2004)

I'd not do it as a habit but Chickens will eat most anything and be just fine.


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

Chickens eat anything and everything!
Including old, dead, dessicated, gross mice and frogs etc..
No worries.
They can eat roadkill and be perfectly happy.


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## LFRJ (Dec 1, 2006)

Good! Tonight is scheduled to be _thee night_ for some of the extra cockerals if I can get my processing area cleansed and set up - and the feller that ate the meat was one of those that had made the cut! Would have hated to have sent all his able comrades off to freezer camp, only to have 'the chosen one' keel over the next day from eating spoiled chicken. How ironic is THAT!


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## WstTxLady (Mar 14, 2009)

As long as its not like fresh meat turned rotten or decomposed, its ok.


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## Minimomma (Jan 5, 2008)

My first thought would be that chickens are related to buzzards and buzzards LIVE on bad meat.


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## mullberry (May 3, 2009)

I hear of people putting rottom meat out for the hens to pick maggots off of so as to get FREE protein


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## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

My hens eat rotten eggs, dead stuff, putrid stuff ALL THE TIME. They'll be fine. 

We have huge barrels that we call compost barrels - but they don't work that great because they can't get aerated. But, the flies LOVE the contents - especially after we butcher anything . The chickens hang out around those barrels, snatching up maggots, flies... and yes, eating the 'ooze' as they grab the maggots/flies through the holes in the barrel that are SUPPOSED to be for aeration. :shocked::yuck:


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## Rusty'sDog (Oct 14, 2010)

We call them the 'dumb' animals...they are 'dumb' only in the sense that they cannot speak. We are the 'dumb' (as in STUPID ) ones, as we are the only animal that will willfully eat bad food...the dumb ones will seldom do so...they know better.


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## WstTxLady (Mar 14, 2009)

You do have to watch out for rotten meat, it can cause "limp neck" which can kill pretty fast. I had a roosters eat some rotten deer meat the dog buried & the roo found. Almost killed him but he pulled through.


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## LFRJ (Dec 1, 2006)

Thanks West Texas. He's fine, but I wouldn't intentionally feed them bad food. I'm thinking of starting a worm farm for them though. No problems with earthworms, are there? My bet is, the biggest problem will be keeping them outta whatever container I conjure up.


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## WstTxLady (Mar 14, 2009)

As for worms, foam containers are what I see people growing them in. As for chickens eating worms, they LOVE them and a great source of protein. After the worm eats/digests whatever you give it, it should be just fine for chickens.


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## Heritagefarm (Feb 21, 2010)

Minimomma said:


> My first thought would be that chickens are related to buzzards and buzzards LIVE on bad meat.


Hummingbirds are also related to buzzards and don't eat bad meat (or meat at all).


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