not for the faint! processing chickens.

[grumpylilmoose]

Picking up some fryers soon.
Want to butcher / process them...

Same as you'd do for a westernised human?
Can I do it easier since its for the dog?

[HolisticFurMom]

Yes, you can just give it to the dog whole once it's been killed. Feathers will either be plucked by them or they will eat them and then it's fiber. I love feeding fur/feathers are it's truly how a dog should be getting fiber.

They might look at your strangely at first, so plucking it a little and then cutting into the spot will help. They will remove the intestines usually and just set them next to where they're eating. I just throw it away. Hopefully you have a yard, if not, then this probably isn't an option. Nothing special needed, though, and less work than if a human were eating for sure!

[JessicaR]

definitly feed outside if you want to feed him the whole thing. I dont feed mine whole since I dont want them to think they can go after the chickens that are running around our yard. They probably wouldnt but I just dont want to take that chance. I dont think mine would eat the feathers anyways, I use them for homemade cat toys and they (dogs) dont bother them.

[Chris]

Originally Posted by JessicaR

definitly feed outside if you want to feed him the whole thing. I dont feed mine whole since I dont want them to think they can go after the chickens that are running around our yard. They probably wouldnt but I just dont want to take that chance. I dont think mine would eat the feathers anyways, I use them for homemade cat toys and they (dogs) dont bother them.

I'd be scared senseless to feed mine raw chickens that look like chickens. The feather girls would never feel safe again. Oh, the trauma!

[HolisticFurMom]

If it makes you feel better, my neighbors have chickens and my guy and our fosters go out in the yard eating chickens/guinea pigs/quail/rabbits and never even bother the live chickens. I think if an animal is going to kill another animal, it will do so regardless of what it eats. Either it has prey drive or it doesn't. I know many animals never fed any raw meat that have killed animals.

[JessicaR]

I know my friend that breeds GSD's feeds hers almost whole rabbit, she uses the fur to make gloves and stuff, and her dogs dont bother with the live ones, but they do occasionally steal the fur and eat it

My dogs pretty much ignore the girls (hens) when they are pecking around the yard, and Belle herds them back in if they fly over the fence. I guess its more for me that I dont feed whole, it kind of freaks me out

[Jaynie]

It's really not that hard to butcher a chicken if you want to feed raw indoors (less messy).

Once the feathers are gone, scald the pinfeathers off with a lighter, make a clean cut down the breast, crack the back open, remove the offal (innards), and chop into smaller pieces if necessary - legs, wings, etc.

It doesn't have to be as exacting as it would be for human consumption, but takes a while to learn. I grew up on my grandparents' farm, and we had to butcher a hen every Saturday (two if the preacher was coming to dinner after church on Sunday). I did it by myself from the age of about ten, so it's not really hard - just kinda gross.

[ClantyreSheltie]

My herding instructor feeds raw, and none of her dogs are after mutton, unless they deserve it.

[DieDany]

The hens are interesting but only for herding

http://img5.rajce.idnes.cz/d0511/6/6...0978.jpg?ver=0

We feed Perry raw indoors and it even is not that messy (unless you have a dog that MUST take the piece of a chicken on a rug )

[JessicaR]

Originally Posted by DieDany

The hens are interesting but only for herding

http://img5.rajce.idnes.cz/d0511/6/6...0978.jpg?ver=0

We feed Perry raw indoors and it even is not that messy (unless you have a dog that MUST take the piece of a chicken on a rug )

Belle's favorite job is chicken herding!! She also helped me round up my flemish giant rabbit that escaped into the neighbors yard. The rabbit is a bit more of a challange and a lot faster!

Belle likes to take her raw food behind the couch we now crate her when she eats.