cheese

[wayneh]

my girls ate some cheese yesterday from a bologna n cheese sandwich I didn't finish. TW (the wife) told me not to give it to the girls for some reason. can anyone here tell me any reason my chicks should not eat cheese? I don't think it would be bad. what to y'all think?

 

[Chicken.Lytle]

I would restrict the amount I give them. My girls get the runs from too much yogurt and I suspect that would be true for cheese also.

However, if it is actually a processed cheese product slice, I would keep it away from chickens and humans. That stuff is a polymer that resembles laundry detergent more than cheese.

 

[stargirl]

My understanding of it was that chickens don't have the enzymes in their stomach to required digest dairy, and so it can lead to problems. That said, I give mine yoghurt all the time and it does no harm at all!

 

[Buff-Island-Australorp]

I'd have done the same thing. Chickens will eat most ANYTHING!!!
No since of letting that sandwich go to waste.

 

[queenbeezz]

My father used to refer to the chickens as "land crabs" meaning that they will eat anything. I don't think an occasional scrap of sand wich will hurt them. We feed our chickens all the scraps from the table every night, doesn't seem to bother them.

 

[KaylaBird]

I have a chicken book/guide that lists cheese as a remedy for ill/sick chickens who wont eat:
"Cheese - A favorite treat among most chickens and will help stimulate hunger."

but I second that if its that kraft singles fake cheese product, that they should not be eating it. Or anyone for that matter.

 

[duckinnut]

I wouldn't make it a regular thing with them but dont think a little cheese will do them no harm. Say what you will about a chicken they know what thy like and what they dont. What they dont like is not much.Carrots are not a favorite with my girls but eventually they eat them. Mine would rather drink out of a muddy puddle than the ice cold water I provide,so smart yet so dumb. I wait on them hand and foot ,maybe I'm the dumb one?

 

[ellie97]

My girls, when they were about 12 weeks old, had a big chunk of cheese, and didn't have any problem with it. However, that was about 1/4 pound of cheddar cheese between 27 chickens. They'll be fine I'm guessing, just don't give it to them all the time.

 

[gale65]

I admit I love kraft fake cheese. It melts nicely for grilled cheese. I can't stand real cheese on a grilled cheese sandwich-it melts funky IMO. However, if I was giving chickens cheese it would probably be the real stuff.

 

[triplepurpose]

Our chickens eat all kinds of scraps, including the occasional chunks of moldy cheese. There's no problem with it. I don't know who started this idea that dairy wasn't good for chickens. The literature I'VE read RECOMMENDS dairy as a great source of food for chickens, especially for those people who have access to dairy animals or leftover whey from a creamery, etc...

Chickens can eat almost anything, as part of a varied diet--that's what originally made them such a popular animal to raise for food, and it is still one of their greatest virtues as livestock on family farms and in backyards around the world...