TOFU as chicken treats?

[wegotchickens]

My daughter has decided to be a vegetarian, but our first meal with tofu was not a success. So we threw the leftovers into the chicken bucket. They FOUGHT over it! They scarfed it up before they ate the noodles, and my peeps take their noodles very seriously.

So, can anytone think of any harm that might come from a chicken eating tofu?

We've fed it to them 2 nights in row now, and they fought for it just as hard tonight as they did last night.

 

[cookinmom]

Protein is good for them, and soy is in lots of animal food, so I imagine it would be OK.

Better the chickens than me!!! I got some by accident once on a salad bar. I thought it was styrofoam.

 

[wegotchickens]

Thanks for the input. I'd hoped that was the case. It's supposed to have calcium as well as protein, though, right? Mine aren't on layer feed, but they do eat toasted egg shells.

My daughter pointed out "You're more worried about the CHICKENS eating it than you are ME??!"
I pointed out: a) The chickens are actually EATING it, b) The chickens have less body mass for coping if it is bad for them, and c) Someday we will eat eggs from these tofu-eating critters.

You must've gotten different tofu on the salad bar, cause ours is squishy and even after frying it up or baking it up it was still pretty squishy. My veg-head pointed out that she could actually swallow each bite whole... She's very committed to not eating anything with a face but not very impressed with tofu.

Guess I have to go find tofu recipes out there, and learn more about it in general.

 

[dlhunicorn]

watch the salt content (it is extremely high in fat and protein so you do not want to overdo it but the occasional treat cannot hurt when you know they have eaten enough of their "real" icky ole but nutritionally correct balanced chicken feed) .....

 

[devora]

Wegochickens:
I know you posted about chickens, but I wanted to put a good word in for tofu. I used to think it was not-so-good as well, but it’s all in preparation. Search out some recipes that call for 'pressing' it, your daughter might like that better.

Also, if she wants the soy w/ texture you could try tempeh. It’s very firm and comes in lots of flavors. Easy to stir fry.

Sorry for going off topic!

 

[silkiechicken]

I don't like hard tofu, but if you make soups with the "soft" tofu, it is silky smooth and tastes really good. It breaks easily so be careful. I doubt it will hurt the birds but the birds get their feed which should have some animal protein in it so that they can stay healthy.

 

[wegotchickens]

Quote:
Not too far off topic, since still talking about tofu. Birds will get less if daughter will eat more

I hot a website that had good info about preparing kid-friendly tofu recipes, and talked about the different firmness levels. I'll experiment a bit more with it.

 

[wegotchickens]

Quote:
So far we've only fed the peeps a couple of slices, so not so much between 7 birds. But they went at it so gleefully that I wondered if they really were getting everything they need from their feed. I will read up on the salt level, though. And now I think I should worry a bit about calcium, too.

I found some recipes for the different grades of tofu, including chocolate pudding made with silky tofu. Irony: We all have lactose trouble, and lactose-free milk makes crummy pudding. So this may be a really cool recipe for us all!

 

[Zenbirder]

I have learned to fix tofu well enough I doubt the chicks wiould get much in the way of leftovers. It is important to learn that there are different types of tofu that are ment to be used in very different ways: boxed vs. fresh in water, firmer vs. softer. Get a cookbook for vegetarians, I recommend "The Passionate Vegetarian" by Crescent Dragonwagon for just good real food, not necessarily tofu cooking. Also, tofu does not need to be an everyday ingredient. My Dh converted to my cooking 4 years ago and never missed having meat on his plate. None of my guests even notice the lack either (with the possibe exception of Thanksgiving)! Did you know that soybeans are one of the main protein ingredients in most chicken manufactured food?

 

[Catalina]

I've been a vegetatian for 8 years - and I love tofu, but you have to press the water out of it(firm tofu).

For a quick snack you can slice up the tofu into 1/4 " thick squares. Cover a plate with paper towels and layer your tofu evenly on the paper towels.
Put another layer of paper towels on top and put another plate on top of that. Plate - Tofu - Plate.
Then put something heavy on top of the plate - like a gallon jug of water. Leave the tofu to press for 15min. while you make your marinade

Baked Tofu Marinade

4 Tbps vinegar, olive oil or sesame oil, soy sauce,and water.

1/2 tsp powdered onion, garlic, cayenne pepper flakes

1/8 tsp smoke flavor

Layer tofu in a tinfoil lined pan and cover with marinade.
Bake uncovered at 375 for 15 min. or until marinade is absorbed.

Sorry this has nothing to do with chickens eating tofu!