# Feeding day old chicks to the cat



## Sussexplumber (Oct 5, 2011)

Hi everyone, new cat owner here! I`ve recently had a young female cat basically dumped on me by a lodger who moved out and told me I can keep the cat, she didnt want her anymore. I started off feeding her on dry food, cheap and easy but I`ve been looking at other nutritious sources of food and I want to know has anyone tried feeding day old chicks to their cat? I have a hawk so I have these readily available and cheaply and I`ve started giving the cat one a day, chopped. To me its a half decent, wet food with real nutritional value, simply a baby bird chopped up. 

Has anyone tried this? I`m now giving her one a day, first thing in the morning, thawed in warm water and chopped up then later in the day a quality wet cat food and decent dry food later on. Does anyone see this being a problem? Has anyone else tried it? She spends a lot of the day hunting and has yesterday been de-flead and checked by the vet. 

Your thoughts would be appreciated!


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

Sussexplumber said:


> Hi everyone, new cat owner here! I`ve recently had a young female cat basically dumped on me by a lodger who moved out and told me I can keep the cat, she didnt want her anymore. I started off feeding her on dry food, cheap and easy but I`ve been looking at other nutritious sources of food and I want to know has anyone tried feeding day old chicks to their cat? I have a hawk so I have these readily available and cheaply and I`ve started giving the cat one a day, chopped. To me its a half decent, wet food with real nutritional value, simply a baby bird chopped up.
> 
> Has anyone tried this? I`m now giving her one a day, first thing in the morning, thawed in warm water and chopped up then later in the day a quality wet cat food and decent dry food later on. Does anyone see this being a problem? Has anyone else tried it? She spends a lot of the day hunting and has yesterday been de-flead and checked by the vet.
> 
> Your thoughts would be appreciated!


Hi welcome to the forum.Cant help with the day old chick thing,if it doesnt come out of a tin/pouch ect my cat wont entertain it ,but you might find this useful esp post (9) http://www.petforums.co.uk/cat-health-nutrition/111455-thinking-about-raw-feeding-basic-guide.html or this one http://www.petforums.co.uk/cat-heal...beginners-more-seasoned-cat-owners-alike.html apology's if you have already read them.


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## Howlinbob (Jul 25, 2011)

Hi and welcome!

I feed a raw diet to my cats and I know a lot of raw feeders who feed day-old chicks very successfully. I've actually got some in my freezer from the reptile shop but haven't got the stomach to defrost one and chop it up **cringes**, and my family would be horrified if they saw me...:

You are way ahead of me by owning a hawk (wow!!!) and being used to small cute creatures as food. All I can say is, LUCKY CAT! and go for it. Have a read of the links posted above, ditch the dry food completely, and just be aware of aiming for a balanced raw diet, doesn't have to be with every meal.

Would love some pics - of hawk and of cat. What are their names?


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## Paddypaws (May 4, 2010)

I know that if the diet consists solely or mainly of chicks then you are advised to take out some of the yolk sacs to avoid too much vit a....but am sure that one a day is no problem, in fact a great addition to the diet. I agree that dry is not essential at all....but it _is_ cheap and convenient to feed for the odd meal, so maybe look at one of the better grain free ones such as Orijen, Acana, Applaws, Encore or fish4cats.


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

Wow - sounds fantastic - just make sure she is getting enough meat as day old chicks I would imagine are a bitt boney. The ratios should be 80% meat, 10% bones, 5% organ meat like heart and 5% liver.


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## Colette (Jan 2, 2010)

Agree with Paddypaws - that's the advice I was given; if you are going to feed a lot of chicks remove the yolk sac.
That said, I wouldn't feed a cat on nothing but chicks anyway...

My boys get whole prey a few times a week for their teeth - day old chicks, mice, baby rats, etc. They love them.

They don't need to be chopped either, assuming the cats are happy to eat them.

I would love to get my boys onto a full diet of whole prey (as much variety as possible) but it isn't an option just now. For now they get mostly grain-free wet, a little dry, and prey just a few times a week.


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## Sussexplumber (Oct 5, 2011)

Hi and thanks for the replies! I give her just one whole chick per day, first thing in the morning (frozen but thawed out in warm water so it is nice and wet), chopped up. I`ve become very aware of the need to provide much more water in her diet and the yolk is nice and runny! She is hungry first thing in the morning so that`s when I feed it. 

She does still get dry food but I use it for when I`m out at work and it can be left in the bowl. Once the hawk starts hunting again, she`ll be getting fresh rabbit and some pheasant too. This of course helps reduce the food bill . I know these could carry parasites/ worms but she will be shortly treated for worms and I know being a keen hunter, she should be wormed/deflead regularly. I`m keen to get her back onto a meat rich, high moisture diet, although I do see her drinking in the garden. Thanks again!


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## Sussexplumber (Oct 5, 2011)

spid said:


> Wow - sounds fantastic - just make sure she is getting enough meat as day old chicks I would imagine are a bitt boney. The ratios should be 80% meat, 10% bones, 5% organ meat like heart and 5% liver.


No bones at all, at least no hard bones, its all soft. She doesnt seem super keen on them but I feed them because 
a) they are a whole food
b) they are cheap and easily available
c) she eats them and I think due to being thawed out in warm water and because they are yolky and fed wet, they are a good source of water in the diet as well as other nutrients.


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## cookiemom (Jun 23, 2011)

If you buy anything else in for your hawk you can also feed that to the cat. I get ex layer quail, the cost of the chicks offsets the quail and I buy in bulk for extra saving. Quail make a good alternative in terms of nutrients, protein variety, prey age etc. A big quail can last 2 or 3 days. 

Not sure how many rabbits your hawk can catch but if you have freezer space you can pop the rabbits in for a few days to kill any tapeworm.


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## Sussexplumber (Oct 5, 2011)

Thanks cookie, yes I usually store them gutted in the freezer for weeks/months to feed her during the moult but rabbit pieces will hopefully be a nice supplement for her!


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## sharon_gurney (Jan 27, 2010)

Hi

I feed a mixture of prey diet and wet food. I discovered feeding day old dead chicks and mice worked a treat for my fussy eater. 

I used to fly birds of prey several years ago so thought I would give it a try on the cats.

My cats have been sucessfully eating this for several months.. Ok the chicks can get a bit messy with the yoke sacks 

I feed the mice and chicks whole because I think its more natural for them to chew and pull pieces off.


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## Sussexplumber (Oct 5, 2011)

The thing with pre-made food, in pouches and tins etc, is that its all geared towards profit. That means cheapest ingredients and fillers, so long as the cat enjoys it, then it sells. I think this is why you won`t find better quality foods in the supermarkets, because the profit margins aren`t high enough to stock them.


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