Offal from one Animal System is an Input - PEP BB animals.straw.offal

Sep 09, 2020 08:22:22

This is a badge bit (BB) that is part of the PEP curriculum. Completing this BB is part of getting the straw badge in Animal Care.

In this Badge Bit you will show how offal from one animal system is an input to a different animal system

Here are some related threads and articles on offal reuse:
https://permies.com/t/70910/Raising-Great-Pyrenees-Raw-Diet
https://permies.com/t/49962/waste-slaughtering-animals
https://permies.com/t/990/Maggot-Feeding-Station-Poultry

To complete this BB, the minimum requirements are:
- feed offal from one species to a different species
- receiving species must be an omnivore or carnivore
- both species must be domestic or livestock (includes black soldier flies and vermicompost)

To document your completion of the BB, provide proof of the following as pics or video (less than two minutes):
- type of offal you are starting with
- how you are using the offal
- animal system eating the offal
- explanation of why it is appropriate

Mike Haasl · Sep 29, 2020 16:22:52

I processed a rabbit and fed to offal to my chickens. Since there is only one rabbit and four chickens I gave it all to them whole. This type of food is perfect for omnivorous chickens. (Side note, I saw a carton of eggs the other day that said 100% vegan diet. Animal abuse!) Any offal they don't eat (who are we kidding, they devoured it) will draw flies that they will love to snack on.

Sep 29, 2020 16:51:46

Would using duck guts to bait a raccoon trap count? It worked two nights in a row, maybe it will work again, although coon isn't actually the target animal, it's mink and no luck yet.

Sep 29, 2020 20:31:27

No, I don't think that counts. This is trying to get at how we can close the loop on our homesteads and have "systems feeding systems feeding systems". I think both systems in this case need to be domestic/livestock critters.

Sep 29, 2020 20:46:27

Mike Haasl wrote:No, I don't think that counts. This is trying to get at how we can close the loop on our homesteads and have "systems feeding systems feeding systems". I think both systems in this case need to be domestic/livestock critters.

Fair enough! I don't really have different enough animals to do this yet as we only have fowl and I think it's better to have a bigger gap in the evolutionary tree than chickens eating duck. I will continue to feed it to my worms and microbes until that changes - they think it yummy!

Mike Barkley · Nov 05, 2020 19:22:50

Showing hog spleen , fresh from slaughtering.

Showing spleen being chopped up for the cat

Showing cat eating the spleen

Showing cat drinking some blood from hog butchering

explanation of why it is appropriate
So why this is appropriate for me, is it allows me to feed my cat a 100% raw meat diet. And this is all either from hunting or from butchering. It means i do not have to buy cat food from the store. It also means i have more control over what my cat eats. The cats is part of cleaning the dishes(licking) and she is part of keeping rat/mice populations at bay. She is also for snuggles and could even been called a house sitter at times!!

Apr 17, 2022 15:48:44

Jay Angler wrote:

Mike Haasl wrote:No, I don't think that counts. This is trying to get at how we can close the loop on our homesteads and have "systems feeding systems feeding systems". I think both systems in this case need to be domestic/livestock critters.

Fair enough! I don't really have different enough animals to do this yet as we only have fowl and I think it's better to have a bigger gap in the evolutionary tree than chickens eating duck. I will continue to feed it to my worms and microbes until that changes - they think it yummy!

Aren't worms a part of the system though? It closes the loop as well, because they produce compost which will be used to produce more food for everyone...

Apr 17, 2022 16:50:00

If they were domestic worms it would work (vermicompost). I believe Jay was talking about "worms and microbes" in the sense of soil life. I think if you feed domestic/livestock offal to wild flies and their maggots then fed your chickens, that would also count.

Apr 17, 2022 18:08:57

Agreed!
Love the name "Domestic Worms" though

gir bot · Dec 29, 2022 07:19:57

I hope this is enough pictures. Didnt think about it till they where chowing down.
I feel this is appropriate because less of the animal is wasted and less food has to be bought.

gir bot · Jan 07, 2023 10:59:56

I took offal from rabbit butchery and fed it to my chickens and rodent control specialist. Chickens are omnivores, and healthy rabbit is sufficiently removed from their own type of critter to be appropriate feed. Cats are obligate carnivores, so the fresh rabbit was both appropriate and delectable for her. (The chickens got the lungs and some connective tissue, and the cat got the heart and kidneys. I save the liver for myself!)

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