Feeding Spare Parts?

[Omniskies]

I raise quail, chickens, ducks, rabbits, etc for meat and, for lack of a better way to put it, always have "spare parts" left over that we're just not interested in eating. Things like legs and heads.

Is it safe to supplement a Channel Catfish's diet with these odds and ends? Either raw, boiled, or microwaved?

Sending everyone to freezer came only happens once every few months or so, but fish-edible parts could be saved in the freezer.

Thoughts?

 

[tscharf]

could grind em up and then freez em into cubes.... id just be afraid that the beaks wouldnt pass or digest and may even cause some damage....i used to feed mine hotdogs.... which is pretty much left overs all ground up

 

[Omniskies]

I have a meat grinder. I didn't think about beaks not passing through - I just assumed that since they would make a meal of a bird when given the chance that they would be able to digest it. Thanks for bringing it up.

Grinding it up and putting it in tiny (very clearly labeled) ice cube trays may be a good way to go about it.

At that point could it be fed to other carnivorous fish? Like oscars? Or even livebearers?

 

[jprp]

I would just be wary of broken bones (jagged) or very large bones (relative to size of fish) other than that try in small amounts first but i dont think the ice cube thing is needed for the channel and this method creates a lot of mess with larger fish as the cubes break up into tiny particles in the tank that bigger fish just wont bother to find.

 

[DrownedFishonFire]

I don't see anything wrong with that as most stuff in fish feed is ground up meal... bones and all...

 

[Omniskies]

Thanks everyone. This is great to hear. With all the work you put into processing your own food you find that any waste is a huge frustration. I'm really happy to finally find a use for the bits that aren't all that edible (and saves the family from finding out one day how fried quail legs taste .

I'll play around with grinding, freezing, drying, etc. If I find out anything useful I'll be sure to post it up here.