Chook Me!

ideal poultry? are they a good hatchery?do the chicks come healthy?

Does anyone know of any large poultry hatcheries other than Ideal poultry and Mcmurray? I have a small farm and would like a variety of pullets (approx. 50) and I would like to get them all from one hatchery.

Is ideal poultry a good hatchery to by from?

i order 11 pullets from ideal poultry and they still havent arrived? i ordered them 8-19-09 and that was supposed to be the delivery date. i dont know why they havent arrived yet. PLEASE HELP!!!

how long does it take for my chickens to come from ideal-poultry.com i ordered them on 3/11/08? ???

HELP!!!!: is the hatchery, Ideal-poultry.com any good? I have searched all kinds of hatcherys and I found a couple like mcmurray hatchery but Its alot of money, Then i came across a hatchery it looks really neat, but i was wanting to know if anyone ordered any chicks ducks or any poultry from them, Its website is www.ideal-poultry.com

Enquiry about Ideal Poultry Hatchery? Has anyone ordered from this hatchery and what was your experience?Did all your chicks arrive safe and in good health? Were you satisfied with your order?

Where can I find a small order hatchery? I only want two chicks as pets. I've looked at Nature's Hatchery and Ideal Poultry already, so please don't put those up. Thanks! Silver laced cochin please! Sorry I forgot to mention the breed!!!

why do some buff orpington hens look like a regular standard breed and some look like a cochin but there not? i ordered six buff orpinton pullets from ideal poultry and i was wondering if they will look like a cochin like some do or just regular standard breed.

hatcheries that only ship a few chicks? i looking for a hatchery that ships a few chicks like 10 or so. ideal poultry charges 7 buck more then even more for boxing them and cackle is so far away i dont want to stress my chicks.if i have to i'll order from ideal. but do they ship quality chicks? another question, have you owned silkies, are the roosters loud? is the paris farm union in america?

what is your ideal of a wholesome delicious breakfast ignoring all the details of whats healthy ? I just love a good breakfast & maybe you can give me some good ideals about what to prepare using potatoes,eggs,real salsa, meat(steak,pork chops,bacon,chipped beef,poultry) or whatever you--- can think of------something sweet (JELLY,PRSERVES) or mybe you hvw another suggestion----some gravy (what kind) bread --toast,biscuits,rolls etc????

The ideal diet consists of all EXCEPT which of the following? a.bulk b.few carbohydrates c.little salt and refined sugar d.little red meat e.fish, poultry, and legumes

Why do people think a farm is the best place to dump their cat? I own a duck farm. We raise poultry. And yet, people are continually dumping off their cats in my yard. I know they are ex-pet cats, because they want to get all friendly. The local shelters don't TAKE cats, because they have too many already (I've tried taking in the god forsaken vermin that people keep dropping off). I've called in about them, and been told I can shoot any animal threatening my livestock (yeah, right. Like I could kill a cat.) So, why do people think a duck farm is the ideal re-location habitat for their stupid cats??? We're up to something like twelve or fifteen, and GOD FORBID if these nasty little animals start breeding. Did I say DUCK FARM? For the person who thinks I'm horrible, These little monsters eat Baby Ducks. And they Aren't feral. They try to love up on me. UGH. As for mice in the barn, I raise Muscovy ducks, and I own a beagle. They both love to hunt and eat mice and rats. We don't want no kitties. As for having them fixed? I know, I know, but I don't have the money to run a farm, raise kids, and get every drop off that people feel like abandoning a full vet work up.

what is an ideal 'first pet' bird? i have lots of experience with all kinds of animals as i did an animal management course at college for 2 years, i also have had many pets. i wandered which kind of bird was the best for people who hadnt had pet birds before (i have plenty of experience with poultry as i live on a farm. please dont suggest large birds) initially i researched finches as i like their small stature and think they look beautiful, but i dont think they are good pets for somebody who hasnt had birds before. i know that animals require time, attention, space, diet and company. i will be working throughout the day from around 8 until 5, so would you say its not ideal i get a pet bird then? (is that a major time issue?) i want something that is affordable, friendly, able to be handled and easy to cater for (substrate and diet) i have always wanted a pair of dutch blue love birds, or maybe even quail, but have yet to research them. i wandered what you would advise for me, a person who has never owned any birds other than chickens?

want to buy only 1 or 2 ducklings in CT? I've tried 3 times now to order duck hatching egs from ebay. Each time the eggs i recieved were either infertile or mesed with durring shipping. Not im looking back to the website i ordered my first ducks from. ideal-poultry.com has a minimum order of $25. if it is a small flock they will include a vouple handfuls of chicks. Last time i ordered 5 Blue swedish ducklings and got 9 male chicks! All of the chicks are always male. But my point is i would like to add 1 or 2 ducks to my small flock... but with the crested mix ducks it is only 4.41 eachand the minimum ducklings(+ chicks) i can get is 4. Would anyone want to have a joint order with me??? and if you are looking for a 1 or 2 ducklings this is the perfect way to get them!! i ordered them here befoe and my ducks have the greatest temperment! i even have a 'lap duck' she's seporate from the others and she has free roam of the house and is very loved! Please i will even cut the price a bit and have just $4 a duckling!!!! also if you want specific breeds i can use another website: http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/ which is a minimum of 10 duckslings. PLEASE! help me!!!!!! and i know there are alot of people out there wanting only 1 duckling!!! please please please!! EMAIL IS PREFERED!!!!!! mannysangelgurl at hotmail dot com calls arent as effective but text is!

Need advice about silkie chickens? I live right outside the city and am going to start a chicken coop. Firstly I just wanted to make sure it's okay to mix chicken breeds in a coop? Will this cause problems if they are of different sizes? The chickens I think I want are said to have very good temperaments and be friendly. Anyway about the Silkies, I am going to buy from Ideal Poultry Breeding Farms inc. and because Silkies are hard to sex the chicks are not guaranteed a certain sex. The problem I am facing is that I do not want any fertilized eggs but because of the smaller size of this chicken and the possibility of coyotes (coyotes aren't as likely because there are dogs, including mine, on our street) or raccoons attacking the could be rooster I would be afraid of letting it roam around outside of the coop. Is there something I can build it where I can just put him in there at night? I mean this is all hypothetical but still I just want to know if I should get the Silkies or just give up on that.

is sand ok to put at the bottom of my chicken brooder? well its not really a brooder its a big huge blue plastic container and i am putting approx. 25 in there just until there about three weeks old then the rest is figured out but i need to know if sand can harm my chickadees they are coming from ideal poultry.com and hey will be very young so i need to know oh and yes they will be heated i have a big coop already i have one hen and the rest where eaten by a raccoon that lives near by but that problem was taken care of with a shot gun lol but i do have a larger coop that when they are old enought they will go into its about 10 foot tall and about 20 foot long and 8 10 foot wide we have a big yard for the chickens

To all meat-eaters:do you know that meat eating is the main cause for desertification of the planet? 1. Bullshit or cows' is excellent as fertiliser-no need for chemicals. 2. Bulls are ideal for cultivation of land:no need for machines and diesel.It also create employments. 3. Cow dung is excellent to retain moisture in land...chemicals destroy land for ever and turn land into deserts. 4. More demand of meat means destruction of forests inorder to made pasturelands:rainforests are shrinking badly,causing less rain to fall and tempereature of planet to rise,oxygen less! 5. 80% of ALL cereals are planted to feed cattle and poultry,meaning famine for many! Just imagine what can grow on such vast amount of land as fruits and veg!!!!!As well as milk production from cows! Every village should be self-sufficient for food locally as much as possible.Desertic or cold climate is different...

Looking for someone to buy lot in the Philippines, cheap price? Lot area was 2.7 hectares at P120/sq. mtrs located at Pagbilao, Quezon, along barangay road, 24 hours fresh water line, Meralco line. Ideal for investment, good for subdivision, memorial lot, poultry, piggery, good invironment, fresh air, good location,

3 reasons why?????????????? The Humane Slaughter Act states that all animals must be slaughtered humanely... (painlessly) except for poultry (chicken, turkeys, fish). Could someone give me 3 reasons why it would be ideal to include poultry in the act? Thanks. ^.^

Is Obama An Anti-American Racist Marxist That Enjoyed Reverend Wright & His Mother`s Ideals? I know the answer....This is a quiz. Spin or tell. Don`t be poultry. Millions are tuned in here.

hey does anyone no what a henway is R a piecost? he weigh about 1.7kgs Poultry breeding method - Patent 4920923(f) comparing the ideal hen weight data with the actual weight ... Thus if the weight W of the hen is 1.7 Kg, the hen house temperature T is 20.degree. ... www.freepatentsonline.com/4920923.html - 31k - Cached - Similar pages A pie cost about .75-1.00 hahahehe

How can I make sure that my flexitarian vegetarian diet is in balance so . . .? ...the following doesn't happen to me. I mean how do I know if I'm being a "strict" a vegetarian and causing myself dreadful physical harm. What is the ideal percentage of "white meats" ... seafood, fish, poultry I should be including in my diet to stay healthy. The vegetarians of Southern India eat a low-calorie diet very high in carbohydrates and low in protein and fat. They have the shortest life span of any society on Earth, and their bodies have an extremely low muscle mass. They are weak and frail and the children clearly exhibit a failure to thrive. Their heart disease rate is double that of the meat eaters in Northern India. HL Abrams. Vegetarianism: An anthropological/nutritional evaluation. Journal of Applied Nutrition, 32:2:53-87. Anthropological Research Reveals Human Dietary Requirements for Optimal Health by H. Leon Abrams, Jr., MA, EDS

I am looking to switch dog food, I here a lot of good about Nutri-Source. Would you feed this food? http://www.nutrisourcedogfood.com/ Lamb meal, brewers rice, brown rice, barley, oatmeal, beet pulp, fish meal (a source of fish oil), flax seeds, natural flavors, sunflower oil, dried egg product, poultry fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols (a source of vitamin E) and citric acid), spray dried poultry liver, brewers yeast, potassium chloride, salt, proteinated minerals (iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, cobalt proteinate), yeast culture (saccharomyces cerevisiae, enterococcus faecium, lactobacillus acidophilus, aspergillus niger, trichoderma longibrachiatum, bacillus subtillis), choline chloride, vitamins (vitamin A acetate, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, niacin, pantothenic acid, thiamine mononitrate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement), taurine, glucosamine hydrochloride, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), Crude Protein (Min) 22.0% 220 g/kg Crude Fat (Min) 13.0% 130 g/kg Crude Fiber (Max) 6.0% 60 g/kg Moisture (Max) 10.0% 100 g/kg Selenium (Min) 0.5 mg/kg 0.5 mg/kg Vitamin E (Min) 175 IU/kg 175 IU/kg *Omega 6 Fatty Acids (Min) 2.0% 20 g/kg *Omega 3 Fatty Acids (Min) 0.4% 4 g/kg *Glucosamine (Min) 550 PPM 550 mg/kg *Chondroitin (Min) 150 PPM 150 mg/kg *Ascorbic Acid (vitamin C)(Min) 100 mg/kg 100 mg/kg *Not recognized as an essential nutrient by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profile. Lamb meal, brewers rice, brown rice, barley, oatmeal, beet pulp, fish meal (a source of fish oil), flax seeds, natural flavors, sunflower oil, dried egg product, poultry fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols (a source of vitamin E) and citric acid), spray dried poultry liver, brewers yeast, potassium chloride, salt, proteinated minerals (iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, cobalt proteinate), yeast culture (saccharomyces cerevisiae, enterococcus faecium, lactobacillus acidophilus, aspergillus niger, trichoderma longibrachiatum, bacillus subtillis), choline chloride, vitamins (vitamin A acetate, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, niacin, pantothenic acid, thiamine mononitrate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement), taurine, glucosamine hydrochloride, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), yucca schidigera extract, chondroitin sulfate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite, rosemary extract. NutriSource Lamb Meal and Rice is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for all life stages. Feed 1/2 to 3/4 cups per 10 pounds of body weight; Feed 60 to 90 grams per 5 kg of body weight Weight (lbs./kg) Amount to Feed (cups/grams) 10 lbs. / 4.5 kg 1 Cup / 90g 20 lbs. / 9 kg 1 1/2 Cups / 140g 30 lbs. / 13.5 kg 2 Cups / 190g 40 lbs. / 18.5 kg 2 1/2 Cups / 230g 50 lbs. / 22.5 kg 3 Cups / 280g 60 lbs. / 27 kg 3 1/4 Cups / 300g 70 lbs. / 32 kg 3 3/4 Cups / 350g 80 lbs. / 36 kg 4 Cups / 370g 90 lbs. / 40 kg 4 1/2 Cups / 420g 100 lbs. / 45 kg 4 3/4 Cups / 440g These guideline amounts are a starting point for weight maintenance for moderately active adult dogs. Vary the amount fed to suit the age, activity level and temperament of your dog. Feed to maintain ideal body condition. Do not let your dog become overweight. These guideline amounts are for the total fed each day. Divide the amount fed by the number of feedings to get the amount per feeding. One 8 ounce measuring cup contains 3.3 ounces or 95 grams of NutriSource Lamb Meal and Rice dog food. Provide clean, fresh drinking water daily. Calorie content(calculated): 3,500 kcal per kg, 330 kcal per cup COPYRIGHT ® 2006 NUTRISOURCE PO Box 190, Perham, MN 56573, (218) 346-7500 All Rights Reserved

What percent of vegetarians become so due to religious reasons, moral reasons, health reasons, ect.? The question "why choose vegetarianism?" has many answers. People choose to become vegetarians for many different reasons. But most vegetarians cite one or more of the following issues as their main reason for dropping meat from their diet: : • Health concerns: A healthy vegetarian diet can decrease the risk and symptoms of many chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. • Religious restrictions: Hinduism and Buddhism hold vegetarianism as an ideal way to promote nonviolence and spiritual fulfillment. If Kosher or Halal meat isn't available, observant Jews and Muslims keep a vegetarian diet. Other religious groups that avoid meat include Seventh Day Adventists and Jains. • Environmental degradation: Many environmentalists assert that the large-scale meat and poultry production is environmentally unsustainable. They point to issues with water quality, waste disposal, overuse of antibiotics, and other concerns. • Animal rights issues: Ethical vegetarians are concerned about animal cruelty. Many animals live in truly abysmal conditions and are treated horribly prior to and during slaughter. • Food safety: Approximately 5,000 Americans die of food-borne diseases each year. There have been many large-scale recalls of meat contaminated with e-coli and many local incidents where restaurant patrons were sickened by improperly cooked meat and eggs. What percentage of vegetarians are adopting the lifestyle and diet due to health concerns? What percent give up meat for religious reasons? How many are switching to vegetarian lifestyle because of animal rights? I'd like to know what is driving vegetarians to their choice to. What is the most popular reason for being vegetarian? And how popular is that reason over the other reasons?

I don't eat red meat. What foods and vitamins would u advise so I can get the proper nutrients? I am also anemic so that doesn't help. Currently I eat poultry but not a lot because I'm so used to not eating most meat that I only have chicken or fish a few times a week. Right now I'm trying to get on track by taking a multi-vitamin. However, I still feel like I need to be doing more. Any suggestions on snacks or quick meals that I can eat. To be a full vegan one day is ideal but I feel right now it's not in my budget. Any advice will help. :-)

The ideal diet consists of all EXCEPT which of the following? a.bulk b.few carbohydrates c.little salt and refined sugar d.little red meat e.fish, poultry, and legumes

So why did the chicken cross the road? * KINDERGARTEN TEACHER: To get to the other side. * PLATO: For the greater good. * ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross roads. * KARL MARX: It was a historical inevitability. * TIMOTHY LEARY: Because that's the only trip the establishment would let it take. * SADDAM HUSSEIN: This was an unprovoked act of rebellion and we were justified in dropping 50 tons of nerve gas on it. * JACK NICHOLSON: 'cause it f___ing wanted to. That's the f___ing reason. * RONALD REAGAN: I forget. * CAPTAIN JAMES T. KIRK: To boldly go where no chicken has gone before. * HIPPOCRATES: Because of an excess of phlegm in its pancreas. * ANDERSEN CONSULTANT: Deregulation of the chicken's side of the road was threatening its dominant market position. The chicken was faced with significant challenges to create and develop the competencies required for the newly competitive market. Andersen Consulting, in a partnering relationship with the client, helped the chicken by rethinking its physical distribution strategy and implementation processes. Using the Poultry Integration Model (PIM), Andersen helped the chicken use its skills, methodologies, knowledge, capital and experiences to align the chicken's people, processes and technology in support of its overall strategy within a Program Management framework. Andersen Consulting convened a diverse cross-spectrum of road analysts and best chickens along with Anderson consultants with deep skills in the transportation industry to engage in a two-day itinerary of meetings in order to leverage their personal knowledge capital, both tacit and explicit, and to enable them to synergize with each other in order to achieve the implicit goals of delivering and successfully architecting and implementing an enterprise-wide value framework across the continuum of poultry cross-median processes. The meeting was held in a park-like setting, enabling and creating an impactful environment which was strategically based, industry-focused, and built upon a consistent, clear, and unified market message and aligned with the chicken's mission, vision, and core values. This was conducive towards the creation of a total business integration solution. Andersen Consulting helped the chicken change to become more successful. * LOUIS FARRAKHAN: The road, you see, represents the black man. The chicken 'crossed' the black man in order to trample him and keep him down. * MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.: I envision a world where all chickens will be free to cross roads without having their motives being called into question. * MOSES: And God came down from the Heavens, and He said unto the chicken, "Thou shalt cross the road." And the chicken crossed the road, and there was much rejoicing. * FOX MULDER: You saw it cross the road with your own eyes. How many more chickens have to cross the road before you believe it? * RICHARD M. NIXON: The chicken did not cross the road. I repeat, the chicken did NOT cross the road. * MACHIAVELLI: The point is that the chicken crossed the road. Who cares why? The end of crossing the road justifies whatever motive there was. * JERRY SEINFELD: Why does anyone cross a road? I mean, why doesn't anyone ever think to ask, What the heck was this chicken doing walking around all over the place, anyway?" * FREUD: The fact that you are at all concerned that the chicken crossed the road reveals your underlying sexual insecurity. * BILL GATES: I have just released the new Chicken Office 2000, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook. * BILL CLINTON: I'm going to say something important. And I'll say it again to make sure you understand. I did not have sexual relations with that chicken. I did not. * GEORGE W. BUSH (2): We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road or not. The chicken is either with us or it is against us. There is no middle ground here. * OLIVER STONE: The question is not, "Why did the chicken cross the road?" Rather, it is, "Who was crossing the road at the same time, whom we overlooked in our haste to observe the chicken crossing?" * DARWIN: Chickens, over great periods of time, have been naturally selected in such a way that they are now genetically disposed to cross roads. * EINSTEIN: Whether the chicken crossed the road or the road moved beneath the chicken depends upon your frame of reference. * BUDDHA: Asking this question denies your own chicken nature. * RALPH WALDO EMERSON: The chicken did not cross the road .. it transcended it. * ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die. In the rain. * NEW SOUTH AFRICAN POLITICIAN: It is the Apartheid regime which made the chicken cross the road when the chicken did not want to cross the road, the chicken is oppressed and the only way to free the chicken is for the whites to pay restitution for oppressing the chicken and investigate police involvement in the death of chickens. It is racist to imply that chickens are involved in any crimes and corruption. * OLD SOUTH AFRICAN POLITICIAN: It is our belief that chickens should be allowed to cross roads in their own areas with their own roads. If they wish to cross roads in other areas they must carry a pass and will be subject to arrest if they dont. We would like to state categorically that meddling in our affairs by any persons will not be tolerated and we will arrest and detain anybody for a period of 90 days without trail so that these allegations can be investigated. * COSATU: To steal a job from a decent, hardworking, South African. * RAY MACAULEY: Because the chicken was gay! Isn't it obvious? Can't you people see the plain truth in front of your face? The chicken was going to the "other side." That's what "they" call it, "the other side." Yes, my friends, that chicken is gay. And, if you eat that chicken, you will become gay too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the liberal media whitewashes with seemingly harmless phrases like "the other side." That chicken should not be free to cross the road. It's as plain and simple as that. * DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes! The chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed, I've not been told! * DR NELSON MANDELA: Never again, will the chicken be questioned for crossing the road. This is an ideal for which I am prepared to die. * GRANDPA SIMPSON: In my day, we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Someone told us that the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough for us. * BISHOP TUTU: We need a society where people will learn to forgive all the chickens that crossed the road. However, forgiveness will be granted to chickens that convince the nation that their reasons for crossing the road were politically motivated * PAN AFRICAN CONGRESS: The road, you will see, represents the black man. The chicken crossed the "black man" in order to trample him and keep him down. * ROBERT MUGABE: For all of these years the road has been owned by the white farmers, the poor underpriveleged chicken has waited too long for that road to be given to him and now he is crossing it in force with his fellow war veteran chickens. We intend taking over this road and giving it to the roadless chickens so that they can cross it without fear of retribution from Britain who promised money to institute road reform. We will not stop until all roadless chickens have roads to cross and the freedom to cross them. We will also return to the Socialist ideal of a road so that all chickens who live in our country can benefit from the grand ideals which I have decided upon. * ISAAC NEWTON: Any chicken in the universe shall always cross a road perpendicularly to the side of the road, and in an infinitely long straight line at uniform speed, unless the chicken stops due to an unbalanced reactive force in the opposite direction of the chicken's motion * HEISENBERG: No one will ever know for sure whether he actually got to the other side * SNOOPY: It was a dark, stormy night. Somewhere in the rain, a chicken crossed a road * JULIE ANDREWS: Chick, a cheer, a female cheer ... * MOHAMMED ALDOURI (Iraq Ambassador): The chicken did not cross the road. This is a complete fabrication. We don't even have a chicken. * COLONEL SANDERS: I missed one?

With all the recalls I thought I would share:? this is an actual research page I found when working for a home vet and she loved it so much that she put it on her page..read it with an open mind...and think...here is her page also if you are interested..http://www.carinrennings.com (Don't read if you have a weak stomach) What's Really for Dinner? The Truth About Commercial Pet Food, by Tina Perry Cow brains. Sheep guts. Chicken heads. Road kill. Rancid grain. These are a few of the so-called nutritionally balanced ingredients found in the commercial pet food served to companion animals every day. More than 95 percent of US companion animals derive their nutritional needs from a single source: processed pet food. When people think of pet food, many envision whole chickens, choice cuts of beef, fresh grains, and all the nutrition that a dog or cat may ever need -- images that pet food manufacturers promote in their advertisements. What these companies do not reveal is that instead of whole chickens they have substituted chicken heads, feet, and intestines. Those choice cuts of beef are really cow brains, tongues, esophagi, fetal tissue dangerously high in hormones, and possibly diseased and even cancerous meat. Those whole grains have had the starch removed for corn starch powder and the oil extracted for corn oil, or they are hulls and other remnants from the milling process. Grains used that are truly whole have usually been deemed unfit for human consumption because of mold, contaminants, poor quality, or poor handling practices. Pet food is one of the world’s most synthetic edible products, containing virtually no whole ingredients. Pet food manufacturers have become masters at inducing companion animals to eat things cat and dogs would normally spurn. Pet food scientists have learned that it's possible to take a mixture of inedible scraps, fortify it with artificial vitamins and minerals, preserve it so that it can sit on the shelf for more than a year, add dyes to make it attractive, and then extrude it into whimsical shapes that appeal to the human consumer. For this, pet food companies can expect to earn $9 billion in sales in 1996. Scraps and Byproducts For years, many care givers have tried to avoid feeding their companion animals people food leftovers, having been warned by veterinarians about the heath problems they can cause. Yet much scrap material from the human food industry is ending up in dogs and cat’s dinner bowls. What the consumer purchases and what the manufacturer advertises are often two entirely different products, and this difference threatens the animals healthy, especially as they age. Learning to read ingredient labels and taking the time to read them carefully is crucial to making an educated choice when purchasing pet food. Ingredients are listed in descending order of weight (heaviest first) under standards established by the Center for Veterinary Medicine for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The name of the product (in most states) is dictated by the regulations of the American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). The trouble is, AAFCO standards can lead to deceptive product names due to the weight and volume variations between wet and dry ingredients. Also, the average consumer has no idea what the definitions for the listed ingredients mean. Preservatives, vitamins, minerals, flavorings, and cereal make up most of what the companion animal eats. It is not happenstance that four of the top five major pet food companies in the United States are subsidiaries of major multinational food production companies: Colgate Palmolive (which produces Hills Science Diet), Heinz, Nestle, and Mars )see The Corporate Connection). From a business standpoint, multi-national food companies owning pet food manufacturers is an ideal relationship. The multinationals have captive market in which to dump their waste products, and the pet food manufacturers have a direct source of bulk materials. Both make a profit from selling scraps that originate from places far worse than the dinner table. In his 1986 book Pet Allergies veterinarian Al Plechner sums up what goes into companion animals food: Condemned parts and animals rejected for human consumption are routinely rerouted for commercial pet foods. A similar fate applies to so-called 4-D animals. These are food animals picked up dead, or that are dying, diseased, or disabled, and do not meet human-food qualifications. They are processed straightaway for companion animal consumption. Little goes to waste. Says Plechner, Food processing refuse of all sorts winds up in your animals dinner bowls. Moldy grains. Rancid foods. Meat meal. The latter is ground-up slaughterhouse discards often containing disease-ridden tissue and high levels of hormones and pesticides, the very things that may have contributed to the death of the steer or hog. A decade later, his words still apply. When cattle, swine, chickens, lambs, or other animals meet their ends at a slaughterhouse, the choice cuts -- lean muscle tissue and organs prized by humans -- are trimmed away from the carcass for human consumption. Whatever remains of the carcass (bones, blood, pus, intestines, ligaments, subcutaneous fat, hooves, horns, beaks, and any other parts not normally consumed by humans) is, according to the pet food industry, perfectly fit as a protein source for cat and dog food. The Pet Food Institute, the trade association of pet food manufacturers, acknowledges in its 1994 Fact Sheet the importance of using byproducts in pet foods as additional income for processors and farmers. The purchase and use of these ingredients by the pet food industry not only provides nutritional foods for pets at reasonable costs, but provides an important source of income to American farmers and processors of meat, poultry, and seafood products for human consumption. Many of these remnants are indigestible and provide a questionable source of nutrition. The amount of nutrition provided by meat byproducts, meals, and digests varies from vat to vat of this animal protein soup. A vat filled with chicken feet, beaks, and viscera is going to make available a lower amount of protein than a vat of breast meat. James Morris and Quinton Rogers, professors with Department of Molecular Biosciences at the University of California at Davis Veterinary School of Medicine, assert that there is virtually no information on the bio-availability of nutrients for companion animals in many of the common dietary ingredients used in pet foods. These ingredients are generally byproducts of the meat, poultry and fishing industries, with the potential for wide variation in nutrient composition. Claims of nutritional adequacy of pet foods based on the current AAFCO nutrient allowances (profiles) do not give assurances of nutritional adequacy and will not until ingredients are analyzed and bioavailability values are incorporated. Meat byproducts, the catch-all term of the pet food industry, is a misnomer because these byproducts contain little if any meat. Byproducts contain little if any meat. Byproduct are animal parts leftover after the meat has been stripped from the bone. Chicken byproducts include heads, feet, entrails, lungs, spleens, kidneys, brains, livers, stomachs, noses, blood, and intestines free of their contents. What the pet food manufactures fail to mention is that most byproducts, digests and meals are also filled with other substances, such as cancerous tissue cut from the carcass, plastic foam packaging containing spoiled meat from supermarkets, ear tags, spoiled slaughterhouse meat, road kill, and pieces of downer animals. Canned Cannibalism Another source of meat that isn't mentioned on pet food labels is pet byproducts, the bodies of dogs and cats. In 1990 the San Francisco Chronicle reported that euthanized companion animals were found in pet foods. Although pet food company executives and the National Renderers Association vehemently denied the report, the American Veterinary Medical Association and the FDA confirmed the story. The pets serve a viable purpose by providing foodstuff for the animal feed chain, said Lea McGovern, chief of the FDA's animal feed safety branch. Because of the sheer volume of animals rendered and the similarity in protein content between poultry byproducts and processed dogs and cats, rendering plant workers say it would be impossible for purchasers to know the exact contents of what they buy. In fact, Sacramento Rendering cited by inspectors five times in the past two years for product-labeling violations. Grease and Grain The most nutritious dry pet food is no better than the worst if animals will not eat it. Pet food scientists have discovered that spraying the kibble or pellets with a combination of refined animal fat, lard, kitchen grease, and other oils too rancid or deemed inedible for humans makes an otherwise bland or distasteful product palatable. Animal fat is mainly packing house waste or supermarket trimmings from the packaging of meats. Animals love the taste of this sprayed fat, which also acts as a binding agent to which manufacturers may add other flavor enhancers. The pungent odor wafting from an open bag of pet food is created by this concoction. Restaurant grease has become a major component of feed-grade animal fat over the last 15 years. Often held in 50-gallon drums for weeks or months in extreme temperatures, this grease is usually kelp outside with no regard for its safety or further use. The rancid grease is then picked up by fat blenders who mix the animal and vegetable fats together, stabilize them with powerful antioxidants to prevent further spoilage, and then sell the blended products to pet food companies. Rancid, heavily preserved fats are extremely difficult to digest and can lead to a host of animal health problems, including digestive upsets, diarrhea, gas, and bad breath. Once considered filler by the pet food industry, the amount of grain products included in pet food has risen over the last decade as the American population has focused its attention away from consuming beef and toward a healthier diet of grains and vegetables. Commonly two of the top three pet food ingredients are some form of grain products. For instance, Alpo's Beef Flavored Dinner lists ground yellow corn, soybean meal, and poultry byproduct meal as its top three ingredients. 9 Lives Crunchy Meals lists ground yellow corn, corn gluten meal, and poultry byproduct meal as its top three ingredients. Of the top four ingredients of Purina's O.N.E. Dog Formula -- chicken, ground yellow corn, ground wheat, and corn gluten meal -- two are corn-based products from the same source. This is an industry practice known as splitting. When components of the same whole ingredient are listed separately (ground yellow corn and corn gluten meal) it appears that there is less corn than chicken, even when the whole ingredient may weigh more than the chicken. Soy is another common ingredient in many pet foods. It is used by the manufacturers to boost the claimed protein content and add bulk so that when animals eat a product containing soy they will fell more sated. Tofu is suitable for humans, but most forms of soybean do not agree with a dog or cat's digestive system. Like many other pet food ingredients, soy is virtually unusable by an animal's body. Being obligate carnivores, cats have little ability to digest any nutrients from soy. The problem is worse for dogs because they lack the essential amino acid to digest soy products. Soy has also been linked to bloat and gas in many dogs. Additives and Processing Pet food industry critics note that many of the ingredients (such as corn syrup and corn gluten meal) used as humectants to prevent oxidation also bind water molecules in such a way that the food actually sticks to the animal's colon and may cause blockage. Blockage of the colon may cause an increased risk of cancer of the colon or rectum. Two-thirds of the pet food manufactured in the United States contains synthetic preservatives added by the manufacturer. Of the remaining third, 90 percent includes ingredients already stabilized by synthetic preservatives. Because most pet food contains large percentages of added fat, a stabilizer is needed to maintain the quality of the food. Sodium nitrite, often used as a coloring agent, fixative, and preservative, has the ability to combine with natural stomach and food chemicals (secondary amends) to create nitrosamines, powerful cancer-causing agents, according to A Consumer's Dictionary of Food Additives. Many pet foods advertised as preservative-free do not contain preservatives. Almost all rendered meats have synthetic preservatives added as stabilizer, but manufacturers aren't required to list preservatives they themselves haven't added. Premixed vitamin additives can also contain preservatives. In the 1003 Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, veterinarian Philip Roudebush reported finding low concentrations of synthetic antioxidant preservatives in all analyzed samples of products labeled as chemical free or all-natural. Other types of additives depend on whether the pet food is semi-moist, dry or canned. Because semi-moist food contains 25-50 percent water, antimicrobial preservatives must be used. Propylene glycol was frequently used in cat food until it was pulled in 1992 for causing a variety of health problems. Processing greatly alters the nutritional value of the food ingredients. Veterinarian R. L. Wysong states in Rationale for Animal Nutrition: Processing is the wild card in nutritional value that is, by and large, simply ignored. Heating, freezing, dehydrating, canning, extruding, pelleting, baking and so forth, are so commonplace that they are simply thought of as synonymous with food itself. Because the ingredients that pet food companies use are not wholesome, and harsh manufacturing practices destroy what little nutritional value the food may have had in the first place, the final product must be fortified with vitamins and minerals. Questionable Nutrition How, then, can any pet food be guaranteed to be 100 percent complete or nutritionally adequate? As long as it meets the AAFCO minimum standards, such a guarantee can be on the label. Yet in 1994, feed tests conducted by the New York State Agriculture Department showed 7 percent of all pet foods analyzed failed chemical analyses for guaranteed nutrients. Other states report similar findings, with failure of analyzed feed ranging from to 12 percent. Even if a pet food meets AAFCO standards, certain nutritional requirements (for example, lysine) can vary between species by as much as seven-fold. Although manufacturers clam that millions of companion animals can thrive on a diet consisting of nothing by commercial pet food, research and an increasing number of veterinarians implicate processed pet food as a source of disease or as an exacerbating agent for a number of degenerative diseases. For example, kidney disease is on of the top three killers of companion animals. According to Plechner, the extra protein and harsh ingredients of many pet foods place an overload on the kidneys. Left untreated, the toxic buildup leads to vomiting, loss of appetite, uremic poisoning, and death. Wysong adds, In the last few years, large statistical studies have shown the link between the diet (of processed foods) and a variety of degenerative diseases, including cancer, heart disease, allergies, arthritis, obesity, dental disease, etc. After extensive research, the Animal Protection Institute (API) published a Pet Food Investigative Report to educate companion animal care givers about pet food ingredients, ingredient definitions, labeling, and dietary ailments resulting from processed commercial pet food, including the most commonly know brands. Yet, whether such food is purchased at the supermarket, pet store, or from a veterinarian, it makes little difference in terms of the quality -- only in the cost. Since the report was published earlier this year, API has conducted more research on holistic pet care and pet food alternatives, but still claims that the vast majority of pet foods available on the market today provide less that optimum nutrition for companion animals. It is sad to think that the food provided by animal care givers to their four-legged friends could be hazardous to the animals'; health and longevity. Care givers should assume responsibility for providing as healthful a diet as possible for the animals in the care. Consumers should be informed: speak with a holistic practitioner or herbalist, or consult your veterinarian (but be aware that a veterinarian's knowledge of nutrition may be limited to the two weeks of nutrition he or she had veterinary school 20 years ago). Although the ideal solution would be for companion animals to be fed only wholesome homemade and/or vegetarian diets, this is not an optician for everyone -- the cost and time commitment is sometimes prohibitive. By taking more moderate steps, however, care givers can still greatly improve companion animals' diet and quality of life. EDIT: On Carin Rennings page she lists recommended diets... she really researched them and its really helpful....go check it out..smile EDIT EDIT: sorry but it is still happening to the person that said its not... when I did my research I asked around and found out that the people that picked up the dead pets from the vets offices that did not want a private creamation actually had a company come in and pick the bodies up...really sick...valley protien I think was the name of the company... I am not just trying to "SCARE" people ...here is more proof....read this article JUST WRITTEN!! and see for yourself whats in your pet foods!! http://www.petfoodreport.com/aboutpetfood.htm#ingredients Edit: as far as ill timing and such... I think its just the right time!! people need to open their eyes...so sorry you 2 feel that way...smile http://www.api4animals.org/facts.php?p=359&more=1

So why did the chicken cross the road? * KINDERGARTEN TEACHER: To get to the other side. * PLATO: For the greater good. * ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross roads. * KARL MARX: It was a historical inevitability. * TIMOTHY LEARY: Because that's the only trip the establishment would let it take. * SADDAM HUSSEIN: This was an unprovoked act of rebellion and we were justified in dropping 50 tons of nerve gas on it. * JACK NICHOLSON: 'cause it f___ing wanted to. That's the f___ing reason. * RONALD REAGAN: I forget. * CAPTAIN JAMES T. KIRK: To boldly go where no chicken has gone before. * HIPPOCRATES: Because of an excess of phlegm in its pancreas. * ANDERSEN CONSULTANT: Deregulation of the chicken's side of the road was threatening its dominant market position. The chicken was faced with significant challenges to create and develop the competencies required for the newly competitive market. Andersen Consulting, in a partnering relationship with the client, helped the chicken by rethinking its physical distribution strategy and implementation processes. Using the Poultry Integration Model (PIM), Andersen helped the chicken use its skills, methodologies, knowledge, capital and experiences to align the chicken's people, processes and technology in support of its overall strategy within a Program Management framework. Andersen Consulting convened a diverse cross-spectrum of road analysts and best chickens along with Anderson consultants with deep skills in the transportation industry to engage in a two-day itinerary of meetings in order to leverage their personal knowledge capital, both tacit and explicit, and to enable them to synergize with each other in order to achieve the implicit goals of delivering and successfully architecting and implementing an enterprise-wide value framework across the continuum of poultry cross-median processes. The meeting was held in a park-like setting, enabling and creating an impactful environment which was strategically based, industry-focused, and built upon a consistent, clear, and unified market message and aligned with the chicken's mission, vision, and core values. This was conducive towards the creation of a total business integration solution. Andersen Consulting helped the chicken change to become more successful. * LOUIS FARRAKHAN: The road, you see, represents the black man. The chicken 'crossed' the black man in order to trample him and keep him down. * MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.: I envision a world where all chickens will be free to cross roads without having their motives being called into question. * MOSES: And God came down from the Heavens, and He said unto the chicken, "Thou shalt cross the road." And the chicken crossed the road, and there was much rejoicing. * FOX MULDER: You saw it cross the road with your own eyes. How many more chickens have to cross the road before you believe it? * RICHARD M. NIXON: The chicken did not cross the road. I repeat, the chicken did NOT cross the road. * MACHIAVELLI: The point is that the chicken crossed the road. Who cares why? The end of crossing the road justifies whatever motive there was. * JERRY SEINFELD: Why does anyone cross a road? I mean, why doesn't anyone ever think to ask, What the heck was this chicken doing walking around all over the place, anyway?" * FREUD: The fact that you are at all concerned that the chicken crossed the road reveals your underlying sexual insecurity. * BILL GATES: I have just released the new Chicken Office 2000, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook. * BILL CLINTON: I'm going to say something important. And I'll say it again to make sure you understand. I did not have sexual relations with that chicken. I did not. * GEORGE W. BUSH (2): We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road or not. The chicken is either with us or it is against us. There is no middle ground here. * OLIVER STONE: The question is not, "Why did the chicken cross the road?" Rather, it is, "Who was crossing the road at the same time, whom we overlooked in our haste to observe the chicken crossing?" * DARWIN: Chickens, over great periods of time, have been naturally selected in such a way that they are now genetically disposed to cross roads. * EINSTEIN: Whether the chicken crossed the road or the road moved beneath the chicken depends upon your frame of reference. * BUDDHA: Asking this question denies your own chicken nature. * RALPH WALDO EMERSON: The chicken did not cross the road .. it transcended it. * ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die. In the rain. * NEW SOUTH AFRICAN POLITICIAN: It is the Apartheid regime which made the chicken cross the road when the chicken did not want to cross the road, the chicken is oppressed and the only way to free the chicken is for the whites to pay restitution for oppressing the chicken and investigate police involvement in the death of chickens. It is racist to imply that chickens are involved in any crimes and corruption. * OLD SOUTH AFRICAN POLITICIAN: It is our belief that chickens should be allowed to cross roads in their own areas with their own roads. If they wish to cross roads in other areas they must carry a pass and will be subject to arrest if they dont. We would like to state categorically that meddling in our affairs by any persons will not be tolerated and we will arrest and detain anybody for a period of 90 days without trail so that these allegations can be investigated. * COSATU: To steal a job from a decent, hardworking, South African. * RAY MACAULEY: Because the chicken was gay! Isn't it obvious? Can't you people see the plain truth in front of your face? The chicken was going to the "other side." That's what "they" call it, "the other side." Yes, my friends, that chicken is gay. And, if you eat that chicken, you will become gay too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the liberal media whitewashes with seemingly harmless phrases like "the other side." That chicken should not be free to cross the road. It's as plain and simple as that. * DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes! The chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed, I've not been told! * DR NELSON MANDELA: Never again, will the chicken be questioned for crossing the road. This is an ideal for which I am prepared to die. * GRANDPA SIMPSON: In my day, we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Someone told us that the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough for us. * BISHOP TUTU: We need a society where people will learn to forgive all the chickens that crossed the road. However, forgiveness will be granted to chickens that convince the nation that their reasons for crossing the road were politically motivated * PAN AFRICAN CONGRESS: The road, you will see, represents the black man. The chicken crossed the "black man" in order to trample him and keep him down. * ROBERT MUGABE: For all of these years the road has been owned by the white farmers, the poor underpriveleged chicken has waited too long for that road to be given to him and now he is crossing it in force with his fellow war veteran chickens. We intend taking over this road and giving it to the roadless chickens so that they can cross it without fear of retribution from Britain who promised money to institute road reform. We will not stop until all roadless chickens have roads to cross and the freedom to cross them. We will also return to the Socialist ideal of a road so that all chickens who live in our country can benefit from the grand ideals which I have decided upon. * ISAAC NEWTON: Any chicken in the universe shall always cross a road perpendicularly to the side of the road, and in an infinitely long straight line at uniform speed, unless the chicken stops due to an unbalanced reactive force in the opposite direction of the chicken's motion * HEISENBERG: No one will ever know for sure whether he actually got to the other side * SNOOPY: It was a dark, stormy night. Somewhere in the rain, a chicken crossed a road * JULIE ANDREWS: Chick, a cheer, a female cheer ... * MOHAMMED ALDOURI (Iraq Ambassador): The chicken did not cross the road. This is a complete fabrication. We don't even have a chicken. * COLONEL SANDERS: I missed one? OK so I cut and pasted it...would you have wanted to type all of this?