How *off* does it have to be ...

[ORChick]

... before you will not feed it to the animals?

I was reading on another forum about someone losing hundreds of dollars worth of meat because their freezer went out several days before they noticed. Several responses said as much as "very sad, but you can still feed it to the animals".

So, how bad does it have to be before you would not feed it to the chickens or pigs? Personally, if I would hesitate to feed it to my family I would not feed it to the animals. Let me qualify that by saying that I will certainly feed *cosmetically challenged* food to the animals that I wouldn't necessarily feed the family; but my point is that, in extremis, that food would be perfectly OK, though not so pretty, and maybe needing a bit more trimming. But 4 day thawed meat? No, I don't think so. Or canned food that is questionable (I have read that this is also acceptable animal food to some)? No, that is definitely not an option here.

What are your limits?

 

[sunsaver]

I put out fresh water everyday, and if it's too far gone that i won't eat it, it gets buried in the compost pile. Mad cow disease came from feeding dead cow meat to the cows. So what sort of superbug are we breeding today?Wormy flour or moth-bitten pasta is fine for the chickens,but care should be taken to properly dispose of rotten meat.

 

[Britesea]

On the other hand, I can remember our dogs digging up 3-week old carcasses and having a field day with them...

 

[MorelCabin]

Yes, dogs will definitely eat anything, the longer it is dead, the more they enjoy them...mine come home with some pretty nasty carcasses at times....but I don't eat my dogs

I had to laugh, yesterday I planted some shrubs and used bloodmeal as a fertiizer...ahhhhhh. the stuff smells ike dead something...and the young dog we have was so inclined to dig up the areas where i used the bloodmeal. I was sooooo mad!

 

[Wannabefree]

Yeah my DOG eats everything us and the poultry won't. If it is very far gone, nobody gets it. If it is just a little mold dog gets it, if it is completely moldy...trash or bury it. Bad meat...freezer burned or old enough we won't eat it usually is dog food. I just won't give her or the other animals something potentially harboring a huge bacterial load. If it is ever THAT questionable it is just counted as a loss, but we rarely have items in such bad condition.

 

[FarmerChick]

4 day freezer thaw
I wouldn't even give that to my dog


severe freezer burn, sure
1 day thaw by accident left outside, sure


at some point ya gotta say, is a possible vet bill worth the trouble of some meat...that is all it comes down to for me and the answer is no, it isn't worth it....and with an indoor dog now (which is a pain anyway) I sure don't need a giant pile of 4 day old meat puke on the carpet! so everyone decide for themselves when feeding pets LOL--I am sure they would be fine, but I don't take chances like that. So just pick your comfort level on bad food to dogs and go with your gut.

 

[~gd]

4 day freezer thaw
I wouldn't even give that to my dog


severe freezer burn, sure
1 day thaw by accident left outside, sure


at some point ya gotta say, is a possible vet bill worth the trouble of some meat...that is all it comes down to for me and the answer is no, it isn't worth it....and with an indoor dog now (which is a pain anyway) I sure don't need a giant pile of 4 day old meat puke on the carpet! so everyone decide for themselves when feeding pets LOL--I am sure they would be fine, but I don't take chances like that. So just pick your comfort level on bad food to dogs and go with your gut.

Keep in mind that bad canned goods are much more dangerous than thawed meat. Fore one thing a full freezer isn't even completely thawed for two days. at that point I toss fish, chicken,grown meat and ice cream. the rest gets the sniff test. If it passes the sniff test I mark it for use where it will be well cooked, No rare steak = a darn nice chilli. This is for my own use, the animals would get what failed the sniff test. Thats just my take on the subject.