Piglets?

[Corvidophile]

Can I feed piglets as whole prey? What age would be best? Obviously newborns of any animal aren't nutritionally ideal, but nearing weaning age the bones will be too large and firm I'd assume, so I'd have to butcher it and take the muscle and organs only, right?

[maja01]

Even when at weaning age their bones are not as rich with Ca as they should be.
Tough you can feed it as a whole prey, and after you see hom much bone is eaten, just balance their other meals.

[Heather]

It would depend on the bone density of the piglets. There is going to be a point where the bone will be too dense but young animal bone especially in the case of piglets, lambs and such where their frames are already bearing weight could be fed younger and still reap the benefits as a bone in meal. I would have no qualms feeding the whole piglets. At that age even if they couldn't eat the legs and pelvis they would make good use of ribs and spine. The thing is piglets like lambs and unlike rats and mice are up and mobile from birth thus creating a lot of the nutrition we look for in the bone much sooner
ciao

[Corvidophile]

I never thought of it that way, about mobile-from-birth animals having a more adult-like nutrient profile. What does this imply about foul vs. songbirds?

[Heather]

It's a good question. I know that day old chicks are a no go as a bone in meal as their bone density and accumulated mineral content isn't sufficient (more minerals in the shell than in the bone) but the other day I got some day old quail chicks and some week old quail chicks and the difference in bone structure appeared significant. Now this is not in any way a scientific observation but as long as it wasn't a structural part of the diet (fed once a week or more) then it might be considered a bone in meal. I don't know when a chicken/quail is slaughtered or is considered an adult but I know they're not very old. I guess this similar theory could be applied as chicken vs song bird. I wonder if fledging might be the cut off point between juvenile and ready to feed adult.
ciao

[Klarissa]

Heather Chickens are slaughtered at 8 weeks, ducks 7 weeks, and quail it depends on the type (coturnix 8-12 weeks, 18-24 for bobwhites).

My parents have chickens & ducks, and they grow like weeds.