Chicken necks and Drumsticks....

[The Devil]

Any snake that can take an adult mouse or fuzzy/weaner rat could easily take a chicken neck.

The attached file was sent to me by the largest chicken company in Oz.
I did try a cut and paste but me and computers don't mix real well.

 

[Helikaon]

I've not heard the bit about snakes not needing UV because they eat entire animals.
I figured it might have had something to do with the fact that pythons spend most of their day out of the sun, hiding from predators ect.

I guess it possible for a chicken neck bone to get caught in a snakes throat but then again how many people remove the teeth and toe nails from rats before feeding.

Helikon...if you think that pythons can't eat whole chickens, chooks ect maybe you should talk to people who live on farms.

ok one they don't need uv because they get their vitamin D3 from their meals because they eat whole prey items.. second i am not talking about it getting caught in the throat i am saying it could get caught somewhere down the digestive tract. and thirdly i didn't say they cant eat chickens i said that you are feeding a python (referring to the individual python) that couldnt eat a whole chicken. for example a yearling Stimson eating a chicken neck is eating a desinisty of bone of an animal that it would never eat due to the animals being to big. antoher example. a year carpet python of chicken wings is once again the exact same ans that individual yearling carpet python couldn't possibly swallow a whole adult chicken. ok so now lets ask someone who lived on a farm............................oh thats me.

oh and just on the side as explained before.. it is not saving money that is the issue it is the method in which you save money. and in my opinion this is a method that if used incorrectly is extremely detrimental to your animals health and for this reason i don't think the info within this thread should be taken as dogma. and i feel if it is, especially by the new people to owning snakes we may run into a lot of problems.

 

[geckodan]

Danny what are your thoughts on using them as a regular food for snakes as far as nutritional value goes?

Compared to home grown, often obese rats and mice I see no issue. The bone of a commercial chicken are only partially calcified as commercial chooks are still only babies when harvested so digestion should be no issue. I would be a little less inclined to use the limbs of mature large mammals (e.g roo) as the bones are far more calcified and harder to digest (you would be surprised how much undigested bone comes through in dog faeces at times). Otherwise the results speak for themselves. Greater fibre than a neck can supply is needed at times so alternate feeding with rats /mice/birds is a fine option.

 

[NicG]

I just fed two Diamond Pythons (6 foot long, 2 inches diameter) two drumsticks each for the first time. They both took them very quickly.

I simply bought a four-pack from the supermarket and peeled the skin off. I decided that I didn't want to feed the whole length of the bone, so I cut the end off, just down from the 'meaty' part of the leg. Then I soaked it in hot tap water for approx ten minutes and offered it to the snake. It was taken without hesitation and swallowed relatively quickly. The second drumstick disappeared in a similar fashion.

I will incorporate this into my feeding routine from now on - probably fourth feed or so ...

 

[PimmsPythons]

i have also used chicken necks for the last 3 years whenever i am running low on rats through the warmer months or just to vary their diet a bit . had no problems what so ever.

 

[meshe1969]

Would there a chance that a Diamond might then refuse to eat rats again after trying the chicken products?

 

[PimmsPythons]

Would there a chance that a Diamond might then refuse to eat rats again after trying the chicken products?

mine haven't

 

[GSXR_Boy]

mine either.

 

[cement]

Rats and chickens eat much the same thing anyway, grains and seeds etc
Rats even taste a bit like chicken :shock:
Every now and again is fine.
Have a friend who feeds chooks to his scrub.

 

[deadflesh]

Would there a chance that a Diamond might then refuse to eat rats again after trying the chicken products?

I doubt it; they eat a variety of things in the wild; and should do in captivity. If it does refuse though; just soak your rat in chicken stock (without preservatives/chemicals) or something similar... it should work fine. Though I doubt there would be problems if you mostly stick to feeding rats and chicken on rare occasions.

 

[Australis]

Ive fed chicken necks to most of my pythons largely with great success.
Ill have to give the drumsticks a go...also.

Well, i gave them a go, for some reason the fussiest (and ugliest) animal i have ever owned
(and just like last time with the chicken necks) this girl is the first to smash the chicken drumstick.

 

[Miss B]

Could smaller pythons (yearlings for example) eat those mini drumsticks that you can buy in the supermarket deli?

 

[Jonno from ERD]

G'day guys,

I decided to have a crack at this last week. Had a very mixed response that seemed to run with species...I know other people have had different results but here's mine...

Diamonds, Stimsons, Childrens, Colletts, Red Bellies, Spotted Blacks, Death Adders, Olive Pythons and some Carpets went crazy over them.

Jungles, Taipans, Tree Snakes (no suprises there), Macs, Brown Snakes and Water Pythons ignorned them. Spencers Monitors and Laceys loved them.

I was feeding some of our Carpets that are housed in aviaries on them yesterday, and forgot that I left the plastic tub with a kilo of chicken necks in the aviary...I went out an hour later and there was one enormously fat Carpet Python and an empty tub...

 

[Australis]

Could smaller pythons (yearlings for example) eat those mini drumsticks that you can buy in the supermarket deli?

I don't see why not, just feed a appropriately sized drum stick in much the same way you feed a appropriately
sized rodent to any given snake.

 

[tfor2]

Sounds like a great idea, but can someone explain to me how to prepare the chick necks and drumsticks, and with the drumsticks what about the big bone, i would have to remove it wouldnt I?

 

[Australis]

Sounds like a great idea, but can someone explain to me how to prepare the chick necks and drumsticks, and with the drumsticks what about the big bone, i would have to remove it wouldnt I?

Leave the bone in, at least i did anyway... :?
I also removed the skin, although as you can see in the photo
i put up i missed the last little bit..

 

[rebeccalg]

Why do you have to remove the skin? Don't snakes need fat in their diet as well? I don't think I will remove feathers and skin when she is big enough to eat a whole chicken.. I have only just managed to kill a rat!

 

[Chris1]

is it better to use the hormone free chicken?


its funny, my bredli has helped me prepare chicken (welll, he sits on my shoulders while i'm preparing stuff and cooking)) heaps of times, had a bit of a sniff and ignored it,...does it have to be warm to get a response?

 

[Chimera]

Looking at the raw data available in Reptile Medicine and Surgery (Mader et. al., 2006) and The Reptile Keepers Handbook (Barnard, 1996) I would not think that there is a great difference in fat content for the meat on either item.

The data put up by The Devil shows that per 100g there is 17.5g of protein and 5.3g of fat. Mader states that the figures for a 330g adult rat as 22g Protein and 7.39g fat. The ration of protein to fat is similar for both items however for growing reptiles and females putting on condition for/after breeding I would think that rats would be a better option. It must also be noted that there would be a greater level of trace minerals and vitamins in whole food items than chicken legs.

Given that these figures were given for a 330g rat you may be able to assume that the fat content may be lower for smaller rats (~200g). It has been a long accepted fact that larger older rats contain more fat then younger rats. Probably also worth noting that these figures came from a US text in the context of reptile nutrition, it would not be a huge leap of faith to assume that these may have been raised in lab rat style tubs.

Basically it comes down to what you are willing to use, the fact that people have sustained both pythons and elapids on chicken necks/legs suggests that they may contain everything a snake needs, personally though, I think I'll stick with rats as the staple diet but may suppliment with the occasional piece of chicken

 

[hornet]

Roos good too!

If someone could convince the State and National Governments and the roo shooters, Joeys from the shot female roos still in the pouch, up to 2 Kilos, would be joy! Guts and all! Just got to get over that cute factor too. I find that last one too hard to get over everytime. Next time I tell myself.......

i dont know about other states but in qld we need tags for every roo we shoot, i wonder if i would need to put a tag on joeys if i was bringing them home for snake feed or if tagging the doe is good enough