Usually get tossed with guts and feathers except maybe a few that go to the dogs on butcher day. I was delivering mice to the pet store and noticed a small dog packing around a dried chicken foot. So I looked and see them marketed for dog treats.

I dont know if they are dehydrated or freeze dried or some done each way depending on the source. But I dont like wast and thought it may be a great way to not only keep treats longer for our dogs but addition income for the farm. I have a nice dehydrator and use it for jerkey, herbs, and drying deer liver like jerkey for the dogs. Seems like they would be more chew snack dehydrated and more crunchy snack if freezer dried.

Has anyone tried it either way? I want a free dry but they are expensive also a tax deduction. But if We can use what we have i would opt for that. We only butcher a few hundred each year but would like to get up to several hundred at some point. Making money off things I throw out makes since.

what do you think would work best dehydrator or freeze drying.

A few hundred = ?
Several hundred = ?

To me few hundred is around 200 +or- Found out recently several hundred =700

I would think you could move them quicker selling for bone broth. Lots of folks around here are into making it. The feet are full of collagen and supposed to be good for you. We keep most of ours for broth making, but may be another option. I could imagine after finding chicken toenails on your carpet most of the people spending money on those wouldn’t be repeat customers, but who knows

Waste if you ask me. Mama would fry the necks with the rest of the chicken. Granny would use the heads and feet to make stock. Chicken is like pig you use everything but the cluck.

I know a guy who sells freeze dried rabbit ears, freeze dried chicken parts, freeze dried other animal parts and freeze dried whole quail for dog treats. It paid for his dehydrator very quickly. He sells a huge amount of stock to raw food dog food plants and uses the freeze dryer to cut down on waste.

I sell frozen whole to the place I sell to and it all gets ground up whole and used. I have to take 3/4 of a large freezer of quail down tomorrow. I took rabbit, quail and chicken down the week before last.

Keith

I’d hang beaver feet over the wood stove in my shop to dry them for dog treats.

The toe nails pull off easily. Before I would make broth with them I would peal them. Chicken feet step in a lot of chicken poop. Not having a extra freezer space is an issue. Asked the wife how many more deer dose she want Before going hunting she said maybe two but freezer space may be an issue. So we only brought one home. had we been paying better attention or deer we jumped stoped we would have brought home 2. Would have been 3 if they stoped but if im honest all I would have heard would have been a click. I didnt chamber a round!!! Guess I am out of practice after not taking a gun deer hunting for around a decade.

Do you think a dehydrator would do the trick or freeze drying the way to go? Won't be doing chickens again tell spring so have some time.

A freeze drier is safer because they go down to around -58F, which kills lots of bacteria and parasites and destroys lots of viruses. Pet food isn't regulated all that much, so both are probably legal, but you should check.

One of the companies I sell to freeze dries whole, ground prey, so it be stored a very long time, without refrigeration. He got the machine back in May and gave us some candy and ice cream sandwiches he ran through too. The ground meat is hydrophobic when first placed in water. It takes about 15 minutes to become hydrated. Afterwards, it is surprisingly similar to what it started as.

Keith