Training chicken to eat flies...hopefully!

My fly eating flock continues to do well. This picture was taken today just after rolling a new length of sticky fly sheet out. The flock is anxiously awaiting the first fly to land!

I am not that good with computers. I can not provide a link. However just put Do chickens who eat flies have salmonella? on the search line of your computer and you will probably come up with lots of places which verify what I have said.

I found a couple:

Quote: The findings show that Salmonella bacteria may not spread around the henhouse by simple physical contact. Instead, eating infected flies seems to be the main way for Salmonella to pass from flies to birds.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080321124759.htm

Extract: Agricultural Research Service (ARS) microbiologist Peter S. Holt and entomologist Christopher J. Geden found that the common housefly, Musca domestica, readily picks up bacteria from its surroundings. When the chickens eat the flies, the bacteria get inside the birds. Holt works in the Egg Safety and Quality Research Unit at the ARS Richard B. Russell Research Center in Athens, Ga., while Geden is at the ARS Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology in Gainesville, Fla.
ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research agency.
In three experiments, Holt placed chickens in individual, adjacent laying cages. Geden delivered fly pupae just 48 hours short of hatching as flies; this timing ensures the flies aren't exposed to any microbe prior to emergence. The fly pupae were placed in an open box in the bird room. Three days later, hens were orally infected with Salmonella.

http://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/a-23-2008-03-31-voa2-83136037/128292.html

Extract. Note, same dude as above: The common housefly is unwelcome around food because flies can carry disease-causing germs. Now, scientists have shown that the insects can also spread food poisoning bacteria to chickens in poultry houses. As a result, they say flies are a threat to the safety of poultry products.
Peter Holt and Christopher Geden of the United States Department of Agriculture did a study with Salmonella bacteria. Chickens infected with Salmonella do not get sick, but they can pass the infection to humans through undercooked meat or eggs.
Cases can be mild or severe, or even deadly. The greatest risk is to the old and very young and to people with weak immune systems.
http://www.tillysnest.com/2012/05/backyard-chickens-and-flies-html/
Extract: Flies and backyard chickens are never a good combination. Not only are they a nuisance to you and your flock but they can also lead to some serious problems. There are two types of flies that can affect chickens and they are categorized as biting and non-biting. The non-biting flies are called filth flies. Your typical housefly falls into this category. The biting flies are typically found near water sources. Biting flies that mostly affect chickens are black flies and biting gnats. Black flies are also called “buffalo gnats” or “turkey gnats” while the biting gnats go by “no-see-ums”, “sand flies”, and “midges”.
Filth flies can cause the following trouble in chickens:
They are a nuisance.
They can lead to tapeworm in your flock as your flock ingests them.
They can spread pathogens that cause Exotic New Castle Disease and Caronavirus.
They can spread bacteria including Salmonella, Campylobacter, E. Coli, and Listeria.
They can lead to disputes between neighbors due to excessive fly populations.
They can leave spots on your eggs.
Edited because I found another one but again, it is reporting Peter Holt's findings:
https://www.scribd.com/document/27006400/Flies-and-Salmonella-a-Bad-Combo-in-Poultry-Houses

All three links go back to same paper. Seems plausible.

Will flies in typical backyard setting be effective carries to chickens? Study linked appears to involve commercial operations.

Is it practical by any many means to keep fly density / abundance low enough that they do not infect your flock in an outdoor / backyard setting?


In my setting which is like the majority I think, keeping fly abundance low enough not to be consumed is not practical without killing off a lot of insects in a very large area. I would also ask a nieghbor keeping horses to get rid of them. This may be one of those problems that you have to live with not unlike the sun coming up each morning.

There are measures one can take to minimize the fly populations in and around horse pastures. I have two horses and have very few problems with flies. I regularly mow the pastures and scatter the manure to dry in the sun with the mower. Flies need a moist environment to multiply. My two horses usually poop in certain areas, which I can easily see to mow. I have a flock of wild guinas which also help to scatter manure. I also seed my pastures monthly with fly predators every spring and summer. I have started started to place some predators near the chicken coop also. I do not suggest you buy fly predators for chickens but I am sure they have helped the fly situation. I keep fly tape in the coop and scoop the poop there regularly. My compost bin has a lid and is so hot the bugs do not like it. If there are flies in my neighborhood, they are not from my place.

My coop is built within a copse of maple trees (for shade and to assist with element protection). I regularly hang fly traps - the type they enter into and drown, that can hold hundreds of flies - throughout the copse and change them several times throughout the spring and summer. I noticed a dramatic decrease in filth flies once they got going, and the traps basically fill to capacity. My coop is a wood chip based DLM - in the coop and run - mixed with grass clippings, dried leaves, occasional dried pine needles, garden waste and weeds. I primarily feed fermented feed (just noting because it seems to effect the odor and texture of their stool to a less liquid compound).

Moral of the story is that I rarely notice flies - maybe 1 or 2 every now and then, but never often enough to really take notice of them. I sometimes take my 'Bug-A-Salt' rifle out to wage war on stink bugs and will kill the random fly that I see, which isn't often enough to make a sport of it via the bug-a-salt. Fly 'terminator' style traps go a long way in substantially reducing fly populations if you're diligent in changing them out when they reach capacity.

My chickens eat flies, but since yours don't, just get some ducks. They love flies. They'd eat fly casseroles if given the chance. Not to mention they're adorable, even as adults. My guineas also eat them with gusto.

SergeantSniffle said:

My chickens eat flies, but since yours don't, just get some ducks. They love flies. They'd eat fly casseroles if given the chance. Not to mention they're adorable, even as adults. My guineas also eat them with gusto.

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Which duck breeds seem to be the best fly hunters? I also have slugs and snails but want to get the right breed.

WhisperingOaks said:

Which duck breeds seem to be the best fly hunters? I also have slugs and snails but want to get the right breed.

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Muscovies are renowned fly hunters...they start snapping up flies even as young ducklings. It's like watching a cobra strike.

WhisperingOaks said:

Which duck breeds seem to be the best fly hunters? I also have slugs and snails but want to get the right breed.

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My mallards seem to eat the most, but my other ducks love them too. Cayugas, anconas, muscovies, and some mixed breeds.