Inchworms? Anyone else?

i sure hope they aren't toxic! my chickens love inch worms. none of my gals got poisoned so far...

They are not toxic. As far as I know the only toxic caterpillar is the Monarch butterfly and they only make a bird sick and heave. After that they don't eat Monarch any more.

monarchs aren't the only bad ones... buck moth caterpillars can inject a venom from their spines.. I've been stung three times this week by those little buggers... luckily I have only found them under our big old oak trees away from where the birds are kept

Some of the large silk worm type moths have spines that can sting, but would be little defense from a chicken. It would not poison a chicken if it ate one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaxon4141 

Some of the large silk worm type moths have spines that can sting, but would be little defense from a chicken. It would not poison a chicken if it ate one.

I know the wild birds won't touch a buck moth caterpillar once they reach the instar (i believe it's the 4th or 5th instar) where the spines become venomous..

granted it may not poison a chicken if they were to ingest one.. but having been stung by those buggers I can only imagine what the stinging would do to a bird's mouth, esophagus and crop.. it stung for hours (much like a scorpion sting) caused swelling and nausea .. even the next day I was still having swelling at the site of the stings

Quote:

Originally Posted by yinepu 

I know the wild birds won't touch a buck moth caterpillar once they reach the instar (i believe it's the 4th or 5th instar) where the spines become venomous..

granted it may not poison a chicken if they were to ingest one.. but having been stung by those buggers I can only imagine what the stinging would do to a bird's mouth, esophagus and crop.. it stung for hours (much like a scorpion sting) caused swelling and nausea .. even the next day I was still having swelling at the site of the stings

I have never been stung by one, but I hear it can take up to ten days for symptoms go away. I doubt that a chicken would even bother to try and eat one anyway. If they did they would beat it against the ground until it was basically pulp, breaking off the spins before swallowing it. I haven't seen any buck moth caterpillars here in Nebraska, we have the cecropia moth, another of the large silk worms, but they don't sting.