How Nutritional are Mealworms and other treats?

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BuffOrps416

BuffOrps416

Songster
Apr 11, 2015
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Hugging my chicken in Southern N.E.
I know that chickens go crazy for mealworms and I have some ready to give my hens for the first time, but how nutritional are they? Are they good for them, bad, or do they just get rid of hunger? What about yogurt and crickets? Also, is it okay that sometimes I let the girls peck the banana peels? Thanks in advance.
 
Insects in general are exceptional nutrient sources when compared to the default formulated feed we rely upon when natural forages are insufficient. Efforts to mimic growth enabled by insect forages are optimized to control cost related to protein content. Insects are the natural food younger birds, not greens or grains.

Insects contain a lot more protein in least cost optimal diets. Yogurt and other dairy products are not something I feel comfortable with using for anything other than a treat.
 
When giving such feeds, be carefull with respect to how much relative to everything else fed. You can quickly get your self into a situation where birds are being provided an imbalanced diet,
 
The most nutrient dense feeds your can get reliably have been developed to feed chicks. Very smart people invested a lot of effort in developing those diets so you do not have to commit acts of voodoo that might risk your birds's health. The voodoo approach should be reserved for those with a great deal of experience with such and know what to look for to detect the first signs of health issues.

If in doubt, over feed protein, preferably from animal sources and provide an array of grains and dark colored vegetable matter.
 
Here is a treat I concocted that promotes appettite and looks a lot like what is in a crop of free-ranging birds getting what they want.

1000



It contains chopped leafy greens, blueberries, cooked whole grain rice, chunked smelt, cooked sweet potato, virgin olive oil, BOSS, scratch and good powdering with baby parrot food.
 
In answer to your original question, meal worms are approximately 50% protein. They are a perfectly natural and nutritional food, but not real cost effective. Even if you grow your own, it takes far too many meal worms to supply the protein needs of chickens. So almost all chicken keepers feed them solely as treats.
 
They're the most nutritious feed on earth for chickens and an important part of a natural diet (the main source of protein, fat, and fat-soluble vitamins). That's why they like them somuch. Notice how chickens scratch around all the time? That foraging behavior developed mainly as a way to expose and nab grubs and insects...

So yeah, they are very nutritious... :)
 

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