Anyone grow feeder fish/minnows for their birds?

[SwampFlock]

I've been toying with diving into aquaponics but the scale! So I've seen people make cool systems out of something as small as a 5 gallon blue water jug and an aquarium pump. It's great nutrients for the plants, but what to do with those tiny fish???? I was wondering if I could make myself a lil 55 gallon or smaller aquaponics system (free tanks from Craigslist abound!) and just feed the minnows to my chickens when they breed too much. Beats buying treats or fish meal from the store and people grow soldier flies and worms for chickens all the time. Figured the chickens will still get their protein packed treats and the fish pee can grow me some lettuce!

 

[SweetPickle]

Maybe my chickens are picky, but they won’t eat fish! I’ve tried feeding them raw and cooked fish and they won’t touch ‘em.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

I think it’s a great idea. I’d expect the chickens would love the fish, and they’d be a healthy protein boosting snack.

 

[AntiqueB]

Maybe my chickens are picky, but they won’t eat fish! I’ve tried feeding them raw and cooked fish and they won’t touch ‘em.

Mine won't eat them, either.

Maybe try feeding them a fish first before investing in fish breeding!

 

[Lauravonsmurf]

I am thinking if doing some sort of feeder fish… I have tanks and two small ponds

 

[viggo63]

Sounds like a great idea! My girls love sardines and tuna. Now I'm picturing a wading pool full of wriggling minnows to keep them busy.

 

[Lauravonsmurf]

I am thinking feeder goldfish, and other small fish, water plants, duckweed and so on in my cattle water tank pond.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

It will likely make the eggs smell fishy, just a heads up.

I've considered guppies myself. Love them, but they breed way too much to keep and give away

 

[Bryce Thomas]

You can, yes! Just make sure you feed those fish well and healthy. Anything that those fish eat also goes into your birds. What I used to do is flood the chicken run and release minnows for the chickens, they turned from friendly birbs into those egrets and fish hunting birds, they would use their beaks to spear fish. Just note its pretty bloody to watch them eat. What my silkies would do is shoot their beaks into the flooded pen when they found a minnow, throw it onto land, rip its head off and step on the minnow then eat all the exploded guts and organs one by one, just know its violent before feeding them that

EDIT: it was only the silkies that would be that violent, all the other girls would just spear them and swallow em

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I have minnows in my pond and this past fall added some that reproduce quickly and don't get very large. I haven't offered minnows to my chickens but my ducks love them. I use a net to fish them out of the pond every night as a treat for my ducks right before they're locked up.