Dubia Roaches for Chickens

[FortCluck]

Do all of them live in that big tote now?

Yup... I have a ton of egg crates and paper towel rolls in there with them. 2 big food dishes as well

 

[RevlisRemmah]

Tj

Yup... I have a ton of egg crates and paper towel rolls in there with them. 2 big food dishes as well

That’s awesome! It seems less intimidating to start if I can just have them all in one container

 

[FortCluck]

Tj

That’s awesome! It seems less intimidating to start if I can just have them all in one container

I started with 10 females and 5 males. I eliminated 3 males by feeding them to my bearded dragon. I try to feed only males. Usually I get it down to 5 right now then the rest are females and the ones I’m growing.

They need a reptile heat mat or something equivalent to it to be able to reproduce.

 

[3KillerBs]

I have just this morning discovered that I'm going to have temporary custody of my sister's Dubia Roach colony while she's in the process of moving. She said I could give some of them to my chickens while they're here in my (electrified and heated), shed for somewhere between 2 weeks and 6 months.

How many would a chicken be likely to eat in a single session?

You mentioned freezing them -- is that necessary? Does it require any special procedure?

I know that I'll get all the care instructions (an a lot more info on reptile feeding than I asked for), but I'd love to hear more about the intersection of roaches and chickens.

 

[FortCluck]

I have just this morning discovered that I'm going to have temporary custody of my sister's Dubia Roach colony while she's in the process of moving. She said I could give some of them to my chickens while they're here in my (electrified and heated), shed for somewhere between 2 weeks and 6 months.

How many would a chicken be likely to eat in a single session?

You mentioned freezing them -- is that necessary? Does it require any special procedure?

I know that I'll get all the care instructions (an a lot more info on reptile feeding than I asked for), but I'd love to hear more about the intersection of roaches and chickens.

It’s easier for the chicken to eat them when they’re not alive anymore since the roaches are really fast movers. I have 25+ chickens And I’m sure they could eat a ton probably my whole colony I only give them some here and there. They’re mainly for my bearded dragon and gecko.

 

[JewelBirds]

I've been ordering dubia roaches online for my juvenile bearded dragon. I was thinking of starting my own colony after I picked some up from someone locally and some of the roaches are too big for my beardie to eat at his current size. Of the 200+ I got, about 10-12 of them were about 1 inch long. I have been slowly separating the ones too big for my beardie to eat into a separate container. At about 1 inch long, how long will it take for the roaches to reach adult size? Is there any way to tell males and females apart before they are adults? Also, how do use a heating mat to keep their enclosure warm? Do you place it underneath their enclosure or inside the tote?