Chickens are very fond of worms and bugs of almost any kind. They love to catch and eat any kind of flys or fly eggs or larva.
Besides their regular food, I provide my chickens with flys and maggots 24 hours a day.
I live in the country and have to haul my garbage to the dump. There are always fly larva in the garbage cans, and after I take the bags out, I shake out the maggots on the ground and all my turkeys and chickens just gobble em up like candy.
Since they like em so much and they are a good source of fresh, living protein, I started breeding flys and maggots for them. I put any kind of old food, anything small that dies, anything that flys like to lay eggs on, into a container. You can use a garbage can, an old pot with a lid, a 5 gallon bucket w/lid, any kind of container. I put holes in the lid for the flys to go in and holes in the top of the sides for the larva to crawl out of. If you put in fruit peelings or old fruit, you also get hordes of fruit flys. They are tiny, but evidently tasty!
What works best for me is to hang the container on a rope from a tree limb just above the ground, or if its on the ground put a rock on top to keep it from being knocked over.
Its amusing to watch them snatch up a fresh maggot that has just emerged from the maggot incubator, and its free food! They also get all the cabbage worms and tomato horn worms that I pick off in my garden.
I also feed all my birds eggshells. My five big dogs get several eggs each most days and I save the shells, and toss them out on the ground for my birds. They eat them up like crazy, so I know they need those minerals.
Yall keep those chicken adventures coming ... Janet in the Great State of Tennessee
Besides their regular food, I provide my chickens with flys and maggots 24 hours a day.
I live in the country and have to haul my garbage to the dump. There are always fly larva in the garbage cans, and after I take the bags out, I shake out the maggots on the ground and all my turkeys and chickens just gobble em up like candy.
Since they like em so much and they are a good source of fresh, living protein, I started breeding flys and maggots for them. I put any kind of old food, anything small that dies, anything that flys like to lay eggs on, into a container. You can use a garbage can, an old pot with a lid, a 5 gallon bucket w/lid, any kind of container. I put holes in the lid for the flys to go in and holes in the top of the sides for the larva to crawl out of. If you put in fruit peelings or old fruit, you also get hordes of fruit flys. They are tiny, but evidently tasty!
What works best for me is to hang the container on a rope from a tree limb just above the ground, or if its on the ground put a rock on top to keep it from being knocked over.
Its amusing to watch them snatch up a fresh maggot that has just emerged from the maggot incubator, and its free food! They also get all the cabbage worms and tomato horn worms that I pick off in my garden.
I also feed all my birds eggshells. My five big dogs get several eggs each most days and I save the shells, and toss them out on the ground for my birds. They eat them up like crazy, so I know they need those minerals.
Yall keep those chicken adventures coming ... Janet in the Great State of Tennessee
) I'm sure my birdies would love them-- but I just can't handle it.
I just REALLY can't handle the maggots
