American Locust Swarms Could Have Been a Massive Feed Source

[Thomas W]

So I was learning about the North American locust swarms in school, and I couldn't help but to think about my chickens and how they go crazy for just normal grasshoppers. Why didn't farmers take advantage of it and use it as feed, or did they and it just never got put in any history books. I just can't imagine such a large amount of protein going to waste.

 

[centrarchid]

The chickens would benefit from the brief increase in the number of insects consumed after the locust pass the forages would be seriously degraded. If the locust could be captured in mass and stored for later use then you are talking about something of net benefit, potentially.

 

[lazy gardener]

The farmers who were most impacted by these locust swarms were growing large crops, such as corn, wheat, oats. They may have had their own personal home flocks for their own use, and those free range birds would have benefited. But, when a farmer makes his living from large acreage planted to corn or wheat, trapping locusts certainly is not in his game plan.

 

[barred2rock]

I don't know the nutritional makeup of locusts, but if they're not a complete nutritional diet for chickens (likely the case) all else that could complete their diet would have been eaten by the locusts.