Are dehydrated bugs as healthy as live bugs if I feed them daily?

[Scotty from BI]

Since chickens are omnivores and need animal protien and vegetable protien, I give them dehydrated grubs and mealworms every day, but I have wondered if dehydrated is healthy on a regular basis or do I need to feed live bugs. Live bugs are harder to store for long periods and much more expensive over time. Also live bugs are usually refrigerated and haven't eaten anything nutritious like free range bugs, so are they even a good choice. I hear some people give cat food for protien. There are dried cat foods with no sodium and excellent animal based protien such as salmon, and organ meat, (liver, heart, brain, etc. very high in Omega 3's). I have fed it to mine and they love it when I do.

 

[lazy gardener]

In limited amounts (I'd not go over more than total of 20% protein), I see no reason why you couldn't give the occasional hand full of kitty kibble.

 

[ChicksInCT]

My birds totally pan the dehydrated mealworms. They might get eaten by the end of the day but NOTHING like a live worm or a grape which they will fight over.

 

[lazy gardener]

As a newbie, I mistakenly bought dried meal worms. My money would have been put to better use if I had simply tossed it in the wood stove. A lot of money for a product the birds could have cared less about. Tried growing my own. UM... while they grew successfully, I can find plenty of things I'd rather spend my time doing. Like: watching my birds digging for goodies in the DL of their run.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I guess results vary by flock - mine love dried mealworms but they also enjoy whatever worms or bugs they can scratch up or that happen to fly into their run.

 

[Molpet]

mine love dried mealworms.. I get them to come into the poultry yard, from free ranging in the old pasture, by throwing out meal worms.
I would think a live worm would have more nutrients, less processed usually is.
I put the compost pile in the run and they get a lot of bugs from it

 

[centrarchid]

Make certain the dry meal worms are properly stored. Once opened feed them out quickly and otherwise keep them in a cool dry location. My birds like them from fresh bag but are not keen on eating them when they get stale. Live still preferred.