Are there grubs quail shouldn't eat?

[CovidtimeQuail]

I cam across a buffet of grubs in my worm bin. I presume it's some kind of moth or fly larvae. Are there any types of bugs quails shouldn't eat? Seems like a shame to waste such a bonus.

 

[Lucy Brown]

I cam across a buffet of grubs in my worm bin. I presume it's some kind of moth or fly larvae. Are there any types of bugs quails shouldn't eat? Seems like a shame to waste such a bonus.

i honestly wouldnt recommend giving any kind of bugs living out in the wild to any kind of animal unless its a lizard or a snake. They could possibly have parasites.

 

[shrimpsilkies]

If they’re in your worm bin, they’ve probably been eating toxin-free compost and are a perfect treat. I doubt they would be anything dangerous, but if you have a picture I might be able to identify them and give a clearer answer. The only bugs I wouldn’t feed my birds are ones from an area that has obvious toxins like pesticides, known parasite vectors such as certain snails, or poisonous bugs like milkweed beetles or millipedes (which they tend to avoid anyway).

 

[shrimpsilkies]

Were did you get this information? Bugs can't carry parasites.

Bugs can definitely carry parasites. Snails and slugs are the intermediate host of gapeworms. Suriname roaches (Pycnoscelus) are a host of chicken eyeworms. Wild insects are definitely not safe to feed all the time, especially if you don’t know what they are.

 

[Sapphire Sebright]

I cam across a buffet of grubs in my worm bin. I presume it's some kind of moth or fly larvae. Are there any types of bugs quails shouldn't eat? Seems like a shame to waste such a bonus.

They eat grubs and insects all the time out in the wild -- if it's something that they shouldn't eat, then they'll probably know.
Toss it to them and see what they think.

 

[Weeg]

Bugs can definitely carry parasites. Snails and slugs are the intermediate host of gapeworms. Suriname roaches (Pycnoscelus) are a host of chicken eyeworms. Wild insects are definitely not safe to feed all the time, especially if you don’t know what they are.

Oh, darn, I should have looked into my information. Sorry about that!

 

[CovidtimeQuail]

If they’re in your worm bin, they’ve probably been eating toxin-free compost and are a perfect treat. I doubt they would be anything dangerous, but if you have a picture I might be able to identify them and give a clearer answer. The only bugs I wouldn’t feed my birds are ones from an area that has obvious toxins like pesticides, known parasite vectors such as certain snails, or poisonous bugs like milkweed beetles or millipedes (which they tend to avoid anyway.)

My quail won't eat the millipedes but they do like the other critters that crawl into their pen. My thoughts were similar to yours -- my compost bin and yard are all pesticide free. I'll see if there are any more and post a picture. It could be army worms or something similar. They're white with dark heads.

 

[Quailobsessed]

It's up to you on whether to take the risk. My quails sometimes find grubs and insects when they're foraging around, and I can't exactly stop them (unless I didn't let them forage, but they'd hate that).

 

[Nabiki]

Part of the reason I keep mine on the ground and in my fallow garden beds is so they can eat the bugs they find. I haven't seen a full grown roly poly in my garden since I started keeping quail.

I'm going to need to move them off of my garden beds in a few weeks so I can plant...

 

[CovidtimeQuail]

My Italian hen declared the grubs delicious. She didn't let any other birds have any.