Attracting Japanese Beetles in for Chicks to Eat

[centrarchid]

For fun I placed the Japanese Beetle attractants on aged broody hen with chicks. The chicks are only about 7 days old, yet it is a PARTAAY! Chicks are eating them very well. I did not think they could eat them so easily since beetles have a little size on them. The chicks still have feed. Must move waterer away from where beetles fly in as it gets knocked around.

 

[HappyClucker7]

My chickens love the Japanese beetles I give them. When my chicks are a little older, they will be getting their first taste as well. I'm looking forward to their reactions.

 

[centrarchid]

Beetles not coming in very fast. Flow split between 3 pens and free-range birds snarfing them too. Chicks eating enough to maintain some crop fill between 1000 and 1500 at the latest. The chicks appear to be rejecting some beetles after tasting them. Of those consumed, some are handled a lot more before being consumed, while others are consumed with gusto. The beetles may be flavored by different plants they consumed. Most appear tasty. Others may be mildly toxic. Chick water consumption shoots up when they are eating a lot of beetles. The water consumption may be related to toxicity or the actively feeding chicks spending more time in the sun where they quickly get hot. The chicks are balancing effort of catching beetles with need to thermal regulate down., just like they do when it is cold. Their mother still helps them catch the beetles, but she seldom eats them herself. As a juvenile she hammered them down.

 

[centrarchid]

This experiment has proven to be an outright success. Chicks were readily eating insects of an average size that I thought was beyond their means for sustained consumption. Their intake of feed provided free-choice appears markedly lower than if beetles on available. Water consumption has been higher that typical.

 

[USMC chicken mommy]

I have 3 huge blueberry bushes and hubby went and bought those beetle bags with the attractant. After I seen this post, I put out a new bag, and within seconds I already had 30 beetles in it. I took the bag to the chicken run and dumped it out and I’ve never seen my chickens so happy lol.......it was like a beetle buffet. And super entertaining to watch....thanks you guys

 

[centrarchid]

I have 3 huge blueberry bushes and hubby went and bought those beetle bags with the attractant. After I seen this post, I put out a new bag, and within seconds I already had 30 beetles in it. I took the bag to the chicken run and dumped it out and I’ve never seen my chickens so happy lol.......it was like a beetle buffet. And super entertaining to watch....thanks you guys

Keep the traps well away from the Blueberry Plants. The traps can lead more beetles to them than if there were not traps at all.

 

[centrarchid]

Carefull observation of outcomes for Japanese Beetles captured by chicks indicates a majority are not consumed, especially once crops are filled. Most not consumed fly away, bit some are damaged enough to just fall to ground. It increase percentage consumed I placed a wooden nest box below lure to decrease percentage of beetles falling through. Then I put the whole rabbit pen on top of pen holding two 6 week old juveniles that was butted up against a pen holding their day. Very quickly the juveniles set up to capture beetles falling down and their dad got a few as well.

 

[reddogmaster2]

AWESOME idea!!!!