Brown bugs in feed

[bonebrake]

Today I noticed some - not many - brown bugs in my feed container. They are about the size of an ant. Are these bo weevils? Are the OK for the chickens to eat? Has my feed gone bad?

Thanks!

 

[Eggs4Sale]

We almost always have those in our feed, usually after it's been in the covered trash can for a few days, but I think they've come in the bags brand new. The chickens don't notice or care, some eat them, and they won't hurt anyone. It would be nice to NOT have them in your feed, but that's just the way it is sometimes.

 

[Imp]

Quote:
Just a few bugs are probably OK. If there are lots you might need to decide if you want your chickens to eat the bug waste. You can freeze birdseed for a couple days to stop bugs from hatching. Might work with feed as well.

Imp

 

[ebonyann]

In my opinion, the bugs are just added protein for the birdys, nothing more or less then what they eat while free ranging

 

[bonebrake]

Right on. I added a bit of DE to the feed. Maybe that'll do them in. I fgured they are somewhat harmless, but wanted to check.

Thanks all!

 

[Akane]

The bugs themselves may not be harmful but bugs eating your feed will make your feed worthless to the chickens. The bugs will use up all the nutrients in the feed and your chickens will just be eating bug waste and bugs which while bugs are not unhealthy they are not nutritionally balanced. If your feed is too damaged by bugs your chickens may not be getting all they need to grow or lay eggs. Personally if I bought a bag of feed that had bugs in it I'd take it back and the feed store would replace it. If I found bugs in my feed shortly after opening a bag I'd be finding a better way to store it. I leave my bags open in the coop and I never see bugs. I'd probably start sticking it in a well sealing rubbermaid container if I did. Also leaving feed open to the air does lessen it's shelf life and again damages or lessens the nutrition in it. If it takes you more than a few days to a week to get through a bag it would be best to use a container that's as close to air tight as you can get.

 

[ebonyann]

I've caught my birds snapping up wasps that made the mistake of flitting into their pen. If they can stomach those, then they can probably handle weevils and stuff anyway. Oh, they eat those big red ants too

 

[kuntrygirl]

I've noticed the same thing in some of the feed the I buy for my chickens. Often wondered what it was.

 

[bonebrake]

Thanks. The feed is nearly gone... So not a new bag of food. And the feed is stored in a air tight container. Think it's just a bad batch.