California - Northern

[ronott1]

Local radar shows the storm tracking south of Sacramento and moving into the Mountains.

How low is the show?

 

[Ali707]

Well I did google grain beetles and they are mealworms. I don't think they'll make your birds sick, as long as there isnt mold. Maybe someone else can put input on that. But remember, they're probably carriers of parasites.In a colony, you want to avoid mold because it will kill the worms. So I'm guessing there shouldn't be any in your food. But double check. You can post on the mealworm thread, Gallo de Cielo is kind of the "Ron" on there and is a wealth of information.
I think your main problem is keeping them from escaping. The wild ones will thrive. And if you have beetles, at the bottom of that bag I would guess you have LOTs of worms. Others have posted questions on that thread because there are articles on how bad the wild ones are around a chicken coop. DE would kill them in a couple of days in your bag, at least on the top where they touch it.
I would try to take it back even without the receipt. Especially if you buy from them often. If they say no, I would talk to a manager and let them know you frequent their store.
I, personally- If I were out of food. I would get some and take out as much worms/ beetles as I could and feed them.And then try to take the rest back. A good store will. Like I said, even earthworms are parasite carriers. It just kind of makes me cringe knowing that. Even as I watch them eat earthworms.
Hopefully someone else can lay your fears to rest.

Thanks for your thoughts Crissyr. You know, I did find the receipt last night and bought it on the 24th. Do you know how hard it is going to be to lift a 50lb bag of open grain without spilling it in my car?

Anyway you are right what a pain though. Now I don't trust what they will give me as a replacement. I am sure the bag is super full of the beetles because I could see them so easily when I opened the bag. It doesn't smell moldy, however, I don't think I will take the chance.

I also got a flock block from them that same day. After I got it home and opened it it sort of fell apart. It was moist and it had just rained pretty hard the a few days before that so I am guessing it had been kept outside, OR, it was transported on a truck that leaks, or it was a bad batch. The chickens had that thing gone in 4 days. The last one lasted over 2 weeks or more.

On a side note Galleo is the reason I started a Meal Worm Colony! He makes it all seem so easy and he s really nice Yes I would compare him to Ron too!

 

[ronott1]

Thanks for your thoughts Crissyr. You know, I did find the receipt last night and bought it on the 24th. Do you know how hard it is going to be to lift a 50lb bag of open grain without spilling it in my car?

Anyway you are right what a pain though. Now I don't trust what they will give me as a replacement. I am sure the bag is super full of the beetles because I could see them so easily when I opened the bag. It doesn't smell moldy, however, I don't think I will take the chance.

I also got a flock block from them that same day. After I got it home and opened it it sort of fell apart. It was moist and it had just rained pretty hard the a few days before that so I am guessing it had been kept outside, OR, it was transported on a truck that leaks, or it was a bad batch. The chickens had that thing gone in 4 days. The last one lasted over 2 weeks or more.

On a side note Galleo is the reason I started a Meal Worm Colony! He makes it all seem so easy and he s really nice Yes I would compare him to Ron too!

That is so nice to say!

There should be a date code on the bag. Make sure the new bag is from a more recent batch. I have read that feed can be very old sometimes. I would worry more about it being old than the bugs.

 

[Nikon]

Man, it was nice and cold and foggy and I ordered snow..... but now the sun's out in Grass Valley.

Our Orpington Roo rushed me yesterday for herding the girls, He got a chain link gate slammed in his face. Big stinker!

 

[BCollie]

I have some questions!

Now that Henry (yes, I have a hen named Henry(Henrietta). She thinks she's a rooster) has started laying...will that encourage the other hens to start laying, or no?

Are there any breeders in or near Redding(or Sacramento) that sell Blue Laced Red Wyandottes? Hatching eggs preferred, but would buy chicks if that was my only option.

 

[ronott1]

I have some questions!

Now that Henry (yes, I have a hen named Henry(Henrietta). She thinks she's a rooster) has started laying...will that encourage the other hens to start laying, or no?

Are there any breeders in or near Redding(or Sacramento) that sell Blue Laced Red Wyandottes? Hatching eggs preferred, but would buy chicks if that was my only option.

No, laying depends on Breed, age and environmental factors.

It's the hormones and etc.

Check with Papa Brooder to see what he has. He may know of someone.

 

[OR4-hmom]

Man, it was nice and cold and foggy and I ordered snow..... but now the sun's out in Grass Valley.


Our Orpington Roo rushed me yesterday for herding the girls, He got a chain link gate slammed in his  face. Big stinker!

I'll gladly send you any snow we get. They are calling for all kinds of nasty stuff up here tonight. Since I'll be working till 6am I won't be surprised by it.

 

[ronott1]

I have some questions!

Now that Henry (yes, I have a hen named Henry(Henrietta). She thinks she's a rooster) has started laying...will that encourage the other hens to start laying, or no?

Are there any breeders in or near Redding(or Sacramento) that sell Blue Laced Red Wyandottes? Hatching eggs preferred, but would buy chicks if that was my only option.

I forgot to say Congratulations on the egg!

 

[BCollie]

Quote:
Thank you!! It is my Black Andalusian, she has given me one egg every day since she started laying five days ago! I went out there late morning and saw no egg in the nest box - I wasn't surprised, I figured that after 4 days she would skip a day. Then I went out to give them treats this afternoon and lo and behold, she had laid an egg around 2pm, it was still warm! Crazy chicken, I thought they were only supposed to lay in the morning! Now I'm afraid to let them free range until I've seen she's laid her egg for the day, I want her to get used to laying in the nest box.

Quote:
That is what I figured, thanks. &Papa Brooder...do you have the link to his profile so I can message him?

 

[BCollie]

Can I just say how much I love having chickens? Why did I not get them years ago?!

I love the fact that we hardly ever waste food now. I hate being wasteful, hate it. Before we had chickens we would just throw away old food. Now, when we have something that nobody has eaten or is going to go bad(say, stale bread or an old pie - we don't give them rotten food or anything that could harm them) we just give it to the hens. We had a carrot cake leftover from a party that nobody wanted to eat, so the hens got it. Ate the entire thing over the course of a few days, they LOVED it! We've also started putting all of our uneaten food from our dinner plates into a pie pan and giving it to the hens the next morning. They eat as much as they want. Spoiled chickens are happy chickens!