Can Chickens Eat Too Many Beetles?

[Preservation Acres]

Hi folks. I bought my chickens a "gift" of sorts. I have a Japanese beetle lure hanging above the wired part of their coop. The beetles are coming in by the hundreds, and the chickens are having the time of their lives.

My question is, can they eat TOO MANY beetles?

Should I take the lure down for a while?

Here's a link to the lure I'm talking about. I didn't buy the whole setup, just the replacement lure. I have it hanging above the cage where the chickens can't reach the lure, but the beetles are flying into the coop pretty much nonstop.

http://www.spectracide.com/ProductCategories/JapaneseBeetleProtection/BagABug/

 

[Preservation Acres]

Anyone?

 

[kcfuerst]

I don't know how many beetles is too many, but I wouldn't want to lure a single bug of any kind into my yard. I have hired my girlie girls to eat all bugs until they're all gone, the object being of getting rid of every kid of bug that exists on my property.

 

[Preservation Acres]

It's the same idea. It doesn't pull in bugs from miles away, just gets the bugs that are already in your yard to come to a central location...where your chickens can eat them.

 

[tasymo]

I don't know how many beetles are too many, but I must say, WHAT A GREAT IDEA!!! I HATE Japanese Beetles with a passion because I have several flower gardens and they eat my flowers. They do much more damage than my six chickens. Moderation in all things is a pretty good motto, so I'd probably remove the bait once in awhile, at least until those nasty bugs start eating the flowers again...

 

[Equus5O]

I collect the beetles from the bags (I have 6 bags) once a day, dump them into hot water (so they don't fly away before being eaten), and feed them. I have a bag set up next to the run, and it's not attracting any beetles. This must be a slow year in my area, as I don't have that many beetles (figure less than 100 beetles at a time for 8 chickens), so I don't think the girlies are OD'ing on them.

 

[rainbowgardens]

I read somewhere about somebody's chickens eating so many beetles, that they were crawling back out of their mouths.

I'm usually swamped with the japanese beetles, but for the last two years I've seen none. Not even on my beans. This has never happened before. Where did they all go?

It figures... just when I get my chickens and am looking forward to getting revenge on the evil beetle population!

 

[beak]

I don't know about beetles. Last year we had a grasshopper infestation. I went to the website for the local agricultural extension and it listed chickens as a good extermination method. It did say however that too many grasshoppers can impact the digestive tract because of the hard shells. If the beetles have hard shells it may be the same thing.

 

[purpletree23]

Too much of a good thing is not good. Maybe give 1/2 of what you catch each day and squish the rest. My turkeys once at so many beetles that they started crawling OUT of their mouths. Just like the Exorcist with beetles instead of green gook

 

[Theda's Mom]

Hmmmm. I might try this. We have a wicked bad infestation of Japanese beetles: every summer they devour my raspberries, green beans, and just about every leaf on the place. In fact, the beetles are why I got the guineas and chickens originally. Unfortunately, because of the hens' diggity-diggity habits, I've had to ban them from the vegetable garden (boy, did I get the stink eye for that!!), and the eight guineas tell me they have way too much territory to patrol to keep the bugs out of the beans too.

I will monitor though. The thought of going out to the coop to find bugs crawling out of my hens' mouths makes my stomach roil. Urp.
(I couldn't watch the Exorcist either.)