Care free coop

[Project Blue]

First let me say I'm retired and have several properties as my husband and I are flipping real estate for retirement income. Small farms is my to go to property so having several running coops is the norm and what I'm about to say will make sense. I have one coop on a property that I've held on to for a few years that never needs cleaning. I usually use hay or straw for bedding because I also have cattle. Underneath the bedding is a gray rubbery grub in the coop that never needs cleaning. It's about a 5 by 10 walk in coop with 6 chickens. My chickens scratch but don't seem to eat the grubs that are at ground level under the deep compressed hay (8 inches??). If you lift an object in the coop the grubs will be at the surface and the chickens will eat them if they start moving but they quickly burrow down. At another coop I have a few miles away things get nasty real fast if you don't keep after it, but the grubby one never smells. I used to rake the care free coop out and replace the hay, now I just add a new layer every now and then. Does anyone know what kind of grub cleans up after chickens? I looked online and didn't see it. The grub is not the dark headed white bodied lawn and garden grub. I'm thinking about collecting grubs and moving them coop to coop but have no idea what they are or their life cycle and certainly don't want to move bad bug to different communities, but I really like having a natural symbiotic relationship that eliminates a dirty job for me.

 

[Aprillemon]

Do you have any pictures of the grubs?

 

[Project Blue]

I'll try to get some tomorrow

 

[perkolator]

Without any pic, I'd guess BSF (Black Soldier Fly) larvae, as they like to live in compost. They are FANTASTIC at waste consumption and are even used in sizeable operations to process certain waste streams. At one point I was raising some in a tub, on old food and rodent carcasses - the chickens went crazy for those grubs

 

[Project Blue]

Without any pic, I'd guess BSF (Black Soldier Fly) larvae, as they like to live in compost. They are FANTASTIC at waste consumption and are even used in sizeable operations to process certain waste streams. At one point I was raising some in a tub, on old food and rodent carcasses - the chickens went crazy for those grubs

I looked online and yes, they look like BSF. Online pics have both gray and beige color variations and also for sale for reptile food. I would encourage people to try these under deep bedding. I'm going to buy a carton and try them at another coop. Cleaning the coop is the worst chore and I'm happy to hand that task to Black Soldier Fly larvae. Thanks for figuring this out!!!

 

[perkolator]

Ok so here's a thing about BSF - while yes they can be great at consuming many types of animal waste, it's not advisable to feed BSF back to the animals producing the manure they're raised on. This has high potential to cause weird things like nutrient depletion and degradation, potential for diseases, etc, when the same proteins are recycled in the same system. They say this is basically how mad cow disease came about - cows being fed cow and the proteins mutated.

 

[Project Blue]

Ok so here's a thing about BSF - while yes they can be great at consuming many types of animal waste, it's not advisable to feed BSF back to the animals producing the manure they're raised on. This has high potential to cause weird things like nutrient depletion and degradation, potential for diseases, etc, when the same proteins are recycled in the same system. They say this is basically how mad cow disease came about - cows being fed cow and the proteins mutated.

Good to know, but that wasn't my intent. I like them as a natural waste removal system. I totally believe in diversity and self running mini eco systems. You should see my fish tank. I have not cleaned it in a decade and it has a high healthy fish load, (they keep breeding), but it's balanced with plants and lower organisms. I also have a pond with mussels that is crystal clear. I really like the BSF as you mostly don't see them and they do a great clean up job. I've never noticed flies flying around the coop, but they must somehow get in there to lay their eggs.

 

[Penpal]

BSF do not hang around. They grow up, grow wings, and look for a mate. They do not have mouth parts so they don't eat. They mate and die. It is possible that your chickens are eating the flies during that short period when they fly around.

 

[SnackMeat]

BSF 100% do consume materials. I have a bin and threw in a dead fat ten week old Cornish Cross who we found an abscess on so did not eat. Everything except the feet, part of the head, and maybe a jawbreaker sized hunk of meat was gone in less than 48 hours.

They're amazing at breaking down materials. So long as they don't have access to dirt they shouldn't pupate into fly form, but if they do, the chicken shit will attract them again for eggs and continue the life cycle.

Someone posts fun videos on reddit of different meals they give to their BSF and then fast forward over 24 hours or so.

https://www.reddit.com/r/BlackSoldierFly/comments/1lxrm0k/wanna_see_some_bsfl_eating_some_bbq

 

[Mother of Chaos]

BSF 100% do consume materials. I have a bin and threw in a dead fat ten week old Cornish Cross who we found an abscess on so did not eat. Everything except the feet, part of the head, and maybe a jawbreaker sized hunk of meat was gone in less than 48 hours.

They're amazing at breaking down materials. So long as they don't have access to dirt they shouldn't pupate into fly form, but if they do, the chicken shit will attract them again for eggs and continue the life cycle.

Someone posts fun videos on reddit of different meals they give to their BSF and then fast forward over 24 hours or so.

https://www.reddit.com/r/BlackSoldierFly/comments/1lxrm0k/wanna_see_some_bsfl_eating_some_bbq

Gotta love the string quartet!