catching bugs

[JCfans]

We have been having some warm weather here and it has got me thinking about spring. Do any of you use any sort of insect traps or attractants to get free protein for your chickens? I have been toying with the idea of a bug zapper to hang over my run so the girls can have fried bugs in the morning. I also dug a pit last year, put a bucket in it and covered the hole with a piece of plywood for catching crickets. It worked somewhat but I wasn't overly impressed. Anyway if any of you have any ideas it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[JennsPeeps]

Last summer some people used brightly colored bags manufactured for the purpsoe of catching certain types of beetles. Not sure about other types of bugs, though.

 

[FarmerDenise]

I have heard of people using bug zappers to provide extra bugs for their chickens. Sounds like a good idea to me.
I keep old plastic containers with their lids in my garden bucket, so when I'm picking, weeding or whatever in the garden, I put all offending bugs I come across in there and then feed it to the chickens when I'm done. One year we had so many green caterpillars in our green beans, I had to get a big bowl. The girls had quite a feast.

 

[miss jay's mama]

I bet you could use one of those Japanese Beatle bags or even just the attractent(not sure if that is a word), it comes with the bag but I'm pretty sure you can get it separate. Last year my chickies went crazy over these bettles. Word of caution I personally didn't attract the bettles to the hen house because it so close to my veggie garden. I brought the bettles to them. But if you don't have a garden to worry about or it is on another part of your property you shouldn't have a problem.

 

[rooster0209]

Japanese beetles..the ones that look like lady bugs? We farmers love, love, love those bugs. They are essential in eating soybean aphids. They can be pests though and stink when you kill them.

There was large black ants crawling up the side of the barn, I took a glass jar and knocked them off the barn. The guinea's were little at the time and went I dumped the ants in the coop, those poor ants never had a chance. I also picked slugs off my hostas and took to the chickens, didnt take the chickens long to find the slugs themselves.

I hope chickens like box elder bugs

 

[Snakeoil]

I just let my flock run the yard eating whatever they find, then every evening they will go to the coop and I will lock them up till the next morning, in the summer months I feed just a small amount the rest they find and I supplement from my garden.

 

[JCfans]

I would like to free range but am to concerned about predators snagging one of my girls. I have thought about getting one of the pheromone bag traps that attract the Japanese beetles. I may end up trying that. I thought about growing crickets but they stink and are noisy as well but I may do it during the summer months in my garage. I currently growing meal worms indoors and that is working great but am looking for more supplemental food. Thanks for all the replies. Keep'em comming

 

[momofdrew]

Quote:
My girls love box elder bettles... they ate as many as they could around and off my tree

 

[mmtillman]

We have a compost pile ...have had for 16 years now and it is well established, with nice, big, fat, long, and juicy worms!!!
My flock that I had before LOVED

them and I know my new flock will be spoiled rotten .....when I hand feed each one of them a worm each morning and evening!!! I also kept several pieces of plywood in the run and every couple of days would flip one over, to let the girls get to all the creepy crawlies living under the wood!!!

 

[they'reHISchickens]

I read long ago about a setup for autofeeding Japanese Beetles to chickens. Let's see if I can explain.
You need to connect a baited Japanese Beetle trap to one end of a metal drain/downpipe section. Must be metal. Slant the pipe. Other end is fastened right above a low bucket filled with water.
The object is to have the trap attract the bugs which fall through and rattle down the metal pipe then fall into the bucket of water. The rattle alerts the chickens that a bug is coming and falling into the water traps the bugs until the chickens snap them up.
If anyone is using such a system, I'd love to see pictures!
Disclaimer: I haven't tried this, but plan to this summer. Last summer I just hung a trap low inside the cage and let the chickens snap at bugs to their hearts content. We had more beetles than our 5 chicks could handle, but they are laying adults this year so I am hoping to fill their crops as much as possible.