Chick Starer with Weevils?!

[griswell]

The place I bought my first bag of starter was out of stock until tomorrow, the starter they sell is sealed in plastic bags (MannaPro). I went to the feed store up the road, and they don't sell MannaPro, they sell Southern States, which is in paper bags. I bought some, but when I got it home and opened it, weevils were crawling all through it...hundreds of them! I called the feed store back and they offered me a refund, but the owner said it is perfectly safe to feed it to my chicks with the weevils in it, as it is just extra protein for them.

That doesn't sound like a good idea, but before I run back to the store, does it matter? Is it okay to feed it to them like this? The chicks are between 10 and 20 days old.

 

[littlethorn]

I won't feed mine anything with bugs in it (including moths). My thought being that if it has bugs in it, it has not been stored properly and who knows if it could have gotten wet etc.

 

[Imp]

Quote:
Exactly!
Also the bugs are OK, the feed is probably OK, but what about the waste hundreds of bugs produce. And how all of it effects the nutrition of the feed.

Imp

 

[write2caroline]

I ordered a bag of organic feed and it was full of bugs too - So I called to company and they were suppose to replace it - which they never did....But I don't like feeding them buggy food. However, I find some cockroaches in their feeding tube thingamagiggy my hubby made from large pvc pipe and when they find one - it is like OOOOH Crunchy with cream filling yum and they go nuts looking for more. So a couple of bugs is one thing - wormy icky food - I don't want to serve it but I think they don't mind.
Caroline

You know they feed cows chicken poop. ICK right?

 

[Beekissed]

Its just more protein....I'd feed it. It actually will add variety to their diet and get them started on learning to catch bugs. You do know that chickens eat bugs and their own feces? Bug feces won't matter in the long run.

 

[Buff Hooligans]

You might want to edit your thread title. For the life of me I couldn't figure out what a chick starer was.

 

[Kedreeva]

The only problem I can see is that weevils are a beetle, which means a hard shell, which means the chicks won't digest them well if at all. You'd probably need to give them grit on top of the food... the starter has enough 'grit' mixed in so the birds can digest what is in the starter, but certainly not enough to digest beetle shells.

 

[sunshine23]

I've been buying starter feed at a food store with those bugs in them, at first I was a little mad but they love the bugs...I will consider buying from other feed store though, I don't like this place at all

 

[eggseroneous]

I bought a bag of chick starter and it had grain mites in it (scared the heck outa me!)...I just stuck it in the freezer (the big chest freezer in the basement). No more mites! I'm sure it would work with weevils as well. At least you won't have the bugs crawling around to infest any other grain products in your house. And the extra protein for the chicks is a bonus.

 

[PhilErvin]

From what I remember, weevils hatch out because of heat so I wouldn't worry that the feed got wet or moldy. I would agree that it is a good source of protein. I wouldn't worry that the chicks don't have grit in their gizzard, even if a weevil passed through undigested I don't see any harm.