Chickens & Fireflies

[Chickaroo!]

I have a weird question...will chickens go after fireflies and try to eat them?

 

[bigzio]

My flock is on the roost by the time any fireflys are out and about. I wouldn't worry about them at all.

Too funny, since we still have a foot of snow on the ground!

bigzio

 

[Gersbud]

Yea my flock is in the coop by the time the fireflies come out. If they ever come out agian anytime soon. I still have about a foot of snow still in my yard too!. And it don't seem to be going anywhere either.

No snow in the girls run though. I shoveled that out so they could come out durning the day when it is at least in some double digit degree

 

[flinthillbillie]

I wondered the same thing last summer - was kind of looking forward some entertainment even. Turns out the girls did NOT go after fireflies. The fireflies would fly right past their faces and they would watch them, but never did I see one grab for one. Are they harmful to chickens? If they are, the chickens have a built-in knowledge of that.

 

[stilwellchick]

When mine were teenage hens, one of them caught and pecked a firefly but didn't eat it. Yes, her beak glowed for a few minutes later that night. I'm not kidding. She didn't eat it though and none of the others want them. They also won't eat ladybugs. They do however love June bugs which come out in May here. They are the dumbest bugs on the planet and just flop around on the back deck under the light so they can be eaten the next morning. I even put a big dog dish under the light for them to land in. In August the ciccadas (we call them locusts here) are a prized treat but the dogs eat those too.