Chickens not interested in dried meal worm treats

[Huskerchickens]

Do other find that their chickens like the dried meal worm treats you can buy from the feed store? I got a bag a while back but my chickens never seemed to interested or excited about them. Do they tend to prefer the live ones since they're move around and trigger their predator instinct? I haven't really tried again and the little bags aren't exactly cheap ($9 or so bucks where I go) and the last one was basically wasted. I don't think I want to go the meal worm farming route and I think the live ones from pet stores also tend to be a little pricy (considering you're buying nasty little bugs). Thanks!

 

[ChestnutRidge]

It might take them a while to get used to them, but mine love them. I gave a handful to some younger guys, maybe four weeks old, and they seemed disinterested. But when I came back 40 minutes later, they were gone. They have a nice, high protein content, so I feel good about giving them.

How did it go with yours? How long did you leave the mealworms in? How many chickens do you have, and how much of the bag did you give them? Hmm. That's puzzling.

(Mine don't really get into BOSS unless I crack EACH SEED with my fingernail for them. But I am hoping they will get it eventually.

)

 

[COChickenClub]

We have a few who aren't interested in them, not sure why? However, the majority of our flock absolutely loves them. They come running whenever they hear the bag noise and will actually jump up and try to get the bag from you.

 

[sadies chicks]

I would say to try again, maybe just leave some in the coop for them and let them work up their nerve to check them out? My chicks went bonkers for them and would get all excited when they heard the bag. They, however, do NOT like worms anymore, so who knows....as I say...."well, they are chickens"...

I don't really think they need them live or dead, just whatever tastes good to them

 

[Huskerchickens]

They were pretty young chicks when I was first trying, maybe in the 4-8 week range. I tried putting them in a bowl and also just tossing them in the little Rubbermaid tote they were living in back then. I want to get them more treats, but I just didn't know if I should mess with another bag of the dried ones or if they really prefer the live ones I could get from a pet store.

 

[JohnandJacquelineW]

How many were in the little bag that cost $9? If you shop around, the live ones may or may not be more expensive - Yesterday I ordered 1,000 from Southern Bait Worms. It was only $15 for the medium sized mealworms with free shipping. And they have a live arrival guarantee.


I'm not sure how many were in your $9 bag, but it might be worth checking for the pricing to see if it might be an option in the future.


I actually got mine mostly to set up a meal worm colony that will be fed to the chickens in the future, but you could certainly buy them just to feed directly to the chickens.

 

[karlamaria]

My chicks hate them, tried many times there just not interested. We feed them so much other good foods that it does not matter, they will do anything for a grape lol

 

[WilsonAcres]

my chicken LOVES them! but on the bag it says"For fussy birds add a dash of cold compressed extra virgin olive oil for an instant life-like effect" worth a shot I guess... hopefully chickens can have olive oil..?...

 

[NickyPick]

Are you talking about the 3.5 ounce $9 bag of dried mealworms you can get at TSC? (same bag was $17.99 at ACE Hardware!!!). Find a Lowes near you and look in the bird feeder section. You can get a 6 ounce canister for 7.99. It's a MUCH better value. I've got 14 chickens and they were pretty hesitant when I first introduced them to meal worms, both live and dried, but now, they attack me for them.

 

[Kimmiejean]

My chickens didn't get excited over them either - I was thankful - raisins and peas are alot cheaper