Closing the loop with BSFL

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velacreations

velacreations

In the Brooder
8 Years
Jun 25, 2011
45
19
26
Chihuahua, Mexico
Now, before you get upset, just hear me out... :)

I was reading about different insect integrations with waste streams and came across this one:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/tmi.12228/pdf

Quote:
So, feeding Black Soldier Fly Larvae fresh human faeces resulted in FCR of 2.0–3.3, which is better than a lot of insects, and better than BSFL on a lot of manures.

Now, they could be sterilized (chemically, like fermentation, or with heat) and fed to animals. Chickens, in particular, would be a good one for this, maybe dogs, too. I don't know if I would risk it with fish, but maybe.

An average human excretes 1.1 kg of faeces per day, which could make 330-500 grams of BSF daily! That's enough for several chickens!

So, how could this be done?
 
First, I think you are lying that you are from Chihuahua , Your English is too good and you are educated. Now for my second thought: I try to avoid feeding my chickens formula food and opt for natural feed. Grains, vegetable remains and such. I would defiantly give up eating chicken if the trend went to feeding them Black Soldier Fly Larvae. Many years ago in a communist European nation, they fed chickens with scraps from fish processing plants. The eggs as well as the chicken meat smelled like fish. This new feed would remind me of the smell of ??????? well you know. These great ideas kind of remind me of the movie SOILENT GREEN.
 
cavemanrich said:
First, I think you are lying that you are from Chihuahua , Your English is too good and you are educated.
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I am not lying, that's where I live. I know you didn't mean it to be offensive, but some people would see it as that.


Quote: Well, maggots are a natural food for chickens, far more natural than grains. It's hard to meet the protein requirements of laying hens with just veggies and grains.

Too much fish can cause smell issues, but BSFL shed their skin and vomit out their entire stomach before leaving the bin. So, they do not have any smell or resemblance to what they ate. Many of us use BSFL as feed for chickens, mostly grown on food scraps, but this is taking it to the next level.

Closing the loop of energy is important, because otherwise, your waste becomes a pollutant. Septic systems are the leading cause of groundwater pollution in the US. Turning that pollutant into a resource is a good way to increase the sustainability of your operation.

I have yet to try this, but to me, a lb of free chicken food every day is worth considering. My chickens have access to compost and manure piles, and they eat their share of both. There is no off flavor or smell to the eggs, they are all very healthy and produce through the winter without issue.
 
As a citizen of the US I found that offensive on different levels. If you travel the world you will find people who have English as a third or fourth language that speak and write better English than many English speaking natives. You will also find English speaking natives living all over the world, not just in English speaking countries. And the thought that you cannot get a good education anywhere but here is not in touch with reality.

Maggots are no more natural than grains. Chickens need a balanced diet. You get a balanced diet by eating different things. I do believe they do better if animal proteins are included in their diet, but they cannot live exclusively on animal products and do better than if they live on an all vegetarian diet, which I also consider unnatural.

The issue I’d have with that is sanitation. Not because of what the chickens eat but what they may get on their feet or feathers, which can be passed onto the eggs or meat if you are not careful how you process them. The other thing to consider is that you are going to be attracting flies, which will walk in that to lay eggs then walk on other surfaces.

It’s something that may sound good in theory but actually putting it into practice may present challenges.
 
I agree, where you live has absolutely no bearing on your level of education. For example, I live in SC and work with people who have recently graduated from high school that couldn't speak correct English if their life depended on it. They also do not know how to give correct change for a $20 bill unless the cash register tells them. And beleive it or not, most school systems no longer teach students how to write in cursive!
 
Ridgerunner said:
As a citizen of the US I found that offensive on different levels. If you travel the world you will find people who have English as a third or fourth language that speak and write better English than many English speaking natives. You will also find English speaking natives living all over the world, not just in English speaking countries. And the thought that you cannot get a good education anywhere but here is not in touch with reality.
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I don't think he was trying to be offensive, he was just making a joke, but I could see right away that it could be offensive to lots of people.

Quote:
Well, by natural, I meant their natural/wild foods. Grains are human creations, and wild chickens wouldn't have come across them much. Maggots, however, would have been a natural food source. Yes, they need a balanced diet, and any insects should be a part of a balanced diet.

Quote: Well, a few things on the point about sanitation. First, the chickens wouldn't come in contact with the feces in any way. Secondly, BSFL self harvest when they are ready to pupate, and when they do this, they vomit their stomachs out and shed their skin, so when they leave the feeding area, they do not carry any of the feces with them. Third, just for good measure, boiling or fermenting them would be a good thing to do.

BSFL actually repel other flies in a proper system. They excrete hormones to prevent other flies taking over their food source.

Quote: This is certainly the case. But, the challenges may not be as large as first assumed. It's similar to a composting toilet, and BSF bins for non-human excrement are common. Here's one we use for manures and slaughter waste:
http://velacreations.com/food/animals/bsf/107.html
 
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enola said:
But, I do agree, the thought of handling human excreetment to supply a source of food for my chickens just plain goes against my thinking.
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Yeah, I know it is a touchy subject, but you need to consider that they are eating the bugs, not the excrement. It's similar to them catching a grub or a dung beetle while free ranging. The difference is that you can control the sanitation and optimize conditions to get a lot of chicken feed out of the excrement.
 
Grains are grass seeds. Many have been modified by selective breeding to make them easier to grow and harvest. Different grains have different nutritional values but they are essentially grass seeds. Different wild grass seeds have different nutritional values. If you want to consider anything domesticated as unnatural, fine. You certainly can do that. But I see no real difference in the nutritional value of a domesticated grass seed versus a wild grass seed, as long as you consider it for its individual nutritional value and mix it into their balanced diet appropriately.

If you can get past the YUK! factor of handling human excrement, good for you. I can’t. But I use chicken feet in my broth and handle the YUK! factor by scalding and peeling them. Many people can’t handle that.
 
I realize the chickens would not be exposed to the "manure" only the larva, after they self harvest. I will go out on a limb here and say that a lot of folks would find handling human feces in this manner would be a little unsettling.

I also wonder if disposing of human waste in this manner is even legal?? "They" certainly have all kinds of laws concerning sanitation....
 

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