Could (or should) i feed deceased predators to my chickens?

[AllenK RGV]

Yes, I've heard of hanging a 5 gallon bucket with holes drilled in the bottom in the chicken run to produce maggots for free protein. That article said to put a layer of hay or straw loosely in the bottom of the bucket and then your dead animal on top of that. He had a plastic tray like is in the bottom of a dog crate under his bucket. When the maggots are finished eating and are ready to pupate, in nature they burrow down a few inches into soil. The plastic tray will help keep you from making flies instead of protein. The article I read said that his chickens would hear the falling maggots hitting the tray and the race was on to see who would get there first.

I think I would try this as long as the smell of decomp doesn't reach the house or pool area.

Thinking on this I'd suggest that taking that raw meat and having it converted into protein via maggots for the hens would result in 90% reduction in available protein, however, the advantages would be a reduced chance of your hens getting worms from the predators.

 

[centrarchid]

The use of straw in bucket sounds very good. Approach I have used to date with carcasses suspended has fluids and maggots leaving carcasses too fast leaving a mummified mass that dogs are really partial to. A problem with maggots falling with juice has carrion beetles coming in to harvest maggots. Chickens seem to avoid the carrion beetles. The carrion beetles are not good at finding carcasses more than a couple feet above the ground. Maggots calling during night will be lost to chickens if they burrow much. Night falling maggots can collect under things like a board and the board can be flipped to expose those.

Bucket may keep most vultures out. I have had some vulture issues that did not go as planned where vultures try to drag carcasses away.


All said and done, with free-range chickens, the insect forages collected from more honorable sources dwarfs the maggots collected.

The smell issue is significant.

 

[Folly's place]

Rotting meat? Maggots? More flies and predators? Botulism?
No way! My flock has to find their own stuff while foraging!
Mary

 

[AllenK RGV]

Rotting meat? Maggots? More flies and predators? Botulism?
No way! My flock has to find their own stuff while foraging!
Mary

How are we getting to botulism here Mary? I was under the impression that stuff only grew in an anaerobic environment. Dead predator flesh shouldn't support that. My concern was only regarding worms/intestinal parasites that wild animals could potentially transfer to the fowl. Maggots, BSFL and loads of other ikky things are all perfectly good chicken feed.

yup checked wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clostridium_botulinum I memberberried it right.

 

[slordaz]

I feel like it’ll be unpopular but I kind of like the idea of maggot production. I’ve read of it before, keeping decaying meat in bucket with perforated bottom to allow the snacks to fall through. Free protein makes sense to me. The smell and proximity to your house/neighbors may make it and you unpopular if it’s too close.

Maggots on a dead animal can cause real issues and kill your flock off from botulism

 

[SapperSix2019]

I would not feed the chickens the predators.

 

[AllenK RGV]

Maggots on a dead animal can cause real issues and kill your flock off from botulism

I stand corrected and Mary knew something I didn't(no suprise there) googled "maggots Botulism" and got this:
Botulism is a natural toxin produced by a bacterium ( Clostridium botulinum ) commonly found in the soil. ... A bird-to-bird cycle can also exist where maggots feeding on dead birds can concentrate the toxin and can then be eaten by and poison other birds.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I grill the raccoons and feed them to the chickens. But I wouldn't go the fly/maggot route. When the meat gets rancid, whatever the maggots are eating, your chickens end up eating. Some nasty bacteria in those maggots.

 

[centrarchid]

I think the maggots cultivate bacteria to help them process carcass.

 

[AllenK RGV]

I think the maggots cultivate bacteria to help them process carcass.

Was just reading up on Avian Botulism at USGS and Wikipedia according to USGS it is primarily a Hawaiian thing. Birds eating fish and filter feeders concentrate the bacterium hosting botulism then die and their maggots then concentrate the toxin and kill birds eating those maggots. So.... really not a thing here in a non aquatic/wetland environment in the lower 48, but it still is something new to me and I am no subject matter expert after reviewing two sources online.