crickets and worms

[PunkinPeep]

In our effort to become as self-sufficient (vendor independent) as possible, my husband and i are planning to start raising red worms and crickets for the purpose of helping to feed our chickens and give them good healthy protein, etc.

Anyway, any tips? How does this factor into percentages of protein and whatnot?

Any tips? At all?

Anything would be awesome!

Thanks in advance!

 

[Amyable]

Well, I have this about a worm farm. They seem happy to share info.
http://www.magicwiggler.com/Site_Map.html

 

[Bedste]

when you get a surplus of worms and crickets maybe I can trade you some thing for some....

 

[SimplyForties]

There is tons of info on the internet about raising worms - just Google "vermicomposting". There are lots of videos on YouTube too, about homemade systems. It's a great way to deal with scrap paper and non-meat/non-dairy food scraps. Of course chickens are a pretty good way to deal with the food scraps too! I've had a vermicompost system going for about 1 1/2 years. I have to say that I'm pretty fond of my worms and don't feed them to my chickens! Alternatively, I have no trouble feeding them "wild" worms!

Good luck!

 

[PunkinPeep]

I love that you're fond of your worms! That's beautiful!

I guess the kind of tips i'm really looking for is concerning how it factors in to getting your chickens the right percentages of protein and whatnot in their diets.

 

[Bedste]

I put out my cricket trap before nite fall.... hopefully I will catch some crickets for breakfast

 

[sillybirds]

A lot of people who used to raise crickets for their pets have switched over to roaches. They're supposedly very nutritious. Additionally, they don't stink as much as crickets and aren't noisy like crickets. I started a roach colony (blaptic dubia) two months ago. So far so good. Something to consider if the idea of raising roaches doesn't freak you out.

 

[TarzantheChickenMan]

i used to raise crickets and roaches or my bearded dragons when i was breeding them in college

the crickets were a lot of work because they ate each other all the time and you have to keep lots of different cages going to separate them by age.

i switched to roaches mostly hissing and lobster
the hissing were pretty easy to raise and they dont eat each other you just clean the cage when it begins to stink just dont give them more food then they can eat just pull out the young to feed to your birds

lobster roaches are just as easy just they are much quicker and harder to catch nice thing about these species is that they are not able to survive in a house they need tropical conditions.

 

[Bedste]

I do not raise them... but occasionally in the morning they are in my dogs dish.... I take them and throw them to the girls! I tried the bread in the bag trap to catch crickets last night and all I caught was ONE FLY! LOL

 

[PunkinPeep]

Quote:
Oh no! I guess the legend was false! What a disappointment!