Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches are easy. As simple as a tupperware container with some holes drilled in the top. Put in a whole apple every week or so and they'll eat everything, including the core. Dried leaves make great bedding, and they'll eat it as well. You can also use wood shavings (I use aspen for everything), newspapers, shredded paper, or nothing at all. A couple of sticks, or paper towel/toilet paper rolls, or egg cartons for them to crawl on and hide under is good, but again, they'll be perfectly fine without anything.
They can crawl on walls, but a tupperware lid stops escapes; they can't live very long if they escape however, so infestations aren't a likely scenario. If you raise them in an aquarium or such, you can smear a thin layer of vaseline about one or two inches wide around the top of the container and they can't bypass that. I raise crickets, hissing roaches, and recently mealworms and by far; the cockroaches give me the best return as they are prolific breeders that require virtually zero care other than dropping in an apple once a week or so. They're durable as well and if you need to go on vacation for a few weeks and can't feed them.... No big deal, they'll still be waiting on you when you get back.
Sizing options with roaches as well. Small chickens (or other birds, lizards, whatever)? Feed them juvenile roaches. Large chickens (or other predatory pets?) Feed them an adult, about 3" of protein packed insect, in a single feeding. They don't bite or scratch, so they can be handled by anyone - I got my first one for my insect crazy son, who was 3 at the time. For educational purposes we later went back to get a pair of females to go along with his males, so that he could see anatomical differences and such, as well as experience life cycles and such. I was as squeamish as anyone back then, now I'm a fan of them and plan on adding more varieties of them (as pets) soon - there's even a bioluminescent variety.
Other benefits is the ease in which they can be loaded with whatever nutrient you need. Because they'll eat anything. Need calcium? Feed them chicken layer feed. Need protein? Feed them cat food. Mix it up for a perfect blend, or keep separate containers for calcium loaded, protein loaded, etc.
For ease of keeping, safe handling, and reproduction return; I don't know that there's a better option.
Edit: Nutritional chart included below
They are an important source of food for other animals. Insects have 3 times more protein than chicken
or beef, weight for weight. - Rosamond Gifford Zoo
SAMPLE MOIST. PROTEIN FAT FIBER ASH
Madagascar
Hissing 64.09% 26.7% 5.05% 5.62% 1.37%
Cockroach
Meal worms 58.74% 21.0% 15.52% 2.01% 1.18%
Crickets 71.96% 18.5% 6.26% 2.09% 1.29%
