Feeder Insects

[huntsman]

What feeder insects do you feed to your girls?

Do they just pick up what is there, or do you buy feeder insects in?

We have an endless stream of specially bred roaches available to us that are bred for the pet industry, and with more the double the protein of a cricket and mealworm, and with less fat, I'm hoping they will work on the chooks!

*insert roach comment here*

 

[La Mike]

Would be bad for them to get loose wouldnt it ?
I through some crickets to mine and watch the show

 

[fowltemptress]

We keep three different containers of roaches . . . one holds goldies, one lobsters, and one has false death heads. We used to have one of hissers, too, but I had trouble feeding those to the chickens because they were too cute.

We also used to keep a bin of crickets and a bin of mealworms, but roaches are far easier and smell much better, so I got rid of those.

All that work raising protein for the chickens, and they still prefer it when I scramble them up some of their own eggs. Ungrateful, I say.

 

[SilverPhoenix]

My chickens love potato bugs like nothing else, so if I find one in the yard I throw it in the coop and watch them go berserk over it.

I've also heard great things about the green tomato worms, though I don't have any of those so I haven't tried them yet.

Chickens really aren't picky, they'll eat most insects. If you want to provide them with good insects, you could always purchase some mealworms and then set up a breeding operation of the mealworms. My wildlife group has someone who raises mealworms for us, and it's allegedly pretty easy. Google should find you some information on it! They are a bit smelly, though.

 

[Mattemma]

I recently bought mealworms to feed my hens and frogs.I have some in pupae stage,but most I have fed already.What is the cost of your roaches?I think I paid $6.50 for 1k mealworms plus shipping and tax.Very pricey. I think I have a pic here of my egg,lettuce,and worm mix.I add oatmeal at times too.In the summer we catch grasshoppers and they fight over them.

 

[cybercat]

Somewhere in the feed seaction here is a thread about growing your own mealworm and bettles. Actually I think it is two threads.

My chickens free range so I do not buy insects. It is their job to control them here.

 

[crosbygroup]

Mealworms are very easy to raise. I've had a population of them growing in my classroom for 5 or 6 years. All you need to do is put them in some type of open bucket or old aquarium with a few inches of bran (they eat it and use it as their bedding). You do not need to cover it because they can't fly at any stage. When you get them they are in a larva stage, then they slow down and turn into a nonmoving pupa, from that out hatches a beetle who then mates, lays eggs and dies. To keep mine multiplying I just give them fresh bran every couple of years and throw in pieces of apple or potato for moisture (they eat it in a day or two). I also throw in a piece or two of bread once a month.

 

[Imp]

I don't think I could raise roaches, beetles, or mealworms unless they looked like little kittens or puppies. Iknow Iknow!
But I do buy crickets a few times a year for them. And anything in the yard is fair game.

Imp

 

[chickerdoodle]

Quote:
OK, suddenly I am no longer in the mood for a salad

 

[1acrefarm]

My chickens harvest their own unless I run into them chopping wood or burying compost. They do get every grub I find.