Feeding chickens maggots?

[xcalibor67]

While me and my son were out around the quail pen today we found maggots had grown in the food droppings and quail poo under the pen. I have read that many people give them to their chickens for protein or for snacks. I have also read about chickens getting "Limp Neck" due to Botulism. Does the Botulism come from dead animals carrying the bacteria? Could Botulism bacteria be present in maggots feeding on chicken food/poo as well? Should i wash/rinse the maggots then "starve/fast" the worms before feeding to chicks..Thanks.

 

[Alabama Fly]

My chickens have eaten the maggots that hatch out in rabbit manure under the rabbit pens many times with no I'll effects.

 

[Lazy Farmer]

i have been questioning that myself. wash your maggots? total gross subject.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...yone-using-them.645057/page-866#post-18862603
new territory for me.

 

[xcalibor67]

@Farmer Connie, rest assured....hand washing is not in this picture..lol..Figured more like some screen wire over a 5 gal. bucket, letting the screen sag in just a tad, and a gentle hosing off, then to a clean pal for fasting.. By no means am i trying cut out any feed rations, but heard that chicks really enjoy them, and even though they are quite disgusting lil critters, if it makes meh birds happy heaven forbid i get wimpy and deny the girls a treat.. Until someone with 1st hand actual knowledge chimes in on the chances of Botulism, and or making my birds sick,,there not getting any.. Dunno how swine is down.....tell my meat guy who charges me $7/8 per lb for bacon..lol.

 

[Jessicx]

My girls got into a garbage can I had emptied that was full of maggots. It freaked me out at first, but they went CRAZY for these things. Nothing happened to them, so it must have been okay. It does worry me that any bacteria the maggot ingests can then be transfered to the chicken, so I haven't allowed it to happen again. But, part of me wonders about their ability to process "questionable" food items...because I often catch them drinking from stagnant puddles of water. So, who knows

 

[1idrod]

Funny I just ran across this. I was watching a show on tv this weekend where a guy had took a 5gal bucket with lid, drilled holes in the sides of bucket at bottom and hung it just off the ground maybe 16" or so. He put spoiled meat and or dead animals in the bucket. In this episode it was 3 dead chicks that something killed in it. Fly's go in holes and lay eggs then the maggots worked there way back out the holes and fell to the ground. He said the chickens love them.

 

[Noreaster Egger]

Yeah my chickens enjoy garbage day every Tuesday in the summer. It takes those 6-7 days for us to start getting maggots crawling out of the trash. Omnomnom.

 

[Chickassan]

I'm sorry I would not be happy if I ever saw my ladies eating maggots. I know they'd do it just don't let me see it.I already have to go inside if they find a mouse nest I do not need any more things I can't unsee.

 

[FrankHomestead]

http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/feeding-chickens-maggots.html

 

[Patinas]

I had maggots in the 5 gal. chicken poop bucket I scrape the poop tray contents into. I keep it covered but some flies got in and soon it had maggots. I took the lid off one day and there were a bunch of maggots on it so I put it on the ground and the chickens went nuts eating them! Completely gross but no ill effects from it.