Feeding horn worms to chickens is it ok?

[Clduff506]

Is it ok to feed horn worms to my chickens? I gave them a couple and they acted like I gave them chicken caviar so thought I better ask seems we have a good supply of very hungry caterpillars!

 

[centrarchid]

They may be mildly toxic but should not cause issues unless many are consumed at expense of other items.

 

[barred2rock]

If wild, hornworms consume the greenery of tomatoes & peppers, both of which are toxic to chickens. Hornworms bought at a reptile shop are fine, but I wouldn't chance wild caught due to their diet and possibility of pesticide ingestion.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

They may be mildly toxic but should not cause issues unless many are consumed at expense of other items.

Exactly!!!

Back in my 20s and 30s I had about a 1/2 acre garden spot that doubled as a nursery for my young chicks. All the mama hens were housed in 4 X 4 X 3 foot flat coops held off the ground just far enough to let the chicks come and go but that kept the hens confined.

It was the chicks job to patrol my bean plants, tater patch, and tomatoes for insect pest, but without their mothers teaching the chicks bad habits I never lost very many bean and pea blossoms or tomatoes to my young chicks.

Even today when I find a horn worm I always look at him closely to see if it has any little white rice looking things on the worms' body. If it does I leave that horn worm alone because it is as good as dead already. You see the little rice looking things are the pupa of a tiny parasitic wasp that preys on horn worms.

In my opinion there was way too much thought put into the Idea that horn worms a.k.a. tobacco horn worms are harmful to chickens.

 

[barred2rock]

Exactly!!!

Back in my 20s and 30s I had about a 1/2 acre garden spot that doubled as a nursery for my young chicks. All the mama hens were housed in 4 X 4 X 3 foot flat coops held off the ground just far enough to let the chicks come and go but that kept the hens confined.

It was the chicks job to patrol my bean plants, tater patch, and tomatoes for insect pest, but without their mothers teaching the chicks bad habits I never lost very many bean and pea blossoms or tomatoes to my young chicks.

Even today when I find a horn worm I always look at him closely to see if it has any little white rice looking things on the worms' body. If it does I leave that horn worm alone because it is as good as dead already. You see the little rice looking things are the pupa of a tiny parasitic wasp that preys on horn worms.

In my opinion there was way too much thought put into the Idea that horn worms a.k.a. tobacco horn worms are harmful to chickens.

Well, personally I don't intentionally feed my girls things I know are toxic, even if only "mildly toxic".

 

[centrarchid]

Well, personally I don't intentionally feed my girls things I know are toxic, even if only "mildly toxic".

If you allow your birds access to free-range forage, then you do. A large percentage of plants contain at least some level of toxin. The chickens get around that by consuming only small amount of a given type of plant and cherry picking parts that are less toxic. They chickens can also eat other items that absorb the the toxins. Humans do this all the time. What did you have for breakfast? Coffee possibly?

 

[lazy gardener]

When ever I find a tomato horn worm, I give it to the birds. They go absolutely ape over them. However, they won't touch a "parsley worm". (juvenile Black SwallowTail) Nor will they eat a potato bug or squash bug, or stink bug.

 

[NorthTexasWink]

@chickengeorgeto Braconid wasp pupae on hornworm on my tomato plant this year. These I leave, but any I find bare are chicken caviar.