Feeding WORMS to Chickens?

[TheBantyCoop]

Its been stormy out in the CA, so free ranging time hasn't been easy to find. I bought my girls some "super worms" at the pet market today as a special treat, and read that they can bite and sting. I am not sure how true this is or how much damage it could do, but I gave the worms a quick nip on the head before feeding anyway (using tweezers). Was this necessary? I was just worried cause chickens don't chew their food, and I have a friend whose chick was eaten from the inside by a feeder worm. Other than safety I would like to know what kind of worm is the best to feed chickens. Feeder worms or garden worms? What are the health benefits of the different types?

Any advice would be great! Thanks!

-El

 

[QueenMisha]

I would stick to mealworms. Anything that can bite or sting sounds like a bad idea. Garden worms (earth and red) can carry tapeworms and other parasites.

 

[JetCat]

superworms can bite, they don't sting. any animal that swallows them whole could be bitten after swallowing so most pinch the heads, while mealworms have a harder to digest exoskeleton they are a lot less hassle to both raise and feed to your chickens without the worry of bites.

both superworms and mealworms are high in fat so they should only be fed in moderation but most of us that raise them do overfeed without any issues.

 

[enola]

I have to ask...... What are superworms?

 

[JetCat]

I have to ask...... What are superworms?

Superworms are the larva stage of the darkling beetle Zophobas morio, where mealworms are the larva stage of the darkling beetle Tenebrio molitor

 

[TheBantyCoop]

I would stick to mealworms. Anything that can bite or sting sounds like a bad idea. Garden worms (earth and red) can carry tapeworms and other parasites.

Ok, thanks! I also bought some waxworms the other day, but they seem pretty high in fat and pretty low on the healthy stuff.....

(Sorry for the late reply! Christmas had me literally all wrapped up!!)

 

[TheBantyCoop]

superworms can bite, they don't sting. any animal that swallows them whole could be bitten after swallowing so most pinch the heads, while mealworms have a harder to digest exoskeleton they are a lot less hassle to both raise and feed to your chickens without the worry of bites.

both superworms and mealworms are high in fat so they should only be fed in moderation but most of us that raise them do overfeed without any issues.

Thanks for the info! Mealworms seem like the winners!

(Also sorry for the late reply!)

 

[TheBantyCoop]

I have to ask...... What are superworms?

Figured I would accompany JetCat's answer with a picture. This is a normal-sized mealie next to a normal-sized super. The super is the big one.

 

[enola]

Are super worms raised like meal worms?

 

[JetCat]

Ok, thanks! I also bought some waxworms the other day, but they seem pretty high in fat and pretty low on the healthy stuff.....

(Sorry for the late reply! Christmas had me literally all wrapped up!!)

be careful with waxworms, if they by chance get away and aren't ate they can completely destroy bee hives during their life cycle.

Are super worms raised like meal works?

just like them with the exception of supers won't pupate unless they are isolated (the larger multi compartment weekly medicine containers work good for this), makes it a good bit more labor intensive to raise them because of that.