Help Identifying Bugs in Vegetarian Feed

[st4rgut]

Hi, I opened my chicken feed today and found a bunch of winged insects inside. The feed is all vegetarian . I am wondering if this is safe to feed to the chickens, and how I can get rid of these pests. There are no visible holes in the package , they must have got in through the opening. We keep the feed in a cabinet outdoors. Besides closing the bag better, how do I prevent this problem? I have never seen this before.

 

[ChickNanny13]

I have no clue but if this was a new bag, I'd return it. If it's a bag you've been using, I'm sure the chickens would eat the bugs but if the bugs are living off the feed, they could be compromising the nutritional contents. Catch a few & take them to the feed store, see if they can ID it or take it to your Dept of AG.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

Hi, I opened my chicken feed today and found a bunch of winged insects inside. The feed is all vegetarian . I am wondering if this is safe to feed to the chickens, and how I can get rid of these pests. There are no visible holes in the package , they must have got in through the opening. We keep the feed in a cabinet outdoors. Besides closing the bag better, how do I prevent this problem? I have never seen this before.

View attachment 1499882

I transfer my food to sealed containers and then put it in a airtight gasket container. That beetle sort of looks like a mealworm beetle, but I’m not positive. I think your chickens would like them

 

[112Days]

Looks like a mealy, yep!

I keep my horse and chicken feed (still bagged to prevent mildew) in thick trash cans to keep the mice out. Should work with bugs, too!

 

[ChickNanny13]

SurferchickinSB has something there, mealworm beetles, yummy for the chicken. I raised some & it was fun but I freeze dried "easier" with my schedule.