Hi from U of Michigan researcher!

[Eric Katz - Kulisha]

Hi everyone! I just graduated from the University of Michigan and will spend my next year in Ann Arbor doing research on alternative waste disposal. We're researching a method to use black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) larvae to quickly dispose of food waste to help waste managers increase their throughput. We're trying to figure out how to encourage the adoption of our solution and I know BSFL are a great treat for chickens, so I just wanted to join the forum to learn more about how chicken are grown on a small scale.

Also, I'm kind of a hippie and want to start my own coop! I'm waiting to move out of my apartment and hope to start one up in September when I move, so I need to learn the ins and outs of how backyard chicken farming works. On the bright side I can just feed them my larvae

(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?

Yes! Hope to get started in September.

(2) How many chickens do you have right now?

0. Looking into getting up to 3.

(4) How did you find out about BackYardChickens.com?

Just wanted to learn more about backyard chicken farming and this came up in a google search.

(5) What are some of your other hobbies?

Playing basketball, reading, learning about new things

(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.

I'm a researcher at the University of Michigan. I'm from Grand Rapids, MI, which is about 2 hours west, which is where my family currently lives. I and 22 and have 2 other younger siblings, one of who will be joining me at the University of Michigan next year

 

[Kiki]

Welcome to BYC!
We are glad you joined!
A good place to start learning is our LEARNING CENTER located under the Articles tab.

This video should help you learn your way around this site:

 

[Eric Katz - Kulisha]

Thanks for the advice! I'll check this out and try to find out how to navigate

 

[sassysarah]

Welcome to BYC! Great to have you here!!

 

[Then I Will]

Glad to have you Eric.
Your project sounds very interesting!
As great as larvae are, I'm sure the chickies will want a little more variety in their diet. But they sound like very.... high protein morsels!

There's probably a possibility of selling the larvae as dried treats, like meal worms for chickens.

 

[Eric Katz - Kulisha]

Glad to have you Eric.
Your project sounds very interesting!
As great as larvae are, I'm sure the chickies will want a little more variety in their diet. But they sound like very.... high protein morsels!

There's probably a possibility of selling the larvae as dried treats, like meal worms for chickens.

That's actually something we were thinking! Selling them branded as "Edibugs" under our research team name once we scale up in about 2 months. First want to better understand how backyard chicken farmers work, then the next step is to probably just reach out to some local feed supply stores and see if they'd carry some of our larvae. Let me know if you have any other recommendations though regarding the best way to reach chicken farmers.

 

[Then I Will]

We have oodles of new chicken house going up here in the Annville, PA area. I doubt commercial chicken farms will be interested in buying bugs as extra protein for their birds. What they do is call the feed mill they buy from and ask for a higher protein mix in their custom grain order. (My Husband worked for Mark Hershey Farm and feed as assistant manager for a few years.) And commercial chicken farmers only give their hends a laying "mash" which is a powder because pellet feed and cracked grain is more expensive.

I was thinking more along the lines of those meal worm treats I see from Happy Hens in Tractor Supply co. Something backyard chicken owners would be interested in buying for a smaller flock. Those who have to keep their chickens confined in a dirt floor run will always be happy to give their birds a special treat like that!
You could probably even look into making cakes of the bugs that work as hanging treats to bust boredom. Like a suet cake for birds.

 

[drumstick diva]

 

[Eric Katz - Kulisha]

We have oodles of new chicken house going up here in the Annville, PA area. I doubt commercial chicken farms will be interested in buying bugs as extra protein for their birds. What they do is call the feed mill they buy from and ask for a higher protein mix in their custom grain order. (My Husband worked for Mark Hershey Farm and feed as assistant manager for a few years.) And commercial chicken farmers only give their hends a laying "mash" which is a powder because pellet feed and cracked grain is more expensive.

I was thinking more along the lines of those meal worm treats I see from Happy Hens in Tractor Supply co. Something backyard chicken owners would be interested in buying for a smaller flock. Those who have to keep their chickens confined in a dirt floor run will always be happy to give their birds a special treat like that!
You could probably even look into making cakes of the bugs that work as hanging treats to bust boredom. Like a suet cake for birds.

Thanks for the feedback! That's good advice not trying to go directly to a mill. Ahhh, so protein of the larvae likely exceeds what is necessary anyways, so this could really just be only a treat product. Do you think that people who would be using it are actually trying to get more protein to their chickens (maybe there's some benefit in the eggs?) or would it be entirely as a treat?

I recently talked to a woman who had been doing backyard chicken farming for a long time in SE Michigan and she recommended the same thing. Just go to a couple of local chicken feed suppliers and see if any of their customers are interested.

We're thinking now that the best thing to do is to just get a brown paper bag and put a customized sticker on it talking about the benefits of the larvae, how they were raised locally, etc. and then bringing that to some local feed stores. Thoughts on this? Suet cakes are also a really interesting idea...never even thought of that.

 

[KaylorFarms]

Hello!! Great to have you!