Is there such thing as too many meal worms?

[esjro]

Hello, I am new here and just got my first flock of 6 hens on Sunday. They are 4-5 weeks old. They are becoming incredibly tame very quickly (my barred rocks will climb on my lap, let me pet their backs, and pick them up for short periods of time) and I attribute this to one thing: mealworms. I bought a 7 oz tub of the dried mealworms and am using them to make friends with my ladies.

My question is this: is it possible to give them too many mealworms? Most of the posts I have seen here indicate that low protein treats should be given sparingly while they are growing, but what about those pack with protein pieces of crunchy goodness?

I also free feed Start and Gro, and occasionally offer other treats (grapes, bread, lettuce, though in very small quantities.)

 

[KingsCalls]

I have fed mealworms to my birds for treats before and always feed them to my ducklings. I don't woryy too much about them getting too many, because I only fed them maybe twice to three times a week and then only 10 or 12 to each bird. If you feed them every day then I might worry about it. Try something like cut clover, chopped green leafy veggies, yogurt, scrambled eggs ,watermelon, small amounts of tomato, cantelope, strawberries,heck mine even eat peas! (I've still not tried the cooked oatmeal yet)

 

[marystrother]

What do you do if you have more meal worms than the chickens eat? Do you refrigerate them, freeze them, dehydrate them, something else?

 

[Kelsie2290]

I've had refrigerated ones alive for a month or more before feeding them. If you are growing them and want to keep them alive and multiplying but slow them down, keep them in a cooler area down to about as low as 60*, their development slows down the colder it is. Don't see any reason you couldn't freeze or dehydrate them yourself if you wanted to process some big ones for later. Of course the most logical answer is get more chickens

 

[Mary Poopins]

Hello,

Apparently too much fat from any feed source can cause the eggs to taste "funny."

What does "funny" mean, strip search me!!!

I have seen people feed their chickens hand fulls of mealworms at a time....

If you offset their feed with a low fat feed item like oatmeal (which they love either dry or cooked with raisins), then I am sure you will be fine.

Good luck
~Mary