Live treats for chickens.

[JadeFarms]

crickets can give off a smell dont they?

Yess!!! I used to breed em.

 

[so lucky]

Mealworms are easy to raise, just starting with some from the bait shop or pet store. You just need patience while they start reproducing.

 

[slbenter]

We just moved here to Tennessee 5 months ago.
So today, at the construction site of our new home, hubby and I were inside the woodshop eating a sandwich, and he says "are those ladybugs crawling around"?
I looked, and sure enough, there were hundreds of them flying and crawling around on the walls of our shop/RV garage.
I googled swarming ladybugs.
Learned that they swarm this time of year, and this year in particular in Tennessee, there's a lot more than usual.

Now if only the coop was built and I had my chickens.
They'd be feasting on early thanksgiving ladybugs.

 

[twendt]

My Girls go CRAZY for dried mealworms, they were afraid of the LIVE crickets I bought for them at the pet store... "Egwish" dried mealworms from Amazon are the best!

 

[danepup]

You'll do much better pricewise buying crickets and mealworms in bulk online. There are dozens of companies selling them by the thousands or even hundreds of thousands at a fraction of the cost of buying from a pet store. Even places like PetCo and Pet Smart have online stores where they sell in bulk.
While I agree that many small invertebrates do often harbor parasitic worms, that is only true of wild things that are found in chicken foraging areas. The worms, beetles, crickets, ants, grasshoppers, etc. will consume the worm eggs excreted by the chickens making them intermediate hosts. The same is not true of farm raised crickets and mealworms. There are no worm eggs in the substrate used to feed and foster them.
I also agree that chickens fed primarily a fresh complete chicken feed formulated for their age don't really need extra treats to be healthy.

Hi,
I found this really helpful as I was just thinking about ways to get my chickens some fun snacks. They will be fully cooped/no free range as my entire backyard is river rock and I have dogs. I want to make sure they have engagement activities and are getting some protein-rich foods. I read that if I do get crickets, to feed them a few days (it was suggested to give them an apple and some cat food) before sending them to the chickens. I was going to buy in bulk because it's a lot cheaper - but bulk looks like 500 and I only have 6 young hens. Do you recommend getting that amount and keeping them in a container with food (the crickets) and just feeding some every few days or even every few weeks if I can keep them alive? I was going to get dried mealworms as a treat too because that's a lot easier. I plan to feed a commercial laying feed and occasionally give crickets, meal worms, scratch and fruits/veggies. Does that seem like an appropriate plan? I also read never to feed them scraps on the ground, but the last time I had chickens, that's exactly what I did and the friend who took the first batch when I moved last time just told me the last one died - at age 10 - so I think throwing scraps on the grounds wasn't really a problem. I welcome any thoughts.