"Louisiana "La-yers" Peeps"

[DHinton]

I haven't tried that but sounds like I may want to. Do you know how she came about getting the larvae or was it a natural occurrence? Can chickens eat the larvae? That would make them do double duty.

natural occurrence. she was fussing about "all those maggots", and we looked and were like.... just let your chickens at them.

HOWEVER, if you have a compost which has some fruits/veggies in it - you may already have a bunch of BSFL and just don't know it.


yes, BSFL are nutritious and high in calcium (which is good for layers). my compost pile is chock full of them. our couple of chickens, and flock of quail LOVE them. quail that normally run and hide when i put food in their feeder - i have to nudge them out of the way so i can pour BSFL into their area, because they're all crowding and attacking as soon as the larvae start falling out the container. i just built a small compost pile next to our coop, and i'm trying to get a BSFL colony started there.

once they're "full size" they leave the food pile and wander off to find a place to change into a fly. my plan is to have three sides basically walled off, with the fourth side heading into the run.

I hope this is not too dumb of a question: doesn't fly larva turn into flies??

yes.

but it's black soldier flies. they live, iirc, less than two weeks - and all they do is mate and lay eggs. no mouths, so they can't eat. they don't care for people, or people things - they don't swarm. if you run into one, odds are you were just messing with the larvae, and they smell that on you, so came to you, thinking you were babies.

they look somewhat like black wasps. the standing theory is that houseflies and such don't really have the chance to lay eggs where BSFL are at; because, the BSFL multiply quickly and make short work of everything.

 

[catdaddyfro]

I have a big tub of those here I put a bunch of rotten potatoes in it and covered it where the varmints and chickens couldn't get to it and destroy it but theres a crack in the lid and the top for the flies to come and go its a gross mass of wriggling (nutritious) vermin in there I throw in kitchen scraps ever so often to keep things a stirring and writhing along

LOL

Jeff

 

[DHinton]

I have a big tub of those here I put a bunch of rotten potatoes in it and covered it where the varmints and chickens couldn't get to it and destroy it but theres a crack in the lid and the top for the flies to come and go its a gross mass of wriggling (nutritious) vermin in there I throw in kitchen scraps ever so often to keep things a stirring and writhing along

LOL

Jeff

from what i've read... if you have earthworms - they can complete breaking down the stuff the BSFL make, into usable compost/wormcastings/whatever it is that earthworms make.

 

[kuntrygirl]

 

[kangareaux]

Yes. BUT....if you aren't keeping your coop clean and the larvae are eating the chicken poop then they can make your chickens very sick and even kill them. If they are feeding off compost bin or food scraps, they should be safe to feed to chickens.

 

[DHinton]

Yes. BUT....if you aren't keeping your coop clean and the larvae are eating the chicken poop then they can make your chickens very sick and even kill them. If they are feeding off compost bin or food scraps, they should be safe to feed to chickens.

that sounds right. it seems like i remember reading if they're coming from eating rabbit poo - your birds can eat them. but generic composted ones are good for whatever might eat bsfl (reptiles, birds, whatever).


hmm, so that might not be the best idea to double duty them in regards to chicken poo cleanup / chicken food. but they could be chicken poo cleanup and harvested from compost bin.



edit:
me, i don't know. we seem to be coming up with crazy ideas... like once we get a few rabbits, throw some plastic totes/bins underneath the cages, with a bit of sand around those, in case the bunnies miss the totes. get bsfl going in one of them, perhaps some earthworms as well. and then using the rabbit waste from another tote/bin for garden fertilizer.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Yes.  BUT....if you aren't keeping your coop clean and the larvae are eating the chicken poop then they can make your chickens very sick and even kill them.  If they are feeding off compost bin or food scraps, they should be safe to feed to chickens.

that sounds right.  it seems like i remember reading if they're coming from eating rabbit poo - your birds can eat them.  but generic composted ones are good for whatever might eat bsfl (reptiles, birds, whatever).


hmm, so that might not be the best idea to double duty them in regards to chicken poo cleanup / chicken food.  but they could be chicken poo cleanup and harvested from compost bin.



edit:
me, i don't know.  we seem to be coming up with crazy ideas... like once we get a few rabbits, throw some plastic totes/bins underneath the cages, with a bit of sand around those, in case the bunnies miss the totes.  get bsfl going in one of them, perhaps some earthworms as well. and then using the rabbit waste from another tote/bin for garden fertilizer.

All of that scares me.

 

[DHinton]

All of that scares me.

isn't your motto "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" ? () ;-)

 

[kuntrygirl]

All of that scares me.

isn't your motto "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" ?    () ;-)

Sure is but I can't see myself bringing in that crap. It ain't happening at my house.

 

[DHinton]

Sure is but I can't see myself bringing in that crap. It ain't happening at my house.

lol, leave it outside then.

from the compost, i give the BSFL a quick rinse off before i feed them to the quail.