Maggots

[SandraMort]

I'm reading about feeding chickens maggots at http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Feeding-Chickens-Maggots.html and can't help feeling revolted, but can't think of any good reason it 's a bad idea other than the ICK factor. Has anyone here actually DONE it?

 

[JennsPeeps]

I've read that page before. Ick factor is definitely high for me! We live in the city and our coop is basically outside our bedroom window. Having a rotting animal carcass in a bucket just feet from our house is a no-go.

But lots of people swear by maggot buckets!

 

[SandraMort]

So... if I get this right, you drill holes in the bucket, put (whatever) in the bucket, and then the maggots fall out of the bucket and the birds pick them off the floor for snacks? Or is there more to it than I'm not grasping? Yeah, it sounds really gross, but if it's free, it's something I suppose I ought to consider!

 

[drumstyx]

Sounds like a great idea, but I don't think I could do the road kill thing. I manage a horse barn and have access to A LOT of manure. I'm wondering if that would work as well.......we do breed a huge amount of flies around here.

 

[SandraMort]

My husband would like to know if anybody knows how much feed is saved by doing these maggot buckets.

Also, do you know how much they *REALLY* smell?

 

[WestKnollAmy]

I thought it would be great for them to eat but a rotting carcass would also draw a lot of predator attention so I didn't do that. I am trying to keep the possums, raccoons and foxes away, not invite them in so I decided other things may work better.

 

[SterlingAcres]

Quote:
I've never had a maggot bucket, but I can't imagine it'd save that much on feed. Feeding all your garden and table scraps would save more money than the bug foraging, imo.

 

[Knight Hawk Ranch]

Well I know with having horses manure, the flies love the continual supply of manure.

That was one of the reason I got chickens. To help with the fly population. They go through the piles and remove ANYTHING that moves, usually maggots.

I do have a manure pile, however with the rainy season upon us (SW Fla), I usually take my wheel barrow to a bare spot and dump. A huge pile of manure will be demolished in hours. Can you say maggot buffet?

The chickens spread out everything and rototill it into the ground in their search for delectables.

If you use meat or anthing like that to set up a maggot bucket, the rotting meat is what smells, not the maggots.

 

[farmgirlie1031]

Quote:
My chickens go through the manure pile also to eat any bugs they can find. Being we have horses and the landlord has 3 hog barns the flies are everywhere! I love my chickens even more for every maggot they eat. I am going to get the fly predators also but I can only afford the 5 horse amount of them so it won't help with the 2,000+ hogs in the barns all within a few miles of our place, but it will help so that it good. I am trying to avoid the nasty smelling fly traps. Seems no matter how high or where I place them I one day end up knocking into it or knocking it over. ICK!

 

[Grindlefamily]

hmmm - may I should throw a couple of the bigger chicks in the compost pile and let they dig around - there are yuckies in there.