Making Feed from Japanese Beetles

[glib]

So CA, to summarize this wonderful thread:

1) season in the Midwest is about 3 weeks.
2) Optimal placement of traps along property lines is one every .... ft
3) One well placed, well built trap will yield .... lbs of meat per day
4) it takes .... days in the sun to dry the things

 

[Blue Tiger]

Got results back on nutrient content. With respect to some nutrients, early season beetles are better. Significantly so?

Nutrient profile is very different from batches collected in previous years. Those differences I attribute to capture methodology and processing prior to storage. Those differences are almost certainly important.

 

[centrarchid]

So CA, to summarize this wonderful thread:

1) season in the Midwest is about 3 weeks.
2) Optimal placement of traps along property lines is one every .... ft
3) One well placed, well built trap will yield .... lbs of meat per day
4) it takes .... days in the sun to dry the things

1) Season in central Missouri was approximately 6 weeks long.
2) Optimal placement of traps greater than 100 yards apart with arrangement perpendicular to wind
3) Traps we used could produce upwards of 5 lbs in a day on good flying days if emptied once, more frequent emptying may reduce repelling action of too many beetles dying in reservoir. Beetles do not keep well in bucket so I recommend chilling / freezing ASAP. We are working on trap design to make much more effective. Location overrides just about everything.
4) Ground beetles will dry within a day with good airflow and a little stirring assuming beetles where not too deep. Depth of ground beetle biomass we used was less than 2".


For the typical backyard poultry keeper, the bio-attractor approach likely to be most practical.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...etles-using-a-low-cost-bio-attractor.1258075/

 

[David DC]

I have just started experimenting with this myself. I put some in a non-convection oven at 260 degrees for an hour or so last night but haven't had a chance to see how they did yet. I did this with an oven in my shop, and I am glad I did as my wife would have killed me if I would have stunk her kitchen up like that!
My question for you is what temperature and amount of time seems to work best for you?
Thanks!

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

I don't think I've ever seen japanese beetles, but I watched this video below and it made me think of this thread

Is it true that chickens won't really eat the dead ones?

This seems like a clever solution to that potential problem, no?

 

[Sally PB]

I them in the freezer and they eat them in the winter. I assume the JB are dead since the adults don't over winter..

Same here. When I take them JBs in the summer, I announce it by saying, "Bug Snack!" and they gather around me. The bugs are gone in seconds.

When I called "Bug Snack!" in January, they were confused... for about 5 seconds.

 

[saysfaa]

Dead from the beetle trap (like the video guy's chicken wouldn't eat) is different than dead from freezing them, drowning, or squishing them.

I used the traps one summer and also picked them off plants by the multiple hundreds per day. I fed the picked ones fresh (some alive, some dead by squish or drowning) and frozen. The chickens didn't hesitate at any of those.

I didn't even offer the beetles from the traps - they smelled putrid even when I emptied the traps fairly often.

 

[JedJackson]

I don't think I've ever seen japanese beetles, but I watched this video below and it made me think of this thread

Is it true that chickens won't really eat the dead ones?

This seems like a clever solution to that potential problem, no?

I watch this Youtube channel, too, and this video reminded me also about this thread. According to Jake, his chickens won't eat the dead ones, but I believe he and family live where summers get very hot. He said the beetles stink after being in the trap for a bit. I really like the solution he came up with! Brilliant!

 

[cathloveydovey]

This seems interesting my girls used to love Japanese Beetles, subscribing

 

[glib]

It is basically lean meat, similar nutritional profile to, say, earthworms. I would guess chitin is not a problem for a chicken, they have been eating chitin for millions of years. Most humans can digest it too. I assume you are saying that there are sufficient amounts of carotenoids. Non trivial info because insects are usually without vitamin A (and D, and essential fatty acids) or its precursors. All you need to complete this meal is a source of fat (at the backyard scale, what is left of tallow or lard rendering will do), and maybe some dried alfalfa.