Meal worms: Super Expensive Form of Protein?

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

So, I read a lot about people feeding meal worms to their flock for high-protein treats.

A quick look at tractor supply shows the price ranging from over $1/ounce (for a 10 ounce bag) to about $6.50/lb for a 5 lb bag.

So, what am I missing? For far less than $6.50/lb, I can buy many different kinds of meat at the grocery store....ground beef, chicken, fish, even many cuts of beef. Heck, sometimes ground turkey or chicken goes on sale for 99 cents a pound around here!

What is it about meal worms that make them better? Is it the fact that they're dried, so without the moisture content you're getting more raw protein per pound? Is it the snack-ready size?
If it's not that, what am I missing? If they're worth $6.50+ a lb, should *I* be eating them?!

 

[A_Fowl_Guy]

All I know is that they taste like roasted nuts.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

All I know is that they taste like roasted nuts.

My first thought to your response was "probably be pretty good on a salad".

Clearly, I'm spending too much time with my hens...

 

[sylviethecochin]

I'm of the opinion that it's a waste of money. For that price, I can buy a lot of 24% meatbird crumbles.

 

[A_Fowl_Guy]

My first thought to your response was "probably be pretty good on a salad".

Clearly, I'm spending too much time with my hens...

Don’t tempt me to try it.

 

[Kessel23]

All I know is that they taste like roasted nuts.

My brother ate a handful and said the same thing. I thought it was pretty disgusting

 

[A_Fowl_Guy]

My brother ate a handful and said the same thing. I thought it was pretty disgusting

You should try it!

 

[MROO]

My first thought to your response was "probably be pretty good on a salad".

Clearly, I'm spending too much time with my hens...

CROUTONS!

 

[staceyj]

Smell like peanut butter to me.

Canned tuna or mackerel are great high protein boosters.

If they are lacking protein though, why not buy a higher protein feed and grow herbs for the chickens instead?
Cheap, easy and fun to watch grow. Sow heavily for quick growth.
Also imho tastier to share than mealworms.

 

[MROO]

Mealworms can be the cheapest form of protein you can find, if you put a little money into them upfront. I have a half-gallon ketchup container on my kitchen counter (what can I say? My kids like ketchup!) I poked many tiny ventilation holes into the upper half and the lid with a hot, empty glue gun. Next, I filled the bottom with about three inches of dry, rolled oats (generic oatmeal.) I then spent all of $2.99 on a small container of refrigerated (not vitamin-dusted) mealworms at our local pet supply (ours is PetCo,) sifted out the live ones and dumped them into my ketchup bucket. After adding a slice of raw potato for moisture (they don't need water) I let 'em be.

After about a month, I now have a self-sustaining colony and all the mealworms I need to keep a dozen bantams happy. The only real maintenance involves removing expired and/or excess beetles (and feeding them to the chickens) and replacing the potato slice every few days to keep it from molding. You can use apple slices, too ... but a word of advice ... no bananas. They get REALLY nasty REALLY quickly and the oats get moldy. NASTY!

I only serve mealworms as a treat, so if you want to augment your regular feed, you'll need a bigger set-up (there are lots of ideas here on BYC.) For our little flock of little biddies, the ketchup bottle is working just fine, and is pretty unobtrusive. Of course, it can be really entertaining when your brother goes looking for ketchup and finds something he is TOTALLY unprepared to put on his burger. I wish I'd had a camera for that one!