Mealworms are costly

[Hillys]

Can anyone suggest an easy snack for my chickens ? Mealworms seem So expensive

 

[Battlepants]

Apple cores - the humans get the healthy snack of an apple, chickens enjoy the center part that the humans don't want.

But yea, generally kitchen scraps that the humans won't eat but haven't gone bad yet. Dump those in the run and see what happens!

 

[Lor]

Can anyone suggest an easy snack for my chickens ? Mealworms seem So expensive

They sure did go up in price over the last year.

 

[Aunt Angus]

You can farm your own worms, too.

 

[Lor]

You can farm your own worms, too.

I tried that once. Other bugs got in the bin.
I'm planning on buying super worms for my bearded dragon and will be giving some to the chickens and ducks.

 

[Weeg]

Leafy greens, berries, forage, grass clippings, veggie scraps. Those are all healthy and in expensive treats for chickens. Etsy also has some interesting treat options other than just larvea. They aren't too expensive and I like that the money goes to a small business rather where its handmade than a large company. I shop on Etsy a lot.

 

[Aunt Angus]

I forgot - I also give them the alfalfa fines that I find at the bottom of the goats' trough. They go bonkers for it.

 

[Coops Dad]

All our kitchen scraps, refrigerator clean outs, leftovers from dinner out, etc. Stale chips, old, stale bread... there's no end to what chickens will go nuts over.

When I delivered products to Dollar General (I'm a truck driver), I'd hit them up for torn bags of dog food and cat food because they're unsellable. Chickens love love love kibble.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

They aren't good for your birds, anyways. Stop buying them. Too much concentrated fat.

If you must treat your birds, there are plenty of decent suggestions above. Keep treats to under 10% of the daily diet, by weight. Rotate treats, so they aren't getting the same impalance every day.

Consider growing treats for them. You don't list your location, but in addition to greens like cabbage, spinach, kale, chard, and herbs/forbs like fenugreek/methi, basil, dandilions, marigolds and clovers, you can also do well with high moisture fruiting plants like cucumber, squash, zucchini, watermelon, etc.

 

[Flockincrazy]

Can anyone suggest an easy snack for my chickens ? Mealworms seem So expensive

I grow my own super easy to care for