Mealworms- are yours alive or dead?

[Noobchick]

Found some freeze dried dead mealworms, but my two week old chicks seem to be having a hard time eating the very few I've given them. (I break them into small pieces before giving them to the chicks) They dont seem to be very interested in them either.

Are the dead ones just not as appetizing to chicks? Where can I find live ones?

 

[gale65]

I've never given mealworms to anything but I've seen them at places that sell fishing worms. Around here that's usually some of the convenience stores and also Walmart.

 

[tclegg]

Fishing bait and tackle store sells them....

 

[jnkir7]

petco has them

 

[gryeyes]

The local "feed" store has live mealworms, in tubs of different amounts AND in two different sizes. Petco and PetSmart both sell live mealworms AND the dried ones.

Live is better - cheaper - more fun to watch.

 

[gritsar]

I can admit this only because I know ranchhand isn't online to give me a hard time about it.....

I'm not a girly girl and am not squeamish, but I can't stand live mealworms! When I open the container - from the local baitshop - and they start climbing all over my hands trying to get out......EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKK!!

I've fed both ways, live and dead. My chickens very much prefer the live.

Ah heck, I forgot gryeyes was on.

 

[hcppam]

I give mine live, after there a week old...just one or two a day. Great bonding. plus the live movement gets there attention FOOD.

 

[ChickyLove]

I'm giving my nearly four week old the dried ones right now. Or rather my five year old VERY girly girl is. She'll hold the dried ones in her hand and all three babies get extremely excited and run over to grab them up. Tons of fun!

ETA: You won't catch me handling squirmy wormies. I did it when I worked at Wild Birds Unlimited and it was always the WORST part of my day to have to count out 500 of those things. Bleehhhhh...

 

[Noobchick]

Gritsar: lmao. I'm in the same boat, not a girly girl overall but am not thrilled to think of the mealworms being all squigly and squirmy on my hands. My chicks better figure out what the mealworms are and eat them FAST!

 

[gryeyes]

I so cannot stand the idea of the live ones in my hand that I use a plastic fork to sift & lift them out of the wheat in the container, and either drop them into the brooder or hold the fork out if there is one stuck in or on a tine. A chick will snatch it away quickly enough.

For the larger members of the flock, I just fork out a portion of the container onto the ground and step back from the melee.

Oh, and

at Gritty.