Official BYC Poll: Do You Feed Your Chickens Cicadas?

[Wolfie2]

I don't harvest them for the girls but they are more than welcome to supplement their everyday diet with cicadas.

 

[3KillerBs]

Especially the last remaining cricket... it's like a Rugby match.

Chicken football is the best sport!

 

[SLA]

Brood X are the 17 year cicadas, a bit larger than the 13 year ones. These are not the mid to late summer cicadas that add to the sounds of summer. These “Sing” all day at a decibel level of 80-100. These red-eyed creatures are full of protein and the girls love them. This brood is in southeast Ohio, Indiana, Northern Kentucky, parts of Virginia...sure I’m leaving some states out.

Also, mine will only eat them alive. They have no interest in dead creatures...won't touch mealworms, either. Ugh

 

[SLA]

My area looks like the end of days/locusts with the infestation of cicadas. I've grown up with them and always thought they were neat...but this is beyond anything I can describe. I don't recall this 17 years ago!!! The noise is deafening to the point it drowns out the rooster!!! Initially the chickens were interested in the first to emerge but now the swarm is too intense/noise too much that the are not even bothering with them.

Yes...the noise actually hurts my ears!

 

[Mvan42]

I will not freeze bugs.. bugs in my freezer doesn't sound very appetizing to me.. Right now we still don't have any in our area. But soon to come our ground temp isn't to par for them. As for the chickens. They will get their bellies full while free ranging during the day.

 

[HopKat]

Yummy!

 

[Dinogrrl]

Ha, as if I could stop my gals from eating cicadas! They're a most prized prey around here, rating even higher than cockroaches and lizards .

 

[PurpleCArTires]

I would happily run around with a butterfly net catching them for the chickens if we actually had any where I am.

My chickens love the Dubia roaches my sister the reptile keeper gives me.

Ditto!! I almost want them here!!

 

[Ascholten]

So when the chickens eat them, do they eat the whole thing or do they do like most the wild birds do and eat the abdomens and leave the head / wings largely intact?

Aaron

 

[nicolekathryn]

So when the chickens eat them, do they eat the whole thing or do they do like most the wild birds do and eat the abdomens and leave the head / wings largely intact?

Aaron

They eat the whole thing