Renewable/Low-Cost Feed for Laying Chickens?

[donrae]

I was NOT aware of this. Thank you so much for the heads up!

My hens dig their own worms all their lives and I don't worm them. Just sayin'.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Earthworms are not always an issue. Just like with anything in nature there is always a risk. Yes mealworms can also harbor disease and parasites. If you raise earthworms or mealworms they are alot healthier. The disease and parasites come from good ol mother nature and live right inside the soil in which those yummy bugs also live

 

[MetallicBlue]

I'm trying sprouting some fodder for my girls to see if they like it. One thing I do notice is that they love left overs. I'm providing crumble as well for now until they are grown, then I'm not sure. This thread will be really helpful for me too.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

My hens dig their own worms all their lives and I don't worm them. Just sayin'.

My hens eat a lot of stuff outside, too. I deworm my hens, my dog, my cat, and my goats. If I had a horse, I'd deworm them, too. I've seen the damage that internal parasites can do to an animal, and the dewormer I use on the hens takes care of both internal and external parasites. I also know that my hens lay MUCH better when they are dewormed twice a year. It's one of those personal choice things.

In regards to mealworms raised in a box of oatmeal vs. earthworms dug outside however, there is a far greater chance of hens getting parasites from the earthworms.

 

[LFchixranch]

I read your post about 3 three times. It does sound like a great idea. I wonder how many pound of seed goes into each tray per growing and how long it takes for 25 (or 40) birds to consume. I'll read through the links more.

I guess because I never thought about it seems complicated to do. My wife wants to do mealworms but they seem a little gross to me. Maybe I'll get over it and try growing them. Seems very easy.

I am doing the fodder with some oats/boss and burlap sacks. I am also soaking the oats overnight at least, then in the morning I add some wheat middlings since I bought the wrong stuff. The chicks eat it up.

I purchased 5k of meal worms for $40 bucks and started a meal worm bin. It is very easy, just a plastic tub with 3 large containers of rolled oats in it,, 2 PLastic lids to put veggies/potatoes on so the oats dont get wet/moldy. I plan to let the meal worms go through a full cycle before we start feeding them. My figures are if half are female, 2500 and they lay between 200-600 eggs I figured 400, I should have close to 2 mil of worms to feed and possable sell. If I let they go 2 cycles I would have 200 mil. They are very easy to take care you just put some veggies/potato in every few days and keep em at about 80 degrees for optimal life cycle. They don't have the yuck factor for me.

As for cost, the boss was 18 for 25#, the wheat middlings were 12 for 50# and the oats like 14 for 50#. So that's like 44 bucks and I am A week into it and have 1/2 bag of wheat and oats left so I figure I cut my feed bill almost in half. I was going through 100# of grower/finisher a week @ 18 bucks for 50#. I don't think I am finished yet but it is a start to get them off GMO crap and soy which is important to us.