science doesn't lie , mealworms , PLEASE answer me :-)

[strangeanimal]

Hi BYC !

Would you be so kind to fill in some answers to my questions please ?
about what ?
about mealworms !
why ?
because it is very likely you are going to add some change to those that breed the buggers themselfs or buy them somewhere if they are alive and because you might find our calculations / study interesting and perhaps even helpfull
and Because :
I assume most of all poultrykeepers add some mealworms every now and then to their diets , but therefor I 'd need some questions answered because I could be wrong about that last thing and because some of us already have found the same math we have done , and with " we I am refering to ME , myself and I ofcourse but most of the math is done by our friend a vet , because I suck at mathmathics plus we needed to test it so we needed two people breeding these themselves in different ways
the questions in the poll are to see wether or not the same findings are already done here plus to check a little bit of " social things " .
Thanks in advance and happy to see the results and add our findings here ! P.s. : this could be helpfull for all poultrykeeper ! it is not just for fun I post this altough fun is for sure allowed ! ( better some laughter trough life ! )

 

[RonP]

A great treat.

My guess would be few poultry keepers add some mealworms every now and then to their diets.

Personally, I just don't see the need, nor time, nor expense.

 

[petrel]

I would like to have them to serve as treats, but I don't know where those store bought ones have been, or what they have been fed. If I raised my own, or had access to live ones from a reputable source, I'd use them as treats occasionally.

 

[1cock2hens]

18 years around chickens and I have never given them a single mealworm. I don't give any treats to chickens though.

 

[Christii]

My girls love meal worms, but I buy them dehydrated in a 5 lb bag. I have never seen a live one for them to eat, but I don't think anybody could pay me enough to deal with a live bug or worm. I am in my 40s & won't even bait my hook fishing & I wear gloves just to get the dehydrated meal worms out.

Chicken poo, no problem . . . bugs, spiders & creepy crawlies send me packing. Yuckies . . . Kuddos to everyone else that has adapted to this world.

 

[sannabelle]

I grow meal worms to give birds as snacks. They love them and it's a great protein boost for when it's cold or when the hens are molting

 

[andreanar]

I buy live mealworms occasionally. I get them at pet stores in the reptile department. Chickens love them.

 

[centrarchid]

Used here as a training / taming tool. Mine are purchased from a location that specializes wild bird feeders. Live only. Dried are all over the place in terms of quality and I have had some my birds would reject. I buy them for about $8 per 500 in small lots but price comes way down when buying them in bulk like we do for feeding fish. They are not too fattening.

http://www.birds-i-view.biz/

One of my purposes in life is to annoy them with my comparing chicken behaviors to their wildlife.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Yes, I raise meal worms for my birds. It is used solely as a treat because of the fat content. I raise them myself to keep cost down. Though they are a slow turn around.

My birds love them, alive (or any way really, but that's how I feed them).

 

[bajabirdbrain]

We raise our own mealworms and the girls get them daily for treats. Great inducement for the chickens to come out of the trees/brush and return to their run. We also supplement their feed with apples, ear of corn, kale, cabbage, etc, not all at once. For us, we feel it gives them a little variety to their lives and something to look forward to. They also get a daily escape from their coop/run, weather permitting. So far, so good except for all the time we devote to the 11 exceptional(of course) girls!!!