Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[BDutch]

some very good news this morning!
https://www.theguardian.com/busines...ects-to-lay-carbon-neutral-eggs-for-morrisons
what the article doesn't say is what insects they're using... I'm guessing from the relevant firm's website (https://betterorigin.co.uk/our-product/ ) it's black soldier fly larvae, because of the 2 week turnaround and they can fly, so are much more difficult to raise than mealworms so that customers will be less inclined to DIY it once they see the benefits of insects in the feed.

further rummaging on their site confirms they're using BSFL https://betterorigin.co.uk/2021/06/why-insect-feed-is-great-for-poultry/

Yes. Great news. Thanks for sharing.
I do have a few questions.

1. What means free ranging in this situation? In my country this doesn’t mean they have much space nor that the chickens can go outside.
2. What is the difference between ordinary mealworms and the black soldier fly larvae?

And I wonder why almost everyone on BYC likes to abbr. everything. Like BSFL meaning black soldier fly larvae. I find it often hard and sometimes even impossible to understand them. In my country we learn that you have to give the full name first with the abbreviation (abbr.) between brackets the first time you use the abbr. That makes it so much easier to understand.

I did notice that the (dried) mealworms in the shop are not as expensive as a few years ago. Probably because there are more farmers who stepped into this business.

 

[Perris]

Yes. Great news. Thanks for sharing.
I do have a few questions.

1. What means free ranging in this situation? In my country this doesn’t mean they have much space nor that the chickens can go outside.
2. What is the difference between ordinary mealworms and the black soldier fly larvae?

And I wonder why almost everyone on BYC likes to abbr. everything. Like BSFL meaning black soldier fly larvae. I find it often hard and sometimes even impossible to understand them. In my country we learn that you have to give the full name first with the abbreviation (abbr.) between brackets the first time you use the abbr. That makes it so much easier to understand.

I did notice that the (dried) mealworms in the shop are not as expensive as a few years ago. Probably because there are more farmers who stepped into this business.

'Free range' is a meaningless term really. Formally birds so described should have access to the outside, but having access doesn't mean they use it, or that there's anything green when and if they get there past the other 10,000+ birds in the same shed. Some places do better, and try to indicate it by use of other terms.

Mealworms are the larval stage of a flightless beetle called Tenebrio molitor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mealworm .
Black soldier fly larvae are the larval stage of Hermetia illucens https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermetia_illucens

I think the liking for short forms is widespread; saves typing, time etc. at the expense of comprehension for anyone unfamiliar with the topic at hand. In formal writing everywhere I think the method you describe is normal, but writing on internet platforms is usually informal.

 

[BDutch]

'Free range' is a meaningless term really. Formally birds so described should have access to the outside, but having access doesn't mean they use it, or that there's anything green when and if they get there past the other 10,000+ birds in the same shed. Some places do better, and try to indicate it by use of other terms.

Mealworms are the larval stage of a flightless beetle called Tenebrio molitor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mealworm .
Black soldier fly larvae are the larval stage of Hermetia illucens https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermetia_illucens

I think the liking for short forms is widespread; saves typing, time etc. at the expense of comprehension for anyone unfamiliar with the topic at hand. In formal writing everywhere I think the method you describe is normal, but writing on internet platforms is usually informal.

So its probably this ability that makes the pro choice for the soldier larvae:
The larvae have voracious appetites and can be used for composting household food scraps and agricultural waste products.

Tax and treats for todays rambling.

 

[Perris]

So its probably this ability that makes the pro choice for the soldier larvae:
The larvae have voracious appetites and can be used for composting household food scraps and agricultural waste products.

Mealworms do that too. I think it is rather the BSFL 'multiply weight 5000x in 2 weeks' that makes it attractive to people who can deal with the flying adult stage of the life cycle.

 

[Perris]

Tsk, Tsk, you're not keeping up Perris.
It's the Legbars and Matilda who have all wanted to roost with Henry. If two or three will roost in the new coop, then later, when the time comes they all have to move, things should be a little easier.

silly me; it's obvious now you point it out

 

[RoyalChick]

some very good news this morning!
https://www.theguardian.com/busines...ects-to-lay-carbon-neutral-eggs-for-morrisons
what the article doesn't say is what insects they're using... I'm guessing from the relevant firm's website (https://betterorigin.co.uk/our-product/ ) it's black soldier fly larvae, because of the 2 week turnaround and they can fly, so are much more difficult to raise than mealworms so that customers will be less inclined to DIY it once they see the benefits of insects in the feed.

further rummaging on their site confirms they're using BSFL https://betterorigin.co.uk/2021/06/why-insect-feed-is-great-for-poultry/

I am feeling better about switching to insect based chicken feed - I didn’t even know it would have a better carbon footprint.

 

[RoyalChick]

Mealworms do that too. I think it is rather the BSFL 'multiply weight 5000x in 2 weeks' that makes it attractive to people who can deal with the flying adult stage of the life cycle.

At least the feed I get they say the larvae are fed on pre-consumer waste - which I think one of you explained to me is the food that doesn’t make it to the supermarkets - like the ugly veggies or whatever they are called.

 

[Perris]

At least the feed I get they say the larvae are fed on pre-consumer waste - which I think one of you explained to me is the food that doesn’t make it to the supermarkets - like the ugly veggies or whatever they are called.

exactly. This is a good resource for anything related to food loss (pre-retailers) and waste (retailers and consumers): https://www.fao.org/platform-food-loss-waste/en/

 

[Perris]

I see there's a newish article on giving chicks treats...which includes fatuous comments on feeding them bread......dare I swim against the tide (in Shad's wonderful phrase) of a project manager no less?

When times were tough during the French Revolution (and no doubt in other stressed times and places), chalk was added to bread to make up the bulk cheaply. I don't know how many of you have noticed from the spreadsheet how high CaCo3 comes in the relative order of ingredients in many bags of chicken feed. That's calcium carbonate, or limestone. Yes it supplies calcium, which layers need, to some extent. It also bulks out the feed, as chalk did bread. Hopefully bread doesn't have chalk in it now. Wouldn't it be nice to know what % of modern commercial chicken feed is limestone?

 

[no fly zone]