Eliza1313
Chirping
- Mar 26, 2015
- 314
- 13
- 83
As I have been told many times, the only dumb questions are the ones not asked.
With my insectivore reptiles I always used the dusting method, it's a little easier. However the powder can come off of the insects.
For gut loading of insects, pick something you know your chicken will eat: crickets, meal worms, etc. Then you can either use the calcium powder to dust the insect's food source, or you can buy a special food for the insects that is made for gut loading and is high in calcium. It comes down to food chain. Just like most of us keeping chickens want to know that they are being fed nutritious stuff so that their products we eat have the most nutritional value, the same applies to what you feed the bugs they eat. The more nutritious the stuff you feed to the insect the more nutrition the chicken will get from eating it.
Both Petsmart and Petco have live insects, the calcium powder, and usually the insect gut load food. To do the gut load: buy the insects a day or two before you plan to give them to the chicken. Put them in a container that they can not escape from, but can breathe, with either the gut-load food or another food source dusted in the calcium powder. You will need to provide a source of water, this can be a fresh slice of potato, a wet sponge, or you can purchase the hydro-gel for them at a pet store. The insects have a tendency to drown in a water dish. After a day or two of them eating the calcium rich food they are ready to be fed to your chicken.
If you go with mealworms to gut load, do not store them in the refrigerator while trying to gut load them. Mealworms are usually kept at cooler temperatures to keep them dormant, so they live longer without needing to be fed.
The advantage of gut-loading the insects is that you can buy more insects at a time and keep them alive for an extended period of time, so less trips to the pet store for live insects. However they have a tendency to stink.
If you are not near a pet store try the Rainbow Mealworms site, their add occasionally appears at the bottom in the sponsors section. http://www.rainbowmealworms.net/ They have most of the stuff you would need, including the bugs. I am considering starting to raise my own mealworms, and will most likely use them to get started. They also have what they call Pheonix Worms, which are the larvae of soldier flies that they feed a calcium rich diet to, which would keep you from having to do the gut-load step. I have been told that the soldier fly larvae are naturally higher in calcium even without being fed a special food, I need to do more research on that though.
Mealworms are my insect treat of choice for my chickens for a few reasons.
1) Convenience and availability. Can be found both live and freeze dried.
2) Since they can be kept dormant, a supply of live mealworms lasts longer that crickets.
3) Chickens will eat them either way.
If you can not stomach the live bugs, go with the freeze-dried mealworms and dust them with the calcium powder. If you go the live route, take out the ones that are to be gut-loaded a day or so before then take out the ones for the other hen about 30 minutes before. That way those are active too so she is not more interested in the ones you are feeding to the chicken with the calcium issues.
With my insectivore reptiles I always used the dusting method, it's a little easier. However the powder can come off of the insects.
For gut loading of insects, pick something you know your chicken will eat: crickets, meal worms, etc. Then you can either use the calcium powder to dust the insect's food source, or you can buy a special food for the insects that is made for gut loading and is high in calcium. It comes down to food chain. Just like most of us keeping chickens want to know that they are being fed nutritious stuff so that their products we eat have the most nutritional value, the same applies to what you feed the bugs they eat. The more nutritious the stuff you feed to the insect the more nutrition the chicken will get from eating it.
Both Petsmart and Petco have live insects, the calcium powder, and usually the insect gut load food. To do the gut load: buy the insects a day or two before you plan to give them to the chicken. Put them in a container that they can not escape from, but can breathe, with either the gut-load food or another food source dusted in the calcium powder. You will need to provide a source of water, this can be a fresh slice of potato, a wet sponge, or you can purchase the hydro-gel for them at a pet store. The insects have a tendency to drown in a water dish. After a day or two of them eating the calcium rich food they are ready to be fed to your chicken.
If you go with mealworms to gut load, do not store them in the refrigerator while trying to gut load them. Mealworms are usually kept at cooler temperatures to keep them dormant, so they live longer without needing to be fed.
The advantage of gut-loading the insects is that you can buy more insects at a time and keep them alive for an extended period of time, so less trips to the pet store for live insects. However they have a tendency to stink.
If you are not near a pet store try the Rainbow Mealworms site, their add occasionally appears at the bottom in the sponsors section. http://www.rainbowmealworms.net/ They have most of the stuff you would need, including the bugs. I am considering starting to raise my own mealworms, and will most likely use them to get started. They also have what they call Pheonix Worms, which are the larvae of soldier flies that they feed a calcium rich diet to, which would keep you from having to do the gut-load step. I have been told that the soldier fly larvae are naturally higher in calcium even without being fed a special food, I need to do more research on that though.
Mealworms are my insect treat of choice for my chickens for a few reasons.
1) Convenience and availability. Can be found both live and freeze dried.
2) Since they can be kept dormant, a supply of live mealworms lasts longer that crickets.
3) Chickens will eat them either way.
If you can not stomach the live bugs, go with the freeze-dried mealworms and dust them with the calcium powder. If you go the live route, take out the ones that are to be gut-loaded a day or so before then take out the ones for the other hen about 30 minutes before. That way those are active too so she is not more interested in the ones you are feeding to the chicken with the calcium issues.
