They're Bigger, Badder, and Better. The best protein for chickens!

[joe17]

You have got me thinking! I have like a one gallon plastic cage that was used for hermit crabs. Can I use that? Oh and do you have to buy the crystal water stuff? What can you use in place of crystal water if I don't buy it?

 

[key west chick]

Ive got a nice mealie worm set-up, but man, those roaches are interesting...

 

[Tala]

Quote:
Yes. They like damp wood, and have been known to find their way into my cedar doghouse that the chickens used to live in. One night I opened the lid up, a giant roach/waterbug/palmetto bug fell off the roof onto my rooster's back and his girl Queenie gulped it down whole!!!
The only thing is that I mainly see them out at night, when chickens are sleeping

My mother in law was lamenting that every time one of her seedy neighbors moved out of a rental, the roaches came flooding to her place to look for fresh food and she had to call the bug man. I told her that the roaches never got as far as the house around here, since there is much chicken-filled yard between the nighbors and me! I don't think my homegrown eggs sat quite as well with her after that for a week or two, but she's back to eating them whenever I give them to her again so I guess she got over it

 

[Pet Duck Boy]

Quote:
1 gallon is way too small to hold even 50 of these roaches, 10 gallon is a minimum. I'm using a 40 gallon tub which I bought for 8$ at a garage sale. If you don't want the water crystals, a sponge in a container of water will work but you will need to clean this often. You could offer water filled veggies and fruit, like iceberg lettuce, watermelon, etc. IMO the water crystals are your best bet. They REALLY work. I bought the starter kit, and with it came a small plastic baggy with the crystals, it didn't look like much at all. I pourd 3/4 of it into bowl filled with water, and left it over night. I had about 2 gallons of the stuff in the morning. The stuff lasted me about a year, I just put in a new plate of crystals once a month.

 

[ChooksChick]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAgggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's my only phobia! You should've warned me. I won't be able to unclench my toes or butt for days.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Quote:

Hey Pet Duck Boy, I never heard of using those polymer crystals for watering arthropods, that's an amazing idea. I wish I had thought of that years ago.

 

[mcostas]

Quote:
They sure can, but I wouldn't feel as safe feeding wild-caught roaches vs. captive bred. Should be fine as treats though!

Catch them!

I wasn't going to catch them, they can catch them theirselves!

 

[BoulderCityFoul]

Pet Duck Boy,

OK, this is majorly off topics, but since you have more knowledge of these "things" than I do, perhaps you can help me. About twice a year, we get a really large roach(?) in the house. They are 2"-3" long, fly well, and scream when you pick them up (no joke...freaked me out the first time I picked one up in a tissue). Any ideas what kind it is? Or is it even a roach at all?

Thanks!

-TJ

 

[Pet Duck Boy]

Quote:
Sounds like an American cockroach or palmetto bug, they sure can fly and the occasional one will hiss. They're more around the 2 inch range.

 

[hillbrothers eggs]

Hi Pet Duck Boy,

How long does it take to really establish a good colony if you get one of the kits. How fast do they reproduce? I think this is really a great idea. Better than the meal worms.

Thanks

Steve