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

[Pet Duck Boy]

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This is true for the most part, but theroachguy will ship to Florida. It's where I got my starter colony, and there's also several other hobbyists within FL that can ship within the state. Try the arachnoboards classifieds and post a want to buy ad. I nailed an amazing deal for 500+ roaches just for 60$ with shipping there, to get some new blood for my colony. Discoids work good, but may produce a little slower than dubia. They're bigger too, but that's not a problem unless you're too squemish. Chickens can suck up a lot of roaches, so the faster breeders are better choices.

 

[hannakat]

I've toyed with the idea of raising mealworms but this does look easier. HOWEVER, it's easy for me to toss worms out to the chickens....something as big as those roaches are like tossing a rabbit to a tigar for me. Hey, I zig and zag in the fall to avoid running over fuzzy catapilars.

When something reaches a certain size, it ain't a bug anymore. uggggg. Yea, and I'm not a fly swatter either....I shooo bugs away. Oh, except spiders...thats where I start screaming and hopping and hubby comes to the rescue.

 

[starforever61]

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hehehe i have wormehs too

 

[Pet Duck Boy]

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This does involve a tad more work than mealworms, because of the amount of food and heat they need. (It pretty much stops there, though) The outcome is greater than mealworms, though. Roaches - 35% protein. Mealworms - 18%-21% proven. 10-15 large mealworms = 1 adult male roach!

 

[gsim]

For anyone living in the deep south, I would recommend trying this:

Place a scrap of sheet metal on the ground inside of your run, close to the fence. Pour some cheap corn syrup on it and smear it around. Next AM, you should have a bunch of roaches/palmetto bugs stuck on it. Chookie treats supreme!

Free protein most of the year.

Gerry

 

[hannakat]

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omygosh....just your smiley choices had me rolling!

 

[drdoolittle]

I had some of these I was raising to feed my Giant Plated Rainbow lizard----they all died! I tell people that a nuclear blast may not be able to kill raoches, but I can! I need to get some more----think I'll check out the site.

 

[drdoolittle]

I really, really want some of these! It would cost me more than $50 for 75 of them and 10 lbs. of the food and 1 lb. of the water crystals-------is this a good deal? Don't know if the local pet store has them.

 

[Pet Duck Boy]

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That's just fine if you have the patience! Chain store pets shops do not sell roaches, but occasionally the family owned/small buisness ones will, but rarely. 75 roaches is not as much as it seems, and those only can take a good 12 months to reach the size of my newly started colony. (150-200 form theroachguy would be the better choice if you are impatient) If you're willing, search around on insect and reptile forums on the for sale section. You can often find a good deal for several hundred that won't break your wallet unlike the sites which sell roaches for buisness.

 

[drdoolittle]

Yeah, I really wanted more than 75. I'll look some more before I buy----thanks!