Thousands of Grubs in Compost ( picture and video )

[Lunachick]

Nifty - don't you have to worry about your chickens getting a parasite or two? I had been letting mine into the compost bin everyday, until Ruby pooped a load of little worms, so I had to worm them both.

Just wondering...

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

knock on wood I haven't had any problems. I don't really worry about it, but if they do ever get worms I may change my behavior.... until then it's business as usuall (it's been almost 3 years with no problems with parasites)

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

A new compost pile with manure and a new bunch of grubs... even more than before!

I've got to keep the girls locked up while I'm turning the pile. My younger RIR kept getting under the pitchfork. I decided to dump a pile of compost on her to teach her a lesson... she just kept digging / scratching. I could have burried her alive if I kept going... sheesh.

Worse, I ended up stepping on my Delaware... these girls are CRAZY!

BTW, I invented a related game today:

Spot The Grub Before The Chicken!

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Wow, some cool links on this topic:

http://blacksoldierflyblog.com/ - Self Expanatory

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/03/050309135653.htm Great article!

http://citybugs.tamu.edu/FastSheets/Ent-1015.html Soldier Fly Details

and and article that mentiones "Cindy Wise" in Oregon: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/news/story.php?S_No=802&storyType=garde

 

[Justino]

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

I'm hooked on these Black Fly Larvae!

How much would your chickens love you if you came over to their coop with this:

http://www.truveo.com/A-5-day-harvest-of-prepupal-Black-Soldier-Fly/id/3213673953

 

[chicken_boy_Kurt]

If I could get to the coop without throwing up I think they would love me.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

I went out to turn the compost and was attacked! I had to get out of there so quick that I left my pitchfork:

 

[geedub]

Hi Nifty-Chicken and everybody, I'm Jerry from the black soldier fly blog that Nifty-Chicken linked to. I don't keep chickens, but I'm available to answer any BSF questions you care to ask.

The first point I would like to make is that black soldier flies are not disease carrying pests like house flies. They have a very different life cycle that results in their being relatively pathogen free. No animal can claim to be perfectly safe to handle, but there is no evidence indicating that BSF are vectors of human or bird pathogens.

The prepupal larvae, the ones that are almost black, are the cleanest larval stage. That is the final stage before pupation. In their transition to the final larval stage they purge their guts, their mouth changes into a climbing hook, and they excrete an antibiotic to protect themselves from infection during pupation. I still wash my hands when I handle prepupal larvae, but I believe they are as clean as your average shopping cart handle. Maybe cleaner. Probably cleaner. :|

There has been interesting research about feeding BSF larvae to poultry and other animals. Here's a short article.

edit: A couple more quick things...

I'm not at all offended if you think my beloved BSF larvae are disgusting, I once felt the same way. Most of us are taught that flies are nasty creatures, and in a sense this is true, at least of many flies. House flies are associated with 277 disease causing organisms so the feeling is often justified.

I know I'm new here, but I'll ask a favor anyway. It would be very helpful if anyone who has observed black soldier flies in their area would inform me of it. I'm frequently asked by people all over the country if BSF are found in their areas. The data I have found is very general so usually I can't answer with any authority. I'm going to start a page on my blog with a list of BSF sightings to help people who are considering starting a colony. The county you saw them in would be sufficient unless you wish to be more specific. Thanks!

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Hey! So glad to see you posting here!

I'm really excited about these little guys. So much so I decided to try an experiment. I wanted to see how many would climb up a little ramp (1/2 PVC pipe) and fall into a bucket:

You see about 30 of the little guys in the container? They "self harvested" for me!!


Now that I had a ton of grubs I had to find something to do with them. See Alana feeding them to our chickens: