Topic of the Week - Feeding mealworms, bugs etc.

[No Coop No Problem]

I feed mine mealworms and they seem to not care too much for them. When we’ve let them out to free range, a few of them have JUMPED and killed moths… I was cheering them on.

I've seen my chickens snatch bees and wasps out of the air and swallow them. It was surprising to witness at first

 

[RobG7aChattTN]

I raise my own mealworms to feed my birds but mostly I give them to baby chicks. I feel like giving chicks lots of live mealworms for the first few days of life greatly enhances vigor and survivability. Live mealworms are also a great device when trying to make birds tame or to get their attention for taking photographs.
I raised Dubia roaches for a while and they were great in every way except for the fact that they are giant cockroaches and that gives them a big “ick” factor.
In the summer I put brooder waste in big pots in the woods, add water and let it ferment. Starting in June the wild black-soldier flies show up and quickly fill the bins with larvae. I can usually harvest a ton all summer unless wild animals discover them.