Storms and chickens

[Guest]

got the mealworms (live) for the girls and the lovely pet shop man (who gave us all the free stuff last time) said if they don't like them, he'll give us free corn for a year!

 

Just given the girls half of the tub and they all LOVED them. The chomping noises were really funny and Shalott got quite a lot of them!

 

Good news too about Shalott's feathers, I can see gingery tips on the spikes on her neck now which I couldn't see before. I'm so happy

 

Except, no free corn for a year, oh well!

 

p.s. just bought some more yankee candles from the garden centre, a couple of samplers and a box of tealights

[robskyd]

Without putting too much of a dampner on this thread, but a Vet we used said to avoid live meal worms as they can cause problems.

 

He didn't say what the problems were but he keeps chickens himself so I had no reason to doubt him.

 

(Sorry if I've hijacked this thread!!)

[Guest]

Without putting too much of a dampner on this thread, but a Vet we used said to avoid live meal worms as they can cause problems.

 

He didn't say what the problems were but he keeps chickens himself so I had no reason to doubt him.

 

(Sorry if I've hijacked this thread!!)

 

they eat live earthworms and other insects they find in the soil so I don't see why live mealworms would be any different.

 

There's lots of omleteers that feed their chooks with live mealworms and we didn't give them too many.

 

Does anyone else know what these "problems" might be?

[chelsea]

I always thought hens eating worms gave them worms but not sure if this applies to mealworms though.

 

Even so, if this were the case getting worms is unavoidable as the chooks pick up worms and bugs from the garden naturally anyway.

[Guest]

I did find this which says mealworms can live inside the chicken and eat their insides!?

 

http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13879&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

 

 

but the omlet shop sell live mealworms and mealworms are vegetarian

 

http://www.omlet.co.uk/shop/shop.php?cat=Chicken%20Extras&sub=food&product_id=179

 

so I find it hard to believe they're going to eat a chicken's intestines!?

 

anyone else know for definite whether they do actually cause problems or not?

[Guest]

found this;

 

"Mealworms - Mealworms are the best selling live bird food. Mealworms are the larvae of the flour beetle, a harmless beetle which consumes flour, meal, grain and other related crops and is found naturally in the wild in the UK. Their smooth, shiny wormlike bodies are made up of over 48% crude protein and 40% fat and have a high moisture content making them an excellent, proven food for insect eating garden birds. The mealworm diet is vegetarian which means they are safe to feed to birds and chicks without passing on diseases which may be present in meat fed larvae such as maggots."

 

http://www.greengardener.co.uk/bird.htm

 

the RSPB web site also sell live mealworms http://shopping.rspb.org.uk/mall/productpage.cfm/rspb/R0058/76550 and have advice on how to breed your own

 

I might check out the dried ones at the garden centre next time but if the RSPB recommend them I don't think they can be harmful surely???

[Goosey Lucy]

I don't buy mine from the garden centre as they're much too expensive, instead I buy them from the farm where I buy all their feed from. Much cheaper. Although these are dried ones so not much protein in them, more as a fun thing to look for.

[Guest]

I don't buy mine from the garden centre as they're much too expensive, instead I buy them from the farm where I buy all their feed from. Much cheaper. Although these are dried ones so not much protein in them, more as a fun thing to look for.

 

the RSPB web site says the dried ones have just as much nutrition in them http://shopping.rspb.org.uk/mall/productpage.cfm/rspb/R0822/76550 just not the moisture, they do say you can soak them in warm water if you need to (to replace the moisture).

 

Our feed place only do massive tubs for £15 but the garden centre do smaller tubs. I want to make sure they'll eat the dried ones before forking out for a massive tub. If they do, we can then get the big tub.

[TheChookKeeper]

I could be wrong - but I believe the whole "mealworms are deadly" idea is one that comes from the reptile world.

 

Many animals will eat a mealworm, and either chew it up, or grind it up (as with a chicken in its gizzard), but the main thing is that they are digested quite quickly.

 

However, mealworms were first used primarily by keepers of reptiles and amphibians. With these creatures, they swallow mealworms whole and live, and digest very slowly.

 

Mealworms do have very strong jaws for their size, and it is not at all unheard of for them to chew through the insides of these reptiles etc. and burrow their way back out into the real world.

 

However - I don't think it is very likely to happen with chickens etc - as they digest food far quicker!

 

There ends education corner!!!

[Egluntyne]

Fascinating stuff!

 

It makes sense of the suggestion to treat an impacted crop with mealworms.

[Guest]

thanks Steve, I'd read that too. I was shocked considering mealworms are supposed to be vegetarian!

 

we bought some dried mealworms yesterday. it says on the pack that they are approved by 'The Birdcare Standards Association' http://www.birdcare.org.uk/homepage.htm but as I say, they are dried.

 

All the main bird people seem to approve the feeding of mealworms though whether dried or not.

 

We're hoping the girls like the dried variety too as they're cheaper and easier to store and just as nutritious.

 

fingers x'd!

[Hilly]

i use loads of dried mealworms for my girls, they go bonkers for them! and they are good mixed up in their mash as well.

[Guest]

they love the dried ones but we've been soaking them as they don't feel very substantial otherwise. We need to worm the girls soon and was wondering if we could coat the mealworms in the flubenvet? I wonder if that would spoil the taste of them for the girls or not.

 

Has anyone tried that?

[Egluntyne]

they love the dried ones but we've been soaking them as they don't feel very substantial otherwise. We need to worm the girls soon and was wondering if we could coat the mealworms in the flubenvet? I wonder if that would spoil the taste of them for the girls or not.

 

Has anyone tried that?

 

Sounds like a good idea.

 

I shouldn't think taste them as they down them so quickly.

[Guest]

well you say that but I wonder because they definitely favour some food over others so it must boil down to taste?

 

I s'pose we could try it and see.

 

Should we keep them in their run for 7 days or is still okay for them to free range a bit while we're worming them?