4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[alih]

have just posted on the chicken health bit as iggy seems to have a distended crop and have read somewhere that feeding them maggots will help - does anyone know where on earth I can buy white maggots?

[beach chick]

fishing shop??? otherwise, you could google I suppose bit it might be a bit nasty...! good luck.

[alih]

yes will have a look thanks - fishing shops will be first on the list!

[Mutrix Farmers]

Urgh!

 

dried mealworms are bad enough!!

[alih]

i know - have not tracked anywhere nearby that sells maggots either and can't face the idea of them arriving through the post!!

[StephanieSB]

Someone posted a link to an online shop that sold maggots mail order (I don't live near a fishing shop). Hopefully that person will be along again soon... but I will try to see if I saved the link in the meanwhile.

[alih]

thanks - have found somewhere that does them mail order but would quite like some asap rather than waiting for such a yucky delivery!

[StephanieSB]

have found somewhere that does them mail order

 

Oh, cool -- where? please! I cannot find the link I saved.

[alih]

called wormsdirect!! appetizing huh!?

[StephanieSB]

called wormsdirect!! appetizing huh!?

 

ah yes, brilliant, thanks

http://www.wormsdirectuk.co.uk/

 

how easy to remember!

[Egluntyne]

Any angling shop will sell them.. You want the undyed variety.

 

They cost about £1.50 for half a pint.

 

They keep for about a week in the fridge.

 

My hens love them as a treat.

[Rhapsody]

I found some in the bottom of my wheelie bin...

[Tottya]

My wheelie bins only get collected on a 2 week cycle and in the summer months are prone to maggots Now I know I can feed them to my chooks all is good! Bring on the maggots!!!

[alih]

maggots on order - will be delivered tomorrow supposedly - imagine what a thrill to find them on my doorstep!

[Janepie33]

My 17 year old son went fishing today and stored a huge pot of maggots in my fridge overnight. He brought loads home and gave them to the chickens (and fish) for a treat. They seemed to love them more than grapes (the chickens, not the fish). He bought them from the local angling shop.

[superjules]

Or you could just leave your bin open for a couple of days. We end up with a good supply of free maggots if the kids don't remember to put a lid on the compost bin.

[julia55]

I feed mine maggots quite often as a treat. They love them - but when one of mine had a crop problem I soaked the maggots in cod liver oil first and the problem was solved. Well worth the £1.50 and any fishing job stocks them.

[SharonX]

What do the maggots do to help the crop then? I'm not liking the idea o maggots at all

[julia55]

I think I read somewhere that they eat through the blockage/obstruction in the crop - yuk - but it does make sense if you think about it. Presumably once they meet with the stomach acids they are killed off. I stand corrected if anyone has a more scientific idea.

[alih]

wow julia55 that's really good to know - will try doing the same....sounds hideous but if it works I will be so pleased.

[julia55]

Good luck - I hope it works and after the first time you will be hand-feeding them maggots like an old pro. The first time is the worst - and for the crop problem don't forget to soak them in cod liver oil first. That's fairly inexpensive bought from a supermarket.. I just doused the maggots in it and then hand-fed the poorly chicken (wearing surgical gloves of course!!)

[Rhapsody]

Maggots, like flies, liquefy their food before consuming it. So they go to work on whatever's blocking the crop and clear it. I've used this trick a few times and occasionally I'll give them as a treat and clear out.

An easy way to get maggots is to leave a bowl of cat food out in this warm weather- two days later the bowl will be jumping around your kitchen, just serve the lot to the chook/s.

[alih]

oh I can't wait!!

[Mutrix Farmers]

An easy way to get maggots is to leave a bowl of cat food out in this warm weather- two days later the bowl will be jumping around your kitchen, just serve the lot to the chook/s.

 

Feeling quite queasy now and as for keeping them in the fridge....... A box of dry mealworms in the feed bin is about as much as I can cope with!

[alih]

mm well thought in that case you might like me to share today's little experience - my maggots arrived by post and I have been feeding them to Iggy in olive oil to help her crop - the others have tucked into the oil-free variety too. But today I put some in 2 dishes to take to t he garden then came upstairs to get something and forgot about them - came downstairs to find the little wrigglers all over my work surface and kitchen floor - some had even made it into the playroom! Luckily all my family were out as I suspect my teenage daughters might have had a fit and had to msn or text, like, all their friends, like NOW, to tell them how GROSS it all was, like! But I swept them up and fed them to the girls who loved them all the same!