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[LuckyChickenLover-]

I bought some mealworms for my girls, but now some of them have turned white and are lying very still and curled up. I can only guess that they are pupating into flour beetles. Is it safe for hens to eat flour beetles? Also, does anyone know if flour beetles can fly? The last thing I want is for a load of beetles to fly up into my face when I open the tub!

 

Thanks

~ Lucky Chicken Lover

[Chook n Boo Mum]

The few beetles that my rabble have actually come into contact with have not lasted very long & the chooks have thoroughly enjoyed eating them with no ill effects......I have no idea if they fly though sorry , when I tried (unsuccessfully ) to breed them, they ran very fast but I don't remember any flights taking place

 

Sha x

[Alis girls]

I'm glad I read your post twice - I thought you meant your chucks had turned white and pulsated. I was mentally crossing mealworms off shopping list. I think I will get dead ones.

[LuckyChickenLover-]

I'm glad I read your post twice - I thought you meant your chucks had turned white and pulsated.

 

I was mentally crossing mealworms off shopping list. I think I will get dead ones. :lol

 

I wouldn't worry if I were you. I bought quite a lot of mealworms because my chooks love them and I thought I could save on petrol by making one trip and buying a lot of worms instead of making a few trips to buy not very many. The pupating mealworms are probably quite old, I don't know how old they were in the shop but I think that I have had this batch a good few weeks now. Just as long as you don't leave it too long before you feed all the mealworms to your chooks, you'll be fine .

[figarogir1]

I used to breed mealworms and the beetles didn't fly I'm sure the chooks would be fine with them

[LuckyChickenLover-]

I used to breed mealworms and the beetles didn't fly I'm sure the chooks would be fine with them

 

Thanks Figarogir1. Just out of interest, how big are the beetles, seeing as my chicks are still young I obviously wouldn't want to feed them anything too big just in case they choke.

 

Thanks

[Chicken Shirl]

I shouldn't worry, they are not very big, and young hens are fine with worms pupa and beetles. I don't think the beetles have a lot of nutritional value though.

[Alis girls]

I once found a larva in a bag on pasta and the memory has stayed with me. I might treat the girls to some dead ones - but live

[Chook n Boo Mum]

You soon get used to the live mealworms...when I first ordered them I had a very girly shriek as they were moving in the plastic containers - quite what I expected live bugs to do is anybody's guess my parents & DH had hysterics .........having had a few poorly times with my girls I've trained myself to be able to pick up the wriggling mealworms & offer them to the chook without screaming, squirming or any other extreme reactions

 

I think you'll find the live ones are more nutritious than the dead 'uns too

 

I can now feed them maggots too which really are revolting, though not in my fingertips

 

Sha x

[jellykelly]

Really gross now, so be warned. When my brother and I were kids we used to go fishing. My brother suggested the best way to get maggots wriggling and keep them warm is in your mouth.

He did show me that it worked but I had to pass! I'm pretty sure the maggots were warm and wriggly enough in the bait box!!

[Alis girls]

You have a major wuss here - blood guts I can cope with - wriggly legless things - woh i cant go there. I have seen worms in wounds and nearly gagged -thankfully had a mask on - dont know how I got thro that - on a scale of 1-10 in wuss - i am 12

[Lydia]

Flour beetles are perfectly safe for your chickens. We've been successfully breeding mealworms in the kitchen for a couple of years now and get quite attached to the little beetles. The beetles are about 1.5 cm long and when they first hatch are a sort of beige colour. As they dry out they gradually turn light brown, dark brown and finally black.

 

When the beetles die we feed them back to the chickens who crunch them up like crisps

 

The pupa probably won't hatch into beetles are quite a while but this depends on where you're keeping them and how hot it is.