Luvachicken Posted April 15, 2021 Share Posted April 15, 2021 I saw a big tub of Calciworms in the local garden centre the other day and just wondered what they are and if chickens can have them as a treat ? It did say it was food for wild birds. They looked like bigger, fatter mealworms, but I don't know how they are reared and if they are suitable for chickens - I know mealworms are not meant to be fed to chickens because of what they are reared on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Girly Posted April 15, 2021 Share Posted April 15, 2021 Mine love calci worms for a treat. They recognise the tub and come running. I’ve had no problems with them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted April 15, 2021 Share Posted April 15, 2021 Oh god those smell!!! They love them though. Even Red the tomcat likes them... 🤮 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted April 15, 2021 Author Share Posted April 15, 2021 Are they safe for them though, bearing in mind that they shouldn't have mealworms because of what they are fed on ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted April 15, 2021 Share Posted April 15, 2021 6 minutes ago, Luvachicken said: Are they safe for them though, bearing in mind that they shouldn't have mealworms because of what they are fed on ? Noooo clue... bu then again, I don’t know what’s in half of my food either. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted April 15, 2021 Author Share Posted April 15, 2021 1 minute ago, Cat tails said: Noooo clue... bu then again, I don’t know what’s in half of my food either. Plastic is probably in most of it 🤢 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarrisonFamily Posted April 15, 2021 Share Posted April 15, 2021 Mine love them as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted May 2, 2021 Author Share Posted May 2, 2021 Well, I bought them a packet, only to find that they are actually mealworms with extra added calcium. Oh well - they were on offer at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clivefrancis Posted June 24, 2022 Share Posted June 24, 2022 A simple search online will show that you should not be feeding calci worms or meal worms to hens. the rules are there to protect your hens and you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted June 27, 2022 Share Posted June 27, 2022 On 6/24/2022 at 4:14 PM, clivefrancis said: A simple search online will show that you should not be feeding calci worms or meal worms to hens. the rules are there to protect your hens and you A simple search online will show that these rules don’t exist in all countries outside of the UK and not all of us here live in the UK. I’m perfectly allowed to feed my chickens calci worms or mealworms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted June 28, 2022 Author Share Posted June 28, 2022 On 4/15/2021 at 10:33 AM, Luvachicken said: I saw a big tub of Calciworms in the local garden centre the other day and just wondered what they are and if chickens can have them as a treat ? It did say it was food for wild birds. They looked like bigger, fatter mealworms, but I don't know how they are reared and if they are suitable for chickens - I know mealworms are not meant to be fed to chickens because of what they are reared on. On 4/15/2021 at 5:02 PM, Luvachicken said: Are they safe for them though, bearing in mind that they shouldn't have mealworms because of what they are fed on ? On 5/2/2021 at 3:22 PM, Luvachicken said: Well, I bought them a packet, only to find that they are actually mealworms with extra added calcium. Oh well - they were on offer at least. On 6/24/2022 at 3:14 PM, clivefrancis said: A simple search online will show that you should not be feeding calci worms or meal worms to hens. the rules are there to protect your hens and you That's why I asked the questions above in the first place and then actually answered it for myself. They didn't like them anyway so I fed them to the birds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steph.newington Posted February 25, 2023 Share Posted February 25, 2023 On 4/15/2021 at 10:33 AM, Luvachicken said: I saw a big tub of Calciworms in the local garden centre the other day and just wondered what they are and if chickens can have them as a treat ? It did say it was food for wild birds. They looked like bigger, fatter mealworms, but I don't know how they are reared and if they are suitable for chickens - I know mealworms are not meant to be fed to chickens because of what they are reared on. You are right, you can’t feed dried mealworm for the exact reason you said ( mostly reared in China) in fact it’s illegal. However uk raised mealworms are a great way of getting protein rich food into chicken and is advised ( I bred my first lot from pets at home by accident so now hopefully I have eggs and I know they’ve been fed oj fresh carrot peelings for moisture and kept in a substrate of mixed oats and grains that I blitzed down Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted March 3, 2023 Author Share Posted March 3, 2023 On 2/25/2023 at 3:37 AM, steph.newington said: You are right, you can’t feed dried mealworm for the exact reason you said ( mostly reared in China) in fact it’s illegal. However uk raised mealworms are a great way of getting protein rich food into chicken and is advised ( I bred my first lot from pets at home by accident so now hopefully I have eggs and I know they’ve been fed oj fresh carrot peelings for moisture and kept in a substrate of mixed oats and grains that I blitzed down Thank you for your response 😊 - nice to have a sensible answer. I'm not sure I have the stomach for breeding mealworms but hope you manage to grow your own for your girls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wormganix Posted June 20, 2023 Share Posted June 20, 2023 The regulations are based on the uncertainty of what foodstocks were used to rear them -good news is that the calci worm producers in the EU and here in the UK now have strict laws on exactly that -So UK / EU calci worms are perfectly safe , its just the regulatory side hasnt caught up just yet 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirstyBarn Posted July 8, 2023 Share Posted July 8, 2023 It's only illegal (via DEFRA) to feed dried or otherwise processed insect protein to chickens. It's totally legal to feed LIVE calci worms to chickens. And Calci Worms (aka Black Solder Fly larvae) are far more nutritionally superior than mealworms - live or dried. They are called Calci Worms for a reason - tons of calcium, very bioavailable. There are so many more benefits to feeding live Calci Worms over dried ones anyway - they move! It's enrichment as well as nutrition. There's a company that does mail delivery of live Calci Worms - they also offer subscriptions. They've got a page about DEFRA approval too to clear up the regulatory stuff. https://econourish.co.uk/calci-worms-and-environment/defra-approve-live-food/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
