Recently,
I’ve overloaded you with masses of information about how
to make grain-based chicken feeds. This is the
traditional route, but if you remember from the very beginning of this
series, wild
chickens would primarily be eating bugs and worms. Is there a way to
keep our flock healthier by providing them with a more natural diet?
Some chicken keepers
feed their birds mealworms, which are basically the larval stage of a
beetle. The Sialis website gives lots of information
about raising mealworms, but it all comes down to giving the larvae
some kind of grain or grain byproduct to eat. If you have access
to a bunch of bran (for example, if
you grind your own grains into chicken feed), this could be a great use
of the “waste”, turning it into a high protein source that your
chickens will go nuts over. However, if you’re buying the
mealworm food, feeding mealworms to your chickens would be very
uneconomical.
The next option we
present — Japanese beetles — looks more enticing. While
you’re waiting, check out our automatic chicken waterers, great in coops or tractors.
| This post is part of our Homemade Chicken Feed series. Read all of the entries:
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