M is for . . . MAGGOTS!!
I think my kids are right . . . "Mom is weird" . . . yep, that's me. I tend to agree with them as I find myself digging into a pile of maggots and feeding them to the chickens. Are maggots really what these chickens of ours are getting excited about?
You got it! Maggots (and other insects) are a great source of protein for chickens. Last year I tried hanging a maggot bucket in the chicken yard. It produced a few maggots that would fall through the holes in the bucket only to be devoured by the birds below.
But, this is even better, I had a small wagon full of some yucky meat that the chickens were munching on (along with the grasses and weeds we pick and throw in their pen). One day, I took a shovel and stirred up the meat and there were thousands upon thousands of maggots. What a discovery! The chickens went bonkers as I uncovered piles and piles of maggots!! So, now the morning poultry routine involves a few things: filling the waters, picking several handfuls of grass AND stirring the maggot wagon. Look at this:
You would not believe how fast the hens and Mr. Rooster eat these little, slimy wormies up! It is amazing.
What is even more amazing is that they can eat something that is totally disgusting and convert that into energy and an egg eventually!
Hi! This is Jerry from the black soldier fly blog. I think feeding maggots to chicks is a great idea but using carrion flies has some risks. Harvey Ussery has worked with a system for using blowfly larvae to feed chickens but at one point he ran into a problem with botulism that killed some of his birds. He has since switched to using black soldier fly larvae since they can be raised on vegetable and grain and any household food waste so you avoid the issue of botulism. You can read Harvey's experience at his website here: http://themodernhomestead.us/article/Feeding-Chickens-Maggots.html
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