Will too many mealworms KILL your Chickens?
This weeks reader question is can a bantam chicken have too many mealworms? If you have a question the feel free to contact me!
The Short Answer: YES a bantam chicken have too many mealworms
The Explanation:
Chickens are omnivores, like humans. They need a varied diet to stay healthy. Mealworms are a great treat, but they are in the “treat” category because of their high fat content. That said, they also have some great protein so don't be afraid to feed them to your chickens!
Chickens LOVE mealworms. Just throw some out and watch the action. If you had a bowl of mealworms and a bowl of their regular food then they would probably choose the mealworms every time. Great for their protein intake, not so much for the vitamins and fat. You need to make sure not to give them too many.
How many mealworms can a bantam chicken have?
- A bantam chicken should be eating about 1/2 cup of feed each day (about 4 ounces).
- Treats can make up 10% of their diet (.4 ounces)
- A pound (16 ounces) of mealworms is approximately 500 mealworms.
4000/16 ounces = 31 mealworms per ounce
250 * 0.4 = 12 mealworms/day/bantam chicken
The size of the worms can vary so another way to look at it is to keep the mealworm consumption under 1 Tbs each day for each bird or flock of 10 can get up to 1/2 cup of worms each day. An even better idea would be to keep it as a “treat” and not feed them out every single day.
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