Organic Feeding

[ChickChic00]

Can you feed chickens organicly grown fruits and veggies from the garden and farm raised meal worms for protein?

 

[ErnieBerley]

I wouldn't let those be the only source of food, but heck yea veggies are antioxidant and fiber, and they love them!, not as many fruits (like us they don't need the excess glucose and insulin spikes), meal worms are great source of protein. I would still feed them organic grain feeds and probiotic coated grit placed in the feed or on the ground separately.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Can you feed chickens organicly grown fruits and veggies from the garden and farm raised meal worms for protein?

For the most part you can feed chickens just about most things. But it SHOULD be kept to no more than 10% of their total daily ration in order to keep nutrients balanced and birds in good condition. Those things are more like enrichment, treats, or snacks.. as most fruits and vegetables will lower protein and amino acid content. Meal worm are almost as high in fat as they are protein... See link for nutritional info..
mealworms

And since eggs are touted as a great source of protein, and they are... it's important to remember that's NOT the only thing that counts as they are 34% protein but a whopping 64% fat according to energy (aka caloric value) not volume/weight.

Now, just for more informational stuff... please remember that "organically" grown is a nice buzz word... but organic poison is still poison... think arsenic, cyanide, pyrethrin, oleander, etc. Organic things still CAN kill. Many of the listeria and e-coli outbreaks in our food supply chain that I've seen in the recent past come from organic lettuces, and spinach type stuff. Now please know I am not knocking organic, just adding some caution to the false sense of security too many folks feel. Knowledge is power.

If you are asking if organic veggies and mealworms is a sufficient sole feed... the answer would be a solid NO, not if longevity of your birds and nutrition in your eggs in important to you. As treats, you bet!

 

[ChickChic00]

For the most part you can feed chickens just about most things. But it SHOULD be kept to no more than 10% of their total daily ration in order to keep nutrients balanced and birds in good condition. Those things are more like enrichment, treats, or snacks.. as most fruits and vegetables will lower protein and amino acid content. Meal worm are almost as high in fat as they are protein... See link for nutritional info..
mealworms

And since eggs are touted as a great source of protein, and they are... it's important to remember that's NOT the only thing that counts as they are 34% protein but a whopping 64% fat according to energy (aka caloric value) not volume/weight.

Now, just for more informational stuff... please remember that "organically" grown is a nice buzz word... but organic poison is still poison... think arsenic, cyanide, pyrethrin, oleander, etc. Organic things still CAN kill. Many of the listeria and e-coli outbreaks in our food supply chain that I've seen in the recent past come from organic lettuces, and spinach type stuff. Now please know I am not knocking organic, just adding some caution to the false sense of security too many folks feel. Knowledge is power.

If you are asking if organic veggies and mealworms is a sufficient sole feed... the answer would be a solid NO, not if longevity of your birds and nutrition in your eggs in important to you. As treats, you bet!

In organic. I mean I will hand growing vegetables with no pesticides or anything on them btw. Also, eggs army really my priority. I want chickens to eat and be healthy like in the older days. I will be calling some for meat. They could lay 50-100 eggs per year if they want too. I just love my chickens. I have over 60 and figured they would be healthier eating fresh stuff from the Garden and mealworms and I could scramble any extra eggs for more protein if they need it. Also gonna be growing wheatgrass to give to them.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You never know what people mean by certain words like organic. There is a lot of mythology behind it. For some it means certified organic which doesn't ring my chimes. To me organic should be more of a lifestyle choice. I certainly agree that an organic poison is a poison and should be used carefully. I think I understand where you are coming from.

I have electric netting in my orchard where the chickens roam. They get apples, peaches, mulberries, plums, and an occasional pear, anything that falls. I toss them a lot of stuff from my garden. When I trap mice I feed those to the flock. When I butcher mine I keep a bucket handy for certain chicken parts that will be fed back to the flock. Mine get kitchen wastes. When mine free ranged they had access to my compost pile. Some of the bugs I get from my garden, like corn ear worms, go to the chickens. I sometime collect Japanese beetles and feed them to the chickens.

I agree that any of this should be fed in moderation to try to keep their diets more balanced but I certainly don't consider what you propose to be any risk to them at all.

 

[animallover2019]

Can you feed chickens organicly grown fruits and veggies from the garden and farm raised meal worms for protein?

yes! just make sure the veggies and fruit variety is safe!