While BSF larvae are often used to recycle wasted food, they can also be used as a form of chicken feed. Raising BSF larvae for your chickens is a good way to get rid of your kitchen scraps while providing nutritional feed for your backyard birds. While chickens love eating BSF larvae, keep in mind that it is not a complete diet in itself and should only be used as an occasional treat. It is also important to note that chickens can become addicted to this feed, so it should be given sparingly.
Consider the benefits to chickens before starting a Black Soldier Fly larvae project.
If you’ve done your research on raising Black Soldier Fly larvae for chickens, you might be wondering how much protein chickens can get from them compared to other sources. The answer is that it’s a lot.
- Chickens can get more protein from black soldier fly larvae than they can from any other source of food.
- Compared to other insects, black soldier fly larvae have a higher percentage of protein and fat in their bodies.
Give your chickens a choice.
Chickens are like all animals. They like to eat what they can find. This means they will grab mealworms, crickets, and flies out of the air if you let them. They’ll also eat bugs on the ground, worms that come up in your yard (which is full of maggots), and any vegetable or fruit that falls on the ground near their coop.
So how do we get our chickens to eat black soldier fly larvae? The solution is simple: give your chickens a choice! If you’re feeding them dry mash as part of their diet (which I recommend as it helps keep their digestive system healthy), mix in some black soldier fly larva pellets with it so there will be an option for them to choose from at mealtime.
Choose the right containers for your Black Soldier Fly larvae project.
Now that you’ve decided to raise Black Soldier Fly larvae, it’s time to choose the right container for your project.
- Choose a container that is easy to clean and maintain. The container should be large enough to hold the number of larvae you want to raise, but not so big that it takes up too much space on your countertop or in your refrigerator. It also needs to be opaque, as sunlight can kill soldier fly eggs and larvae. Clear plastic containers are ideal for this purpose because they allow light through but will block UV rays from reaching anything inside them.
- Choose a container with plenty of ventilation holes at the top (to prevent mold from growing) and one or two holes near the bottom (so that accumulated liquid can drain out).
Prevent predators from visiting your Black Soldier Fly larvae.
To prevent predators from visiting your Black Soldier Fly larvae, you can use chicken wire. It’s a great way to make sure that foxes, raccoons and other animals don’t get into the area where they’re located. If they do manage to get in, however, it can also be used as a barrier between the chickens and their predators so that they can’t reach each other. Other options include netting and predator guards (which are similar).
Another option is to use repellents or traps that deter predators from coming near your chickens’ nests. You may want to try sprinkling some Coccinella septempunctata eggs in order to keep ants away from them; this will greatly reduce the likelihood of ants being attracted by any smell coming from rotting eggs left behind by pests like slugs or mice (or even cats!).
Find a nutritious and clean food source for your Black Soldier Fly larvae.
- Find a nutritious and clean food source for your Black Soldier Fly larvae.
The Black Soldier Fly is an omnivore, which means it eats a variety of different food sources. These are some of the best options:
- Food scraps from the kitchen (leftovers, fruits, vegetables)
- Food scraps from the garden (fruits, vegetables)
- Food scraps from the yard (fruits, vegetables)
- Food scraps from the compost (fruits, vegetables) * * *
Choose an outdoor or indoor location for your Black Soldier Fly larvae project.
As we have discussed, Black Soldier Fly larvae are great for pest control. Since they eat all kinds of food waste, they can keep your yard clear from unwanted bugs and other vermin.
However, there’s one big downfall to raising Black Soldier Fly larvae as livestock for chickens: the weather. Unless you live in a climate that doesn’t get cold during the winter months (and why would you want to?), it’s not a good idea to raise Black Soldier Flies outdoors year round.
If you live in an area where temperatures drop below freezing during the night or day, it’s best to bring your BSF larvae indoors during the winter months so they’re protected from frostbite and other health risks that come with being exposed outside when temperatures get too low.
Add lights to encourage Black Soldier Flies to lay eggs in your containers.
If you have a large number of Black Soldier Flies, it is a good idea to turn on the lights for them. This will encourage more egg laying and increase your harvest. If you need to turn off the lights for some reason (e.g., if an unexpected guest drops by), just remember that Black Soldier Fly larvae still need light in order to develop into adult flies so don’t leave them in darkness forever.
You can raise black soldier fly larvae to give to waste-fed chickens.
Raise black soldier fly larvae
Black soldier fly larvae are the immature stage of a fly species (Hermetia illucens) that feeds on organic waste, such as animal manure and spoiled food. They eat solid waste, but they don’t compete with chickens because they only live near the surface of the manure pile or compost bin. Black soldier fly larvae are high in protein, vitamins and minerals and low in fat.
Chickens love it! If you’re using straw bedding for your chickens’ nesting box or run area, you can spread black soldier fly larvae right on top of it for an added treat for your flock—one that’s free for you to collect from your own compost pile every week or two! Of course, if your chickens have access to other food sources like seeds or grains already available from pet stores then there’s no need to add more variety into their diet at all costs – just enjoy seeing them grow healthy and strong!
If you choose to embark on the BSF larvae project, make sure you prepare yourself for a lifetime commitment. The BSF larvae project can be tedious and time consuming, but it is a very rewarding experience. Once your chickens have been eating black soldier fly larvae for a while, they will become addicted to this source of protein. It’s fun watching them eat the black soldier fly larvae with delight and enthusiasm! For us, raising black soldier fly larvae has been one of the most successful experiments we’ve tried with our chickens. We hope that as more people are educated about this process and begin raising their own Black Soldier Fly Larvae for their waste-fed chickens, there will be fewer starving chickens out there in the wilderness (or in cities).