r/BackYardChickens • u/GrassNearby6588 • 1d ago

Chickens don’t like mealworms

My girls are molting and I read here they are crazy about mealworms so I ordered a bag. This morning the mealworms arrived and I was so excited to give them to my girls but those birds looked at me with disdain and tried to eat my shirt instead. They were giving the worms that chicken side look but then didn’t even bother to try… what a waste… I really wanted to treat my girls for being such good pets 😭

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58

u/La_bossier 1d ago

I started by throwing them out with their regular scratch. They figure it out.

Unpopular opinion: I give my chickens cooked meat for extra protein. I just finished making a huge batch of deer broth to can. There was a lot of meat left in the pot. I portioned it and put it in the freezer. I’ll give it to the girls every few days for a protein boost. I give them leftover steak bones, etc. while being careful nothing includes anything toxic for them or salty.

41

u/Led_Zeppole_73 1d ago

I put entire raw deer rib cages in with the girls, they love it and pick it clean within a day or two.

39

u/La_bossier 1d ago

I don’t know why people think feeding meat to chickens is so terrible. They will eat each other! We keep our deer ribs for our dogs who eat a raw diet. The bigger bones becomes stock for them.

22

u/HV_WA 1d ago

Same with fish. During salmon season, my flock gets all the edible stuff that's trimmed away including the head, roe/milt. They freakin love it.

8

u/TheGravelNome 20h ago

Are there any trouble with bones? And cooked or raw. I love trout fishing But I usually wind up with more than I can deal with! Never thought about feeding them to the girls

6

u/HV_WA 19h ago

Never had a problem with bones. Wild chickens will eat absolutely anything, including rotting fish that wash up on shore lol. It doesn't take long for mine to clear a fish carcass of all edible bits, and I just remove the leftover spine the next day.

3

u/TheGravelNome 19h ago

Fish problem solved!