Cheap Chicken Feed

#1 04/28/11, 07:44 PM

I read an article some time ago about someone that had chickens that looked healthy , laid good & didn't eat hardly any of their feed . They also seemed really lazy during the day . The owner finally figured out that by leaving a light burning all night in the chicken coop , bugs were being attracted to the light & the chickens were chasing & eating bugs all night . The coop had a window that was just covered with chicken wire . Sounds possible to me , what do you think ?

kirkmcquest · #2 04/28/11, 08:02 PM

Why not? As long as the light is low enough for the chickens to reach the bugs...it just might be crazy enough to work. But it would only work during the warm season, in which case you can just free range them if you have the space.

myheaven · #3 04/28/11, 11:39 PM

my chickens during the warmer months stay close to the feed barn where the yard light is and eat bugs allnight. I hardly feed them come summer. I also set up a japanese beetle lure and a feed pan under the lure and the chickens just sit and wait for the bugs to come to them. Irealy think it would work for you. Just make sure they dont peck the bulb abd break it.

farmerbrian · #4 04/29/11, 09:47 AM

Very interesting! Have not put the finishing touches on my coop yet....will keep this thought in mind for sure!

stamphappy · #5 04/29/11, 10:01 AM

please enlighten me...what's a japanese beetle lure? Instructions on making one?

myheaven · #6 04/29/11, 12:43 PM

You can get them at almost any store. It looks like this http://www.rescue.com/products/beetle.asp
Just cut out the bottom of the trap hang it above their feeder and let them eat. Every time one hits the metal feeder they know its dinner time.

#7 04/29/11, 12:48 PM

I brood my chicks in an open bay of my workshop. The lights often attract night bugs. I've had chicks less than a day old figure them bugs were good eats! By the second day even large moths were fair game.

If that person has a light that is attracting lots of juicy bugs I could well believe the birds would eat less milled feed.

Cyngbaeld · #8 04/29/11, 01:24 PM

You can also put a pan of water under any outside lights. Free range birds will learn to check the pan in the morning.

postroad · #9 04/29/11, 01:32 PM

Would 24 hour per day lighting not affect them in a negitive way?

oregon woodsmok · #10 04/29/11, 01:39 PM

It postpones their molt and they lay for a longer period with fewer breaks for molting.

But, no, it doesn't really have serious effects on their health. A lot of people keep them under lights during the winter so they don't stop laying when the days get shorter.

If you are worried about it, you could put the bug light on a timer, so it brings in a bug dinner and then goes off for the rest of the night.

I wonder if it would attract coddling moth and be a good control for coddling moth?

Sanza · #11 04/30/11, 01:58 AM

It sounds great but my chickens are roosting already when there's still a couple hours of daylight left so somehow I don't think they'll burn the midnight oil to chase bugs. I wonder how I can teach them to stay awake at night....lol
Maybe using a bug zapper to kill the bugs and they'll go there to feed in the morning...

InvalidID · #12 04/30/11, 02:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sanza

It sounds great but my chickens are roosting already when there's still a couple hours of daylight left so somehow I don't think they'll burn the midnight oil to chase bugs. I wonder how I can teach them to stay awake at night....lol
Maybe using a bug zapper to kill the bugs and they'll go there to feed in the morning...

If you leave a light on they'll stay awake longer. It's 1130 pm right now here, I was in my coup 10 minutes ago and turned on the light to see how they are set for hay. Every one of them except the youngest rooster jumped down off the perch and went to the feeder when the light popped on.
My only concern with leaving the light on is would it make them mean? I've heard they start pecking tail feathers if you leave the light on all the time. Anyone had that happen?
Mine might be ok though, I free range during the day and they nap whenever they've gotten full.

kasilofhome · #13 04/30/11, 07:28 AM

living in Alaska we have natural weird hours for sunlight. There really is a difference as the birds sleep less in the summer but then so do the humans. looat at the hours I post here. very late and very early plus during my work breaks. In the winter they are up when we wake the birds and feed them in the winter. Thats ok in the summer they wake us.

lonelyfarmgirl · #14 04/30/11, 07:55 AM

The whole pecking each other thing only really comes into play in close confinement situations, if the birds have plenty of room to get away from each other, it should not be a problem.

myheaven · #15 04/30/11, 10:53 AM

In the winter I keep the light on 24/7 andnoone has ever been pecked but my chickens have plenty of space.

fishhead · #16 04/30/11, 01:49 PM

A massive cicada emergence is scheduled this summer. They are talking billions. It might be worthwhile to be ready to freeze some feed bags full for later.

Joshie · #17 04/30/11, 02:41 PM

Good luck with that one.

oregon woodsmok · #18 05/01/11, 01:48 PM

I don't think I'd like bags of bugs in my freezer, taking up space, but cicadas dry really well and birds will eat them dried.

stamphappy · #19 05/01/11, 02:00 PM

I think drying cicadas is a wonderful idea! It'd be a tasty treat in the winter for them!!

I've eaten dried mealsworms. I added the activity in my 2nd grade Insect Unit, as an example of just one of the many benefits of insects to man. A little over half the class tried them. I thought they rather borning, even the 'cheddar cheese flavored' ones... But heck, I'm not a chicken!!

sticky_burr · #20 05/01/11, 05:14 PM

what wave length are they attracted to? do i hear the call for say 5-10 leds?