Are Mealworms Good for Chickens?

Chickens are omnivorous and will eat, or least sample, just about anything. They consume a wide variety of vegetable, fruits, berries, grasses, grains, insects and worms. Chickens are raised for a variety of reasons. The age of the chicken and what its end purpose will be determines the best diet for that particular chicken. Chickens are raised for egg production, meat production, breeding production and by hobbyists for fun. All chickens love to eat mealworms.

  1. Egg-Producing Chickens

    • Breeding and egg-laying chickens require varying amounts of protein during their laying cycle. A young hen in the beginning stages of laying eggs needs more protein than an older hen who lays fewer eggs. Egg layers can be fed scratch grains like corn, wheat and oats in addition to laying mash. Mash is a finely ground mixture of grains typically containing 16 to 20 percent protein. Mealworms contain more than 58 percent protein per worm. Chickens enjoy mealworms and will gobble them up quickly. Mealworms make a great addition to your laying hen's diet, supplying an extra punch of protein.

    Chickens for Meat Production

    • Chickens raised for meat production also require a customized diet that can change significantly from the starter diet to the finishing diet. Meat chickens typically require 10 percent more protein in their starter diet than laying hens. Their finishing diet may require less than 16 percent protein if they are heavy roasting chickens. Mealworms are a great way to add extra protein to their overall diet. Mealworm supplementation makes it easier to regulate the chicken's ever fluctuating protein requirements.

    Hobbyist Flock

    • Many backyard chicken owners grow chickens for both egg and meat production. Hobbyists also grow chickens to eat insects on their property and for the simple enjoyment of having chickens as pets. Mealworms are a great way to train chickens. Since chickens consider mealworms a tasty treat, hobbyists can use mealworm rewards to train chickens to follow them when called. They can also use mealworms to gain the chickens' trust, coaxing them to become friendlier, eventually becoming hand friendly, allowing the hobbyists to hold and pet their chickens.

    Acquiring Mealworms

    • Mealworms are loaded with protein.

      Feeding mealworms to chickens for extra protein or for training purposes has become very popular. Mealworms are sold frozen, freeze-dried or live, and they can be purchased at just about any bait store, or from the Internet in small containers or large tubs. Mealworms are available in several sizes: small, medium, large and jumbo. Hobbyists often raise their own mealworms for an easy, cost-effective, nutritious treat for their chickens.