Ewwww a MAGGOT BUCKET?! Well, it's actually pretty awesome. ;)
Good morning everyone!! Boy, life can be busy and exhausting, can't it?
I'm telling you, life has been crazy around here lately. It's a whole mess of things, but hey, who wants to hear about that? Nah. Instead, Ill tell you about my latest successful experiment: THE MAGGOT BUCKET!
Yeah, you read that right, a MAGGOT BUCKET.
"What is this nonsense?!", you ask.
Well, the simple answer is: a maggot bucket is a bucket into which you place items for flies to lay their eggs into. There are holes for the flies to enter, and holes for the maggots to exit. Crazy, right?! Who, in their right mind, would CHOOSE to breed flies?! Well, me, I guess.
The truth is, this is a great way to get rid of guts. I harvest my chickens to eat, and they have offal that needs disposing of. Usually I bury them. This is not only a way to get rid of guts, it is also a way to feed the hens! The maggots fall down to the ground where the chickens are waiting to snap them up! Therefore, this is a source of free food! Also, it stands to reason, the more maggots being eaten by the hens, the less there are to mature into gross, annoying flies! Over time, it SHOULD reduce the fly population to some extent. (We shall see!)
This can also be useful for someone who does NOT butcher their chickens. You can use wet chicken feed, or kitchen scraps to attract the flies and feed your hens!
Anyway... I made a couple videos about this if you'd care to learn more. The first is when I actually made the bucket, and the second is a follow up video where I talk about how I feel it worked out. (Also there are baby goaties in that second video, for those who love baby goaties!! Luna had TWINS! ♥)
Thanks for stopping by! Drop a comment and let me know how your morning is going!
I hope your day is productive and your coffee is hot! ♥ If you don't drink coffee... well, you are weird like my husband who somehow also functions without. ;) Have a great day anyway, weirdos!
This work by @SquishySquid is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
the title alone made me read this I have never heard of a maggot bucket, but I can see how it is an effective way to produce feed for your chickens, very interesting and something I learnt today
Haha thanks for checkingit out! I was hesitant to try it, but it ended up less gross than I thought it would be. ;)
yes the title sounded more gross than the description :)
That is a really clever way to reduce the fly population... and to make use of the off cuts that you wouldn't otherwise use! Clever and efficient!.... but more than a little bit disgusting....
Super gross, I agree! That's why it took me so long to actually try it.
But it ended up being less gross than I imagined... ;)
Win win!
Wow I seriously learn so much from reading every one of your posts! When I read the title I did say
I wanted to see why you made a maggot bucket. Now I get it, it makes total sense and I’m glad to see you feel it’s working out.
Haha its one of those things that you dont really want to try because it is GROSS, but it actually makes sense, and it is less gross than you would think after all! ;)
Lol exactly!! You are so brave...I admire you ~
Bah ha ha, thanks!
I admire you as well, you MAKE all kinds of fantastic things AND are an awesome photographer! All while balancing your kiddos and family life. ♥
Of course! ♥️
Awww thanks so much!! You are so sweet!! ☺️☺️☺️
I wonder if that would work for soldier fly larvae. I used to feed those guys to my chickens back before the vegan thing. They loved em. I still see them in the worm bin but don’t have chickens anymore.
Ive never tried soldier fly larvae, but its on my radar for 'maybe someday'. Right now I have red wigglers composting, and random fly larvae in my maggot bucket, so that's good for now. ;)
I think Ive heard of other people doing something similar with black soldier fly larvae, now that I think about it. Maybe on YouTube? Not sure....
Thanks for stopping by!
That's a cool way of addressing food for your hens and keeping the fly population in check while getting rid of your garbage (if I may call it so). Very very cool!
My day is going well @squishysquid. Thanks for asking! 😊
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Thanks! It sounds weird and gross, but it ends up making a lot of sense! :D
What a great idea! We don't really butcher very often, but we have plenty of things flies get excited about. Congratulations on you last two kids of the season. They're so adorable. And Luna is really beautiful. I think I have to go drill some holes in a bucket now...
Haha go for it! Sounds gross but it actually ended up pretty great!
I told my husband about it and he's highly intrigued. If he hadn't gone to work today he would have been hunting for icky bits to put in a bucket! It's a little early for us though. The flies aren't out in force for another couple of months.
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We are lucky, I guess. Flies are out in force here. Today the high is supposed to be 80! This Ohio girl transplanted in Georgia has difficulty with that! ;)
Wow! I think our high is supposed to be 55 today. It's 37 right now.
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haha, when I read the heading I was very sceptical.
Awesome concept and it looks as if your hens appreciate it :-)
Right up to the time they become the next contents in the bucket.
Bah ha ha... well, hens are pretty savage. They have no qualms about eating eachother. They really are smallish, feathered dinosaurs. ;)
Thanks! I am glad I finally got brave enough to try it!
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Thank you!
I don't drink coffee, but I am reading this in the evening so that is a moot point anyway. Cool project! I bet the featherbutts will be happy all summer! And the baby goat bleats toward the end of video 2 were great!
Aww thanks!
I will overlook your lack of coffee drinking, I suppose. ;)
Thanks for watching! :D
What an unusual idea for chicken feed! Now if I could think up something similar to cut down on the mosquito population. Love the little goat voices, too. They are so stinkin' cute!
Haha yes! We definitely need some way to get rid of those blood-suckers!!
Thanks for watching. Baby goaties are the cutest! ♥