Inexpensive Grasshopper Feed

[Shimano42]

Hello,
So down at our cattle pastures in Texas, the fields have been destroyed by grasshoppers and the drought. The density is so high I caught 3 pounds of live grasshoppers in a fishing net in about 10 minutes. The species are called differentiated grasshoppers and are not toxic. The question I have is do you know of any commercial operator or BYC members that would purchase grasshoppers? I know that the reptile industry sells grasshoppers for $6-9 an ounce.
I freeze them just to kill tapeworms.
Thanks

 

[chooks4life]

That could be a good idea. The freezing part is extra good too for a few reasons. If you have a large freezer, or access to one, you could catch and freeze as much as you can and sell it off later. I don't know the extent of the issue, but generally if you're having fields destroyed by grasshoppers, you're going to have people lacking feed for their animals. I expect those with chicks, exotic birds and pets, and stud poultry will be most likely to want to buy....

But here's one serious issue: how do you know what they're 'pre-loaded' with? For all we know, they could have just dined on fields only just freshly sprayed with pesticides.

Anyway, whether they're fertilizer or feed, they should be good for something. Best wishes.