Chickens love STYROFOAM! Eating Again, Polystyrene!

[Boonie Stomper]

Its amazing what lengths chickens will go to for a crop full of styrofoam cooler or polystyrene packing often used as insulation.

Mine have never shown any illness from having eaten a little of it in the past. But though I've tried to get it away from and keep it from them in the past, I forgot last week when I boxed meat in a foam cooler outside since its freezing out there now and my freezer is too full.

When i turned the flock loose for awhile in the part of the yard where it was, they devastated it in very short order.

I have found some information before that explains gut bacteria in mealworms can digest styrofoam and allow mealworms to be raised on it as their primary food. It stands to reason these same gut organisms can do the same in a bird which has eaten insects which can eat styrofoam.

I found 2 years ago that chestnut weevil larvae can also eat it, and fed those larvae to my flock.

Today, I found this on the web when revisiting the subject, so my chickens can have all they want...
https://challenges.openideo.com/attachments/314423fe-e534-4d0d-a553-fccfb4f7ce7f.pdf?id=7509

Maybe? But we should discuss this!

 

[CatWhisperer]

Very interesting!

 

[Boonie Stomper]

This time, the chooks get to keep working on the damaged cooler, but under regular monitoring to see how much they eat, any obviously poop changes, or other notable events.

Currently only the EE is laying (started Dec 1 2019). Three pullets of age to start. One 2 year old not laying since last year injury.

 

[Boonie Stomper]

 

[Al Gerhart]

If I remember correctly, the studies done so far that I have read were short term, a single generation of meal worms. It is unknown if the insects can thrive through generations with only styrofoam. I do remember reading that it wasn't their food of choice,, there had to be no other options for the meal worms. Still, if the worms grow in size, the styrofoam could be a big portion of their diet, maybe finishing them out on traditional food at the end to make sure the worms got what they needed. And if they grow slower, build more bins till output catches up.

 

[HuskerHens18]

One time when I was raising chicks, I had the BEST idea how to stop them from dumping their water and ruining their fresh bedding. I had an old styrofoam cooler lid I set in there upside down. It had a small lip on it, so IF they managed to knock down the water, it would be contained in the lid! It was BRILLIANT!

Until I walked in the next day.

The entire lid was gone.

Their crops were stuffed beyond what I had ever seen on such tiny babies. I was horrified and upset, certain I'd just killed 30 little chicks. Nope, they all lived and I had a valuable lesson learned. If it's not food, keep it out of the brooder!

I never knew mealworms could eat it though That's really interesting!!

 

[Al Gerhart]

Most people don't know that mealworms are considered a dangerous pest in a commercial broiler house. They eat anything, including dead chickens! So the other birds eat the meal works and this spreads what disease that killed the original chicken. Raised on clean feed or styrofoam in this case, they are fine.

 

[Boonie Stomper]

I have not yet fed any live mealworms to any chicken.
But they have eaten live chestnut weevil larvae and other bugs / spiders / worms they find whilst scratching.

Day 3, or 2 of liberal access... Have just let all 5 hens out of the coop. They've all fed in there on pellet ration and crops are full.
All immediately headed straight for the foam cooler lid (shown above yesterday).

It is like kids eating popcorn!

 

[Boonie Stomper]

Yes... Im back again. Took a trip out of town 3 days & chooks were cooped w/o anything bu pellets and water. All are fine on my return, an I've let them out to free range a bit.

Guess what they went to find first! The styrofoam cooler lid .... Since there are only 5 birds, it will take some time before it's all gone. Interestingly, though, they work on it a bit but then go on to make their regular rounds to get bugs weeds dirt-bath pepples shells and, yes, their pellets.

Still just have 1 laying bird. But I now have 3 of the others squatting! It is Feb 1, the dead of winter! My fingers are crossed for more eggs very soon!

 

[Willowspirit]

One time when I was raising chicks, I had the BEST idea how to stop them from dumping their water and ruining their fresh bedding. I had an old styrofoam cooler lid I set in there upside down. It had a small lip on it, so IF they managed to knock down the water, it would be contained in the lid! It was BRILLIANT!

Until I walked in the next day.

The entire lid was gone.

Their crops were stuffed beyond what I had ever seen on such tiny babies. I was horrified and upset, certain I'd just killed 30 little chicks. Nope, they all lived and I had a valuable lesson learned. If it's not food, keep it out of the brooder!

I never knew mealworms could eat it though That's really interesting!!

That happened to me, too! Darn chickens!