Mealworms vs soldier fly larvae

[Stoney Meadow Maple]

I was at TSC today, 4 lbs of solder fly larvae were much cheaper than mealworms. Look about the same and seem to be meant for the same purpose, why the price difference and are they ok for my ducks or did I just blow 25 bucks?

 

[Carter Martin]

Could you tell me why you feed your chickens mealworms?

 

[Weeg]

Could you tell me why you feed your chickens mealworms?

As a treat mostly likely, same here.

To OP, yes you can feed soldier fly larvae to your ducks. I have no idea about the price difference, maybe its easier to raise the soldier fly larvae then the mealworms, so its lower cost? I have no idea.

 

[KaleIAm]

I have bought them for my ducks before. They are supposed to have more calcium and be more nutritious than mealworms, but it was the fly larvae company telling me so and I'm not sure how accurate that information is. My ducks liked them, but are crazier about mealworms.

When I bought them the fly larvae were more expensive, but grown in the US and claimed to use better conditions compared to the unregulated conditions of mealworms grown in China.

 

[fatty and friends]

i don’t know why they are cheaper, but i like to give mine fly larvae more because they have more calcium and are healthier for ducks

 

[SolarDuck]

I've tried them before as well, my ducks like them but not as much as mealworms. @Carter Martin a lot of us poultry owners give mealworns as treats because all of our birds love them.

 

[cheezenkwackers]

I have been giving mine soldier fly larva, as treats, instead of mealworms for over a year. I switched because they are higher in protein and calcium and lower in fat. Mine like them. I have them auto-shipped from amazon. The company claims they are an American company. They even have an American flag on their card they include. However, the box says, grown in China.
Btw, I think the fly larva are grown using trash pieces of meat. There was an episode of "Dirty Jobs" where they were being grown using left over Salmon from a processing plant. That might explain why they are cheaper and higher in protein than mealworms which are fed plant products.

 

[Carter Martin]

I've tried them before as well, my ducks like them but not as much as mealworms. @Carter Martin a lot of us poultry owners give mealworns as treats because all of our birds love them.

If my birds were pets maybe I would give them treats but I am trying to make a profit. So they are not pets very much.

 

[Stoney Meadow Maple]

If my birds were pets maybe I would give them treats but I am trying to make a profit. So they are not pets very much.

Yeah.....I’m at like 45 bucks an egg at this point..but we make it up in volume

 

[KaleIAm]

Yeah.....I’m at like 45 bucks an egg at this point..but we make it up in volume

Yeah, we joke that we are at $100/egg! It would have been funny to keep an egg count and supply+vet account to figure it out. I'd probably just want to cry.