|*Starting a Cricket Farm for my flock*|

[KBHatchery]

I wanted to start growing crickets for my flock because they contain 55.3% protein , 30.2% fat , and 0.23% calcium. It gives them more protein than their feed and the crude fat is good for them too in moderation. I decided to start a thread to see if anyone else out there in the BYC community was trying out the same cricket farm idea. Ive noticed a decent increase in growth of my one month old chicks sense giving them cricket treats now and then. If anyone has any advice , comments , ideas , or questions post here and im sure either myself or another BYCer will help you out

This food is great for the crickets, it supplys everything they
need for a healthy diet. It is safe for cricket and chicken, or
any other animal that eats the crickets.

 

[darkside1]

How much does it cost you to raise say 100 crickets from hatch to adult? How does this compare to raising mealworms for chickens? I am very interested in this.

 

[CurtisCr79]

I will warn you, crickets stink much worse than meal worms. I use to raise both when I had a lot of reptiles. I found it better to either mail order them by the box of 1000 or talk to a few smaller local pet stores to add your order in when they place theirs.

I haven't seen much talk of roaches, I know it sounds nasty and it makes you think they may take over the house, however the ones you would raise would be exotic and would die a few days after escaping.

Anyways, just food for thought! I wish you well in which ever venture you take on!

 

[KBHatchery]

I will warn you, crickets stink much worse than meal worms. I use to raise both when I had a lot of reptiles. I found it better to either mail order them by the box of 1000 or talk to a few smaller local pet stores to add your order in when they place theirs.

I haven't seen much talk of roaches, I know it sounds nasty and it makes you think they may take over the house, however the ones you would raise would be exotic and would die a few days after escaping.

Anyways, just food for thought! I wish you well in which ever venture you take on!

What i do to keep the stink down is vermiculite. I place just enough to cover the bottom of the container and then put my soil on top about 1inch thick. the females need about 1/2 and inch to lay eggs. But the vermiculite actually retains the odor and can sustain a tank or container with up to 1000 crickets. Small pet stores like Petsmart carries crickets. about 5 dollars for a tube full, the tube is about 5 to 6 inches long, and if they scoop them right you may get close to 100 in a bag. 10 dollars would more than likely get you to 100 crickets. Im using a 10 gallon tub that can hold up to 300 crickets. it takes about 12 days after the female lays the egg for it to hatch. And once the eggs hatch they go through a few stages before reaching full maturity, but they look like their adult counterparts as they grow, they will just bee lighter in color and smaller. The food i showed above was also purchased at petsmart.

 

[KBHatchery]

How much does it cost you to raise say 100 crickets from hatch to adult? How does this compare to raising mealworms for chickens? I am very interested in this.

What i do to keep the stink down is vermiculite. I place just enough to cover the bottom of the container and then put my soil on top about 1inch thick. the females need about 1/2 and inch to lay eggs. But the vermiculite actually retains the odor and can sustain a tank or container with up to 1000 crickets. Small pet stores like Petsmart carries crickets. about 5 dollars for a tube full, the tube is about 5 to 6 inches long, and if they scoop them right you may get close to 100 in a bag. 10 dollars would more than likely get you to 100 crickets. Im using a 10 gallon tub that can hold up to 300 crickets. it takes about 12 days after the female lays the egg for it to hatch. And once the eggs hatch they go through a few stages before reaching full maturity, but they look like their adult counterparts as they grow, they will just bee lighter in color and smaller. The food i showed above was also purchased at petsmart.

 

[KBHatchery]

 

[KBHatchery]

 

[KBHatchery]

One of my females is laying eggs right now. First time ive seen a cricket lay eggs.

 

[Breella]

I tried it once when I was younger but found it easier to just order them by the thousands. Back then a thousand crickets was only $25 with shipping.

 

[JanetS]

I just bought some crickets for my chickens today. Never thought of growing my own....Interesting.. How did you get started? Could this be done on a porch? In Florida.