Water crystals and mealworms

[Camille2t]

Hi, I have seen that people use water crystals to hydrate their mealworms. I would like to throw the chick starter substrate into the coop along with the mealworms to avoid sifting (breathing issues). My question is, will the water crystals which I give the mealworms adversely affect the chickens if they were to eat it? Or, do the water crystals turn into water crystal dust and stay in the substrate...even after being pooped out by the mealworms? I mean, the crystals are made of polymer and I don;t think that decomposes...I don't know what to do since I bought a huge amount of the crystals based on a video I saw showing how a guy gave his mealworms water crystals...Please help! Thanks

 

[casportpony]

I have no idea. Hopefully someone else can answer your question.

 

[HiyokoInNippon]

Hi, I have seen that people use water crystals to hydrate their mealworms. I would like to throw the chick starter substrate into the coop along with the mealworms to avoid sifting (breathing issues). My question is, will the water crystals which I give the mealworms adversely affect the chickens if they were to eat it? Or, do the water crystals turn into water crystal dust and stay in the substrate...even after being pooped out by the mealworms? I mean, the crystals are made of polymer and I don;t think that decomposes...I don't know what to do since I bought a huge amount of the crystals based on a video I saw showing how a guy gave his mealworms water crystals...Please help! Thanks

Hi, first off, I would not be giving meal worms water crystals. Hard veg works just fine. Also, do NOT feed it to your chickens. Water crystals stored for a while get manky in ideal conditions. In a place where they are getting exposed to everything, they will get downright toxic. Also, they absorb water like crazy. If they are not super hydrated, I could see them pulling water from inside the chicken while they try to pass.

All around, sounds like a terrible idea.

Source: I work with these things all the time. Petstore employee.