About this episode
When we first started raising chickens we need a way to feed them as cheaply as we could. It's really hard to raise chickens on a budget and especially to make sure they are healthy and having a great life. So I researched a ton about different ways to feed chickens. We sprouted our own grains. We fermented grains. We tried growing our own grains. All of that took way more money than just buying good chicken feed. But then I found this guy that was selling these bins for black soldier flies. It made so much sense to be able to reduce what we were putting into the trash. We also had a place to put weeds and things that we didn't want to compost. The soldier flies eat the seeds so there's nothing to worry about there. I went to buy some and found out you don't even have to buy them! They just come out of nature and grow right in your bin. That made it even better the only thing we had to buy was the bin!
A few years ago after chicken processing day, we put the remains of about 300 chickens in it at one time. That was way too much. The whole homestead stunk for about a week. but after that things were back to normal and we had lots of food for the new batch of chickens. Is it wrong to feed chickens larva that ate other chickens?
But now we have had them for a few years and as long as you keep them fed they stay around and take care of our waste. When we have little animals die we put them in there too. It keeps the predators from coming around and we don't have to dig a hole.
They make these bins in a small backyard size too or you can make your own just google the plans.
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