Dried mealworms turned out to be a bad deal for my flock last summer

About 6 months ago I started giving my hens dried mealworms as a treat. Seemed harmless enough. But by last month I noticed two of them were getting fat and not laying as much. Turns out too much protein can mess with their laying cycle especially in hot weather. I switched to plain scratch grains and they went back to normal in a couple weeks. Anyone else run into this with high-protein treats?

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2 Comments

noahs821mo ago

Right there with you, Henry, I saw the same thin shells and sluggish laying before I finally cut way back on those mealworms.

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henry_kelly541mo ago

Flip your thinking around from protein to calcium balance, because too many mealworms can mess up a hen's ability to absorb calcium when they're already stressed by heat. I lost a couple eggs to thin shells last summer before I figured out the same issue with my own birds. Did you notice any shell problems before the laying dropped off?

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