Raising insects as a protein source for chickens would be an interesting and worthwhile project. (says the UN, even: http://www.fao.org/docrep/018/i3253e/i3253e07.pdf) Caveat: it seems that in the US, using insects as a livestock feed is explicitly legal only in Ohio. Which is odd since pastured chickens certainly gobble their share of bugs, but understandable since we don't want insects that are raised on ... extremely disgusting things ... being fed to the animals we eat.)
OfBug is already working on this, selling larvae for farmers who want to start raising insects as a protein source for their animals. http://www.ofbug.com/animalfeed
It would be fun to experiment with modular units that you raise insects in. You'd keep a pipeline of bugs in various stages of development. Then, when it's time to feed the chickens, take a module, open it up for the chickens, and watch the fun! Maybe the bug container could be made of heavy paper so it could be cheap and biodegrade quickly. Or it could be something reusable like a bucket. (That's so simple I don't think it counts as an idea. But if someone figures out a good system, they'll surely be able to turn it into a book/product line/service. Maybe they'll go to work for the UN trying to get everyone to do it.)
Of course, rotating the chickens across vast pastures a la Joel Salatin is probably the ideal way to provide fresh daily bugs as far as chicken nutrition and land management is concerned.
I believe mad cow disease put a stop to commercial use of animal components in feed for animals that will be consumed. I don't know if this applies to insects. When I was a kid we fed burnt chicken feathers to cows.. I think that is outlawed now as well (commercially, I'm sure you could do it for home use).
I think insects to chickens is a great idea though. There are some people that grow mealworms for chickens and I've seen dried mealworms at the feed store as chicken treats.
I had some chickens this year (my first year with them). A weasel got in through a small hole smaller than my fist and killed every chicken at about 9 weeks old. He then took about half of them back out the same hole... in pieces and left the remainder for me to find in the morning. It was a pretty gruesome scene. I set some traps but was never able to catch him.
But before the massacre, I would take the chickens out at night and hold them under the back porch light and they would happily stuff themselves on insects and moths landing on the wall.
I want to come up with an insect trap so as to avoid the trouble of raising insects. They are all over anyway... why cultivate them?
I'm building a better coop and am going to try again next spring.
I bet you could design a lighted tunnel that moths from the street would happily follow straight into the chicken coop! There might need to be some trickery involved, as I think tend to fly around the light and not directly at it.
OfBug is already working on this, selling larvae for farmers who want to start raising insects as a protein source for their animals. http://www.ofbug.com/animalfeed
It would be fun to experiment with modular units that you raise insects in. You'd keep a pipeline of bugs in various stages of development. Then, when it's time to feed the chickens, take a module, open it up for the chickens, and watch the fun! Maybe the bug container could be made of heavy paper so it could be cheap and biodegrade quickly. Or it could be something reusable like a bucket. (That's so simple I don't think it counts as an idea. But if someone figures out a good system, they'll surely be able to turn it into a book/product line/service. Maybe they'll go to work for the UN trying to get everyone to do it.)
Of course, rotating the chickens across vast pastures a la Joel Salatin is probably the ideal way to provide fresh daily bugs as far as chicken nutrition and land management is concerned.