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The larva of the fly is a power in this world. To give back to life, with all speed, the remains of that which has lived, it macerates and condenses corpses, distilling them into an essence wherewith the earth, the plant's foster-mother, may be nourished and enriched...
The Life of the Fly
J Henri LaFabre
Professor of Philospohy
I draw the line at hanging carrion from the branches of trees.
Nonetheless, I enjoy fresh foods and can only assume that my chickens do, also.
I’ve been stymied, though, in my recent attempts to provide the hens with a better diet. When they’re cooped up, they tear up the grass and consume all the bugs in their pen pretty quickly, and when they’re loose, well, they eat better but they get into mischief. They thus stay cooped up. Fine accommodations, I must say, but they ground inside the coop does not have the species diversity it once did.
Traditional cultures, once again, have the answer.
You hang some carrion from the branch of a tree, it seems. Flies lay their eggs in the decrepit meat, and maggots start swarming around in no time. In due course, the maggots start falling onto the ground and the hens take care of it from there.
Yes, disgustingly brilliant.
Alternatively, one can spread kitchen scraps across the back yard. Leave them there a few days, let the flies impregnate all of it. Then gather it all up and let it sit in a barrel for a few days. Let all the maggots hatch and really start crawling around. Then throw the whole mess into the chicken coop.
One trusts all of this is more appealing than the extruded industrial by-products that come in the 50 pounds sacks at the farm store. It’s more appealing to me, at least, to produce the chicken food locally than to purchase 50 pound sacks from the farm store. The smells gonna be different, but I think I can get used to it.
The Life of the Fly
J Henri LaFabre
Professor of Philospohy
I draw the line at hanging carrion from the branches of trees.
Nonetheless, I enjoy fresh foods and can only assume that my chickens do, also.
I’ve been stymied, though, in my recent attempts to provide the hens with a better diet. When they’re cooped up, they tear up the grass and consume all the bugs in their pen pretty quickly, and when they’re loose, well, they eat better but they get into mischief. They thus stay cooped up. Fine accommodations, I must say, but they ground inside the coop does not have the species diversity it once did.
Traditional cultures, once again, have the answer.
You hang some carrion from the branch of a tree, it seems. Flies lay their eggs in the decrepit meat, and maggots start swarming around in no time. In due course, the maggots start falling onto the ground and the hens take care of it from there.
Yes, disgustingly brilliant.
Alternatively, one can spread kitchen scraps across the back yard. Leave them there a few days, let the flies impregnate all of it. Then gather it all up and let it sit in a barrel for a few days. Let all the maggots hatch and really start crawling around. Then throw the whole mess into the chicken coop.
One trusts all of this is more appealing than the extruded industrial by-products that come in the 50 pounds sacks at the farm store. It’s more appealing to me, at least, to produce the chicken food locally than to purchase 50 pound sacks from the farm store. The smells gonna be different, but I think I can get used to it.
1 Comments:
At January 13, 2009 7:21 AM,
Dana said…
Dear Frank, so glad you are back on "the line" writing about such brilliant tactics. I think hanging the dead animal sounds a lot easier than the alternative you described, but the truth is, it doesn't seem to be hard one way or the other to foster a level of grossness that would inhabit maggot breeding... Anyways, the next time I skin a roadkill to do some tanning, I would be glad to donate the carcass to your endeavors if you decide to go that route.
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