If you keep backyard chickens, you should care about black soldier fly larvae, and it comes down to two things you already care about. Your flock, and your wallet.
Feed prices keep climbing, and good protein treats from the store are not cheap. Meanwhile your chickens are out there in the run, obsessed with scratching up insects in the dirt, doing the thing chickens have done forever. BSFL sit right in the middle of that, they are one of the best protein sources you can put in front of a hen, and you can grow them yourself out of food scraps for basically nothing. Here is how feeding them works, and why I think they beat most of what is on the feed store shelf.
Why Chickens Go Nuts for Grubs
Chickens are natural foragers. In the wild a hen spends most of her day hunting for insects, and the protein and fat she gets from them is a big part of a healthy diet. BSFL are soft-bodied, they wiggle, and the fluffybutts treat them like candy. The first time you toss a handful of grubs into the run you will understand, it gets competitive in there.
But the reason I push BSFL specifically, over mealworms or dried crickets, is not just that chickens like them. It is what is actually inside them.
The Nutrition, In Plain Numbers
On a dry weight basis, black soldier fly larvae run roughly 40 to 45 percent protein and 25 to 35 percent fat. That is a serious protein source, right in the same range as the mealworms a lot of people buy, and the fat gives your birds energy, especially useful heading into a cold winter or a hard molt.
The part that matters most for chicken keepers, though, is calcium. Most feeder insects are badly out of balance, they carry way more phosphorus than calcium, which is the wrong ratio for a laying hen. BSFL are one of the few feeder insects where the calcium to phosphorus ratio actually favors calcium. For a hen who is pulling calcium out of her own body every single day to build eggshells, that is a real advantage. I will be honest that I am not going to pretend grubs replace a proper calcium supplement like oyster shell, but among insect treats, BSFL are about the best calcium story you are going to find.
A quick note on live versus dried. Both are good. Live grubs trigger more of that natural foraging behavior and the birds seem to enjoy the hunt more, dried are shelf-stable and easier to keep on hand. I feed live when I have them crawling out of the bin and dried when I do not. You are not making a mistake either way.
How Much to Feed
Here is where I want to be careful, because more is not better. BSFL are a treat and a supplement, not a complete diet. Your chickens still need a balanced layer feed as the foundation of what they eat, that is what is formulated to keep them healthy and laying.
The rule of thumb most keepers use is that treats of any kind should stay around ten percent of the daily diet. A small handful of grubs per bird, once a day or every other day, is plenty. If you dump in so many that they fill up on grubs and ignore their feed, you can throw off their nutrition and, with the fat content, put weight on them you do not want. Generous but not unlimited is the move.
Can Chicks Eat Them Too?
They can, with a couple of common-sense adjustments. Young chicks can absolutely benefit from the protein, but they are small, so break dried grubs into smaller pieces or offer modest amounts of live ones they can manage. And once chicks are eating anything other than starter crumble, they need access to a little grit to grind it down, since they do not have the gravel a free-ranging bird would pick up on its own. With that covered, grubs are a great early protein boost.
But Aren't Those Just...
Somebody always asks the hesitation question, so I will get ahead of it. Black soldier fly larvae are not the kind of fly larvae you are picturing on roadkill, they are a completely different animal. The adults do not bite, they do not eat, they do not land on your food or spread disease, they basically just mate and lay eggs and move on. The grubs themselves are clean eaters that actually outcompete the pest flies you do not want around the coop. Once you have watched your hens devour them, the hesitation tends to disappear fast.
The Best Part, Growing Your Own
You can buy BSFL, and that is a fine place to start. But the thing that got me hooked is that you can grow them yourself, for free, out of stuff you are already throwing away. Food scraps go into a bin, black soldier flies show up and lay eggs, the larvae eat the scraps and grow fat, and when they are ready the prepupae crawl up and out of the bin on their own, right into a collection container you can carry straight to the run.
Set the bin up near the coop and it turns into a slow, self-restocking protein dispenser. Scraps in one end, grubs out the other, hens fed. That loop is the whole reason I started Blue Grub Farms, well, that and a lot of dog poop, but that is a different story.
If you want to skip the fiddly DIY build, the BSFL Bin Kit is the setup I wish I had when I started, it handles the fly entrance, the egg-laying surface, and the self-harvesting ramp so the grubs collect themselves. You can see the rest of the gear on the shop. Either way, the goal is the same, free protein for your flock out of waste you would have tossed anyway.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are black soldier fly larvae safe for chickens?
Yes. BSFL are a clean, high-protein feeder insect that chickens eat readily. The adults do not bite or carry disease, and the larvae are widely used as poultry feed. Feed them as a treat alongside a balanced layer feed.
How many black soldier fly larvae can I feed my chickens per day?
Keep treats to about ten percent of the daily diet, which works out to a small handful of grubs per bird, once a day or every other day. The rest of their intake should be their regular balanced feed.
Are BSFL better than mealworms for chickens?
In one big way, yes. BSFL carry a much more favorable calcium to phosphorus ratio than mealworms, which matters for laying hens building eggshells. On protein the two are roughly comparable. The real gap is calcium, mealworms run high in phosphorus and low in calcium, which is the wrong balance for a laying hen.
Can baby chicks eat black soldier fly larvae?
Older chicks can, in small amounts and broken into manageable pieces. Make sure they have access to grit so they can digest anything other than starter crumble. Keep portions modest since chicks have small crops.
Should I feed live or dried BSFL?
Both work. Live grubs encourage natural foraging and tend to be more exciting for the birds, dried are shelf-stable and convenient. Feed whichever you have on hand.
Do black soldier fly larvae replace chicken feed?
No. They are a protein supplement and a treat, not a complete diet. A balanced layer feed should still make up the bulk of what your chickens eat, with grubs added on top.
