Written with William.
Raising Black Soldier Flies on a homestead has quickly become a favorite way to raise quality high-protein feed for chickens. As an extra added bonus, they quickly turn organic waste into usable compost. At the Yachana, our goal is to raise 80% of our own food- for our family and for the Lodge, as well as do it in a sustainable, cost-effective way that others can easily replicate. Black Soldier Flies fit the goal!
What are Black Soldier Flies? Why Raise Black Soldier Larvae as Chicken Feed?
Black Soldier Flies (or BSF, as we’ll continue to refer to them) are present in warm climates across the world. BSF aren’t invasive, they eat just about any organic waste, they multiply rapidly and their larvaes can contain up to 50% protein, which is a great option for your chickens!
Can I raise Black Soldier Flies in my area?
We had heard of using BSF as feed while living in the U.S., but in our area they would have had a fairly short season in which it was warm enough for them. And they don’t successfully overwinter well, so it would require starting new each year. However, BSF are native to South America, so warm, temperate climates are perfect and likely already in your area. Just give them a specific home and feed and they will thrive. They do best at 75* to 90* F (or 25* to 35*C) and like humidity. If you are in the U.S., you’ll likely need a controlled greenhouse in order to make it work or only farm during the warm months.
Concerns about raising Black Soldier Flies? Are BSF invasive? Do BSF bite or sting?
BSF are non-invasive. They don’t sting or bite. They don’t attack crops. They don’t carry disease.
How to get started farming Black Soldier Flies
Prepare your space and have a source of feed. You’ll want a bin of some kind for their home. There are many options available, a few of which I will link below. It needs to keep the contents dry, but have some air flow. It should be able to drain excess moisture. A great feature is also ramps to “self-harvest”. We have tried a few different types of bins, using different materials and in different locations.
Most recently we have built a brick “bin” inside the chicken run. The idea is that the larvaes will climb out and rather than collect them and deliver them to the chickens, they are already there and the chickens scratch in the dirt and eat them very closely to their natural instincts to hunt and find bugs and insects for food. This is working well for us as we have plenty of kitchen scraps from the Yachana Lodge kitchen, which is close by, there is plenty of space, and it’s the ideal temperature and humidity for them to do well, year round. It is also low maintenance, which is another goal of ours in all of our projects.
What can you use to feed Black Soldier Flies
This is one of the biggest perks of raising Black Soldier Flies! What do Black Soldier Flies eat? They will happily eat just about any organic waste. Our “slop bucket” from the kitchen, full of all sorts of kitchen scraps goes into the barrel of BSF larvaes. When kids don’t finish their plates, I love to remind myself that it’s not wasted groceries, we just turn it into chicken feed via the BSF.
Black Soldier Flies do best on a variety of food sources- especially household organic matter. If you don’t have a lot yourself, ask your neighbors or even restaurants. You don’t want it to be too wet or it will begin to smell. We put a layer of sawdust over each bucket load we dump in another bin we have near the house to keep the smell down.
BSF will also eat pig or chicken manure (and possibly others, but not necessarily cow manure). You can quickly turn animal manure from your homestead into smooth, usable compost by also feeding the manure to your BSF.
How long does it take to get BSF larvae?
We live in a unique space where Black Soldier Flies are already well established. We noticed them in our regular composting bin and just changed to feeding the compost pile in our new larvae bins. If you are in Ecuador or in a similar climate, you can likely do the same. If they are around but not necessarily at YOUR house, get a scoop of larvae/compost from a neighbor. Even the compost itself will put out an odor that establish your bins as BSF territory and will deter regular household flies or maggots from settling in.
If you don’t have the ability to gather your own BSF eggs right away, they can also be purchased. Ask your homesteading or farming neighbors or do a search to see if someone nearby sells them. They’ll have instructions for you to get them established.
Each female Black Soldier Fly will lay several hundred eggs. After 4 days, they will hatch into baby larvaes. They will continue to grow for another 2-3 weeks until they are just right for feeding to your chickens. At that point, if left on their own, they will look for soil to dig down and incubate as they mature into adult flies. But this is the point they will either “self-harvest” into a bucket to take to your chickens, or you can scoop and feed for optimal nutrition.
Tips for feeding Black Soldier Fly Larvae to your backyard chickens
- We’ve noticed that if you are feeding lots of live BSF larvaes first thing in the morning, the chickens may get so excited, they may put off laying. It’s advised to put it off until the afternoon.
- Remember that it’s a supplement, not a full balanced feed. We are also fermenting whole corn and theyf have a large area to roam. So far they are thriving!
- BSF can also be fed to other animals, including ducks, pigs, fish, lizards, etc!
We are loving having added Black Soldier Fly Larvae production to our homestead here in the Amazon. It is cost-effective and fits in well with our goals to raise the majority of our food here at the Yachana and for our family. As we learn and share we hope it also makes raising animals for your families easier and more cost-effective as well!
For more information, especially in building larvae bins, visit:
- Purdue University Black Soldier Fly Composting Guide
- Bloom Where You Are Planted, Black Soldier Flies, the Most Sustainable Addition to My Homestead
