freezing insects
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crazy cuban
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Im just wondering if its possible to freeze insect? I know you can do it with termites, but what about things like crickets, mealworms and maggots? Would the birds even touch them if they dont move? And if they can be frozen, how long can they stay in the freezer for before they go 'out of date?' Curious to see what people say, it could just be a possibility for when there's an abundance of livefood, freezing some to use when a 'rainy day' occurs.
CC
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Diane
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- Location: Northern 'burbs of Adelaide
I have in the past frozen fly pupea, had them about 2 months I guess, birds didnt have a problem with them. Dont know about the specific insects you mentioned.
Diane
The difference between Genius and Stupidity is, Genius has it’s limits
The difference between Genius and Stupidity is, Genius has it’s limits
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Craig52
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IMO,other than termites(of which i had no success with)all the insects that you have mentioned fail badly being frozen.Crickets i'm not sure about but meal worms,maggots turn black and are unpalatable as would crickets imocrazy cuban wrote:Im just wondering if its possible to freeze insect? I know you can do it with termites, but what about things like crickets, mealworms and maggots? Would the birds even touch them if they dont move? And if they can be frozen, how long can they stay in the freezer for before they go 'out of date?' Curious to see what people say, it could just be a possibility for when there's an abundance of livefood, freezing some to use when a 'rainy day' occurs.
It is possible with meal worms,crickets and maggots to store them in dry bran on setting one in the fridge where the cease to grow and stay dormant only to come to life a few minutes after removal.
Frozen fly pupae also goes rotten very quickly as it thaws imo Craig
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Tiaris
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I think the key would be to ensure they are used to eating them live first, then experiment with different storage containers, freezing times, etc. & try it out, then let us know how you go - what works & what doesn't.
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mattymeischke
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I freeze termites routinely for use when I can't get live ones. Some birds (bloods, chats) don't seem to like 'em but all the rest take them the same as live ones.
In my experience, they turn to mush if you try to freeze pure termites; the trick is to have not more than 50% termites, the rest being crumbled mound.
They last at least three months; I have not tried keeping them much longer. If you freeze them fresh (straight from the mound) they keep better, too.
My wife freezes crickets to feed to her turtles; they freeze alright but they thaw badly.
The turtles smash them but the birds don't touch them.
As Craig said, maggots and mealies do not freeze well.
If you have a moth trap, you can freeze moths and they go well: I fold them between tissue and put them in a sandwich bag. Anything that takes live moths takes frozen ones too.
In my experience, they turn to mush if you try to freeze pure termites; the trick is to have not more than 50% termites, the rest being crumbled mound.
They last at least three months; I have not tried keeping them much longer. If you freeze them fresh (straight from the mound) they keep better, too.
My wife freezes crickets to feed to her turtles; they freeze alright but they thaw badly.
The turtles smash them but the birds don't touch them.
As Craig said, maggots and mealies do not freeze well.
If you have a moth trap, you can freeze moths and they go well: I fold them between tissue and put them in a sandwich bag. Anything that takes live moths takes frozen ones too.
Avid amateur aviculturalist; I keep mostly australian and foreign finches.
The art is long, the life so short; the critical moment is fleeting and experience can be misleading, crisis is difficult....... (Hippocrates)
The art is long, the life so short; the critical moment is fleeting and experience can be misleading, crisis is difficult....... (Hippocrates)
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firetail555
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Regarding the freezing of maggots. It can be done and many birds will eat them. I recently bred crimson finches and melba's on frozen maggots. I also have blue caps eating them, but they havent bred yet. But there is a few tricks to it. I am finalising an article on it which will be published.
David
David
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SamDavis
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Sounds fantastic... in particular breeding "melba's on frozen maggots"firetail555 wrote:Regarding the freezing of maggots. It can be done and many birds will eat them. I recently bred crimson finches and melba's on frozen maggots. I also have blue caps eating them, but they havent bred yet. But there is a few tricks to it. I am finalising an article on it which will be published.
David