Baby food w/additives for cricket gutload

[ifonlyunu61]

So how about using some mixtures of baby food, ie: jar of carrots,peas,sweet potato,beets, etc and mixing with a little hi-protein powder and feeding to crickets for gutload. Would keep the smoothie..lol frozen and break off a small piece daily to gutload them. I can think of many variations to this recipe.
I also give them some fresh fruits and veggies as well, but this would always be available in the freezer as needed.
Would like your thoughts...:

 

[shrink9]

How about using agar agar and making a gellatin mixture that could be easily managed. Agar agar is a great food substance and I use it regularly, boiled with water then cooled, to feed superworms and mealworms. Works very well. Look up the food value of agar agar--it would be a great supplement, I think.

Allen

 

[kenya]

I think the most obvious reason to not use baby food is that there is a lot of added sugar in most of them. if you are good at reading into labels and nutrition facts and can find a nice food without added sugar or artificial ingredients, it seems like it would be a good idea. However, many baby foods are over processed and have garbage like artificial preservatives and colors added to make them last longer on the shelves and appeal to the parents eye. They also probably have a lot of good stuff taken out- like pulp which basically equals fiber- and I think that you should leave that in.

What I do for gutload is get a whole bunch of veggies and fruits together (think blueberries, strawberries, whole mango, several different varieties of whole squash, kale, collard greens, mustard greens, whole yucca root, prickly pear leaves, apples, a whole plantain, whole kiwis, whole oranges, whole limes, carrots, whole zucchini, whole yams, dandelion greens, endive, parsley, whole eggplant, brussel sprouts, whole sweet potatoes, green beans, whole (no top) pineapple, and lots of others that I can't even think of- it is an all day project) and wash them off, blend them together and dole the mix out into ice cube trays and put them in freezer bags. I can then pop out one cube at a time for my gutloading containers and it seems to work fine (and has for the last year) When I say "whole" I mean skin and all! Just wash well and use organic when you can. The more variety, the better. I also use a nice dry mix that I blend with a coffee grinder. It has lots of stuff- some of it is bee pollen, wheat germ, 10 grain cereal, sunflower seeds, kelp powder, dry egg yolk, hemp seed nuts, spirulina, irish moss powder, dry yucca root, alfalfa leaves, lecithin, and lots of other stuff that I can't think of off the top of my head. I offer both mixes- the wet one has enough moisture for the bugs so you don't have to provide water gel. I put in enough for a day or two and clean often- it is prone to mold so only put in however much your bugs can eat that day.

If you have problems finding some of these ingredients, check the frozen section of the store. Read the ingredients and make sure nothing is added- that it is just the fruit or veggie. This is how I get berries and some of the other fruit year round. You can also check health food stores- I work at one so all of this is available to me.

Hope that helps!

 

[ifonlyunu61]

I think the most obvious reason to not use baby food is that there is a lot of added sugar in most of them. if you are good at reading into labels and nutrition facts and can find a nice food without added sugar or artificial ingredients, it seems like it would be a good idea. However, many baby foods are over processed and have garbage like artificial preservatives and colors added to make them last longer on the shelves and appeal to the parents eye. They also probably have a lot of good stuff taken out- like pulp which basically equals fiber- and I think that you should leave that in.

What I do for gutload is get a whole bunch of veggies and fruits together (think blueberries, strawberries, whole mango, several different varieties of whole squash, kale, collard greens, mustard greens, whole yucca root, prickly pear leaves, apples, a whole plantain, whole kiwis, whole oranges, whole limes, carrots, whole zucchini, whole yams, dandelion greens, endive, parsley, whole eggplant, brussel sprouts, whole sweet potatoes, green beans, whole (no top) pineapple, and lots of others that I can't even think of- it is an all day project) and wash them off, blend them together and dole the mix out into ice cube trays and put them in freezer bags. I can then pop out one cube at a time for my gutloading containers and it seems to work fine (and has for the last year) When I say "whole" I mean skin and all! Just wash well and use organic when you can. The more variety, the better. I also use a nice dry mix that I blend with a coffee grinder. It has lots of stuff- some of it is bee pollen, wheat germ, 10 grain cereal, sunflower seeds, kelp powder, dry egg yolk, hemp seed nuts, spirulina, irish moss powder, dry yucca root, alfalfa leaves, lecithin, and lots of other stuff that I can't think of off the top of my head. I offer both mixes- the wet one has enough moisture for the bugs so you don't have to provide water gel. I put in enough for a day or two and clean often- it is prone to mold so only put in however much your bugs can eat that day.

If you have problems finding some of these ingredients, check the frozen section of the store. Read the ingredients and make sure nothing is added- that it is just the fruit or veggie. This is how I get berries and some of the other fruit year round. You can also check health food stores- I work at one so all of this is available to me.

Hope that helps!

Helps alot...I make my own baby food so it is quite good, but after reading your message started thinking why waste the jarred up babyfood. I am going to try your method and add some of my protein powder which is actually an all natural dog supplement with lots of terrific ingredients including probiotics, vits, mins, and amino acids. I was also planning on adding some Veggie cal, a dietary supplement that comes in a capsule form of dried plants rich in calcium. Love the idea of icecubes.
Actually the dog supplement protein powder I think will serve well as a dry source for the crickets as it is full of multiple meat, veggie, and herb additives and packed full of vits. I breed Boxers and have had loads of success with this addition to their diet. They are so healthy and my last litter was a huge 12 pup litter which is almost unheard of...More important mom was able to feed them all and she still maintained he health and vigor...she is the fawn colored one in the pic in my avatar..

As far as the agar agar idea goes I could definitely see using it as an additive, but don't think I would consider it as a main or one of few gutload sources. I just think if you single down to only a few things you end up missing some other important nutrients. Those are just my thoughts and I may be wrong, but will keep it in mind as a good ingredient!

Thanks for all your thoughts...

 

[kenya]

Helps alot...I make my own baby food so it is quite good, but after reading your message started thinking why waste the jarred up babyfood. I am going to try your method and add some of my protein powder which is actually an all natural dog supplement with lots of terrific ingredients including probiotics, vits, mins, and amino acids. I was also planning on adding some Veggie cal, a dietary supplement that comes in a capsule form of dried plants rich in calcium. Love the idea of icecubes.
Actually the dog supplement protein powder I think will serve well as a dry source for the crickets as it is full of multiple meat, veggie, and herb additives and packed full of vits. I breed Boxers and have had loads of success with this addition to their diet. They are so healthy and my last litter was a huge 12 pup litter which is almost unheard of...More important mom was able to feed them all and she still maintained he health and vigor...she is the fawn colored one in the pic in my avatar..

As far as the agar agar idea goes I could definitely see using it as an additive, but don't think I would consider it as a main or one of few gutload sources. I just think if you single down to only a few things you end up missing some other important nutrients. Those are just my thoughts and I may be wrong, but will keep it in mind as a good ingredient!

Thanks for all your thoughts...

I add capsules of probiotics and dried greens to the dry mix- I would not add protein powder, however. It can cause all sorts of nasties like gout and edema if too much is used. The crickets and roaches themselves contain protein- no need to give them more Also, don't add powdered vitamins- dust the crickets before feeding with them- you don't want to overdo it- you can make your cham really sick. Calcium added to the dry mix, however, is good.

Also, I have no experience with agar agar.

 

[ifonlyunu61]

gutload

Thanks...Your probably right and although is is mostly an vitamin/mineral powder with added protein source so it taste halfway decent, it may be too high in the protein to be good for the crickets or chams.(why risk it) I will add the veggie cal as it is all natural green leaf veggie caps, and make a dry pwoder similiar to yours!!!
Thanks for the help and info!!!
Do you have an especially good source for your insects/crickets etc???

 

[kenya]

Thanks...Your probably right and although is is mostly an vitamin/mineral powder with added protein source so it taste halfway decent, it may be too high in the protein to be good for the crickets or chams.(why risk it) I will add the veggie cal as it is all natural green leaf veggie caps, and make a dry pwoder similiar to yours!!!
Thanks for the help and info!!!
Do you have an especially good source for your insects/crickets etc???

I raise my own feeders when possible. I kind of hate crickets and am trying to switch to roaches and silkworms as a staple, but until my roach colonies are large enough, I buy crickets from a local pet supply place. You can try coastalsilkworms.com and mulberryfarms.com for silkies and hornworms. Several members also sell them. I am unsure of the best place to buy crickets, however, since I get mine locally. I order superworms in bulk from sunshinemealworms.com since they are local to me and I always see them at shows. What species do you have? I could spare some Madagascar hisser roaches and discoids, but they are very large.