It’s Hobby Farms’ annual poultry issue, and I’m writing about worms. John Moody shows off his vermicomposting setup on page 52, and it’s a fascinating piece.
People often ask me, “What’s the next ‘chicken?’” They’re referring to the backyard chicken boom of the past decade, and I wonder whether worms might be it. Are worms the next hot livestock option for small farms? Worms are easy to house and take care of; you feed them with your leftovers; and they provide compost, food for your chickens and bait for fishing. As Moody writes in his article, you can collect excess worms consistently to give to your flock. “Coming in at 60 to 70 percent protein, it doesn’t take many worms to make a big difference in a laying hen’s diet,” he writes.