While a few species of cockroaches have a bad reputation for invading homes, there are many forest dwelling species that have no interest in our homes and are incredibly nutritious food for animals. The exotic pet trade has discovered this and many roach species have become a primary food source for exotic pets. I’ve personally raised a number of species for reptile food and they are extremely easy to cultivate compared to many other insects raised for food. However, to my knowledge, they have not been widely adopted as a feed for chickens or other insect feeding livestock.
I am looking into the possibility of roach cultivation moving into small scale farming as a low cost, high nutrition feed option. On key difference from the exotic pet trade that often farms exotic roaches in a closed system, roaches for a small-scale farm should be local species to avoid introduction of invasive species. I would love to hear if anyone has experience with roaches for livestock feed or knows of any work done with them for this purpose. I’d also love to see photos of native roaches from your region (In nature, not household roaches!). I’m planning to do some experimenting here with roaches for livestock. If anyone from another part of the world would like to try as well, let me know, I’d love to collaborate.
Species characteristics to look for cultivating as livestock feed:
Native to the region.
Flightless or nearly flightless
Poor climbing ability
Fast reproduction (Usually egg laying vs live birth)
Non-toxic (some roach species produce poison)
Initial nutrient comparison with Dubia roaches (a popular cultivated species) puts them similar to Black Soldier Fly larvae, sometimes with better nutrition, sometimes worse, indicating a combination of the two could help create a more balanced diet.
Looking for any input, thoughts, experience, or knowledge you might have on the topic!