Some Chickens Love Japanese Beetles

You know the phrase, "One person's trash is another's treasure?"  Well, the same thing can be true for bugs.  Some garden pests such as Japanese Beetles are a huge problem in our garden, in particular when it comes to grapes, berry plants, and edamame. These beetles have a hard exoskeleton and are not easy to squeeze between the fingers so we knock them into a bucket with a little water in it.  (The water keeps the beetles from flying out easily.)  One of our chickens, who we affectionately call "Turkey", absolutely LOVES the Japanese Beetles (and their grubs in spring) and she comes running to us from across the yard whenever she sees us carrying a bucket---talk about a good example of classical conditioning (remember Pavlov and the salivating dog from Psychology class?).  Turkey is so eager to eat the beetles that she literally climbs into the bucket to get them!  Turkey has made it very clear to the rest of the flock that only SHE can have the beetles; we don't mind - she literally eats hundreds of them at one sitting.

Damage to the edamame (soybean) plants from the Japanese Beetles.  They are most prevalent in the early morning and evening hours.

A Happy Turkey after a Japanese Beetle snack.