( CNN ) -- Ain Shams University Biologist Hebat Abdel Hadi is taking `` waste not , want not '' to a whole other level . Alphonso Van Marsh discovered first hand how damaging the Nile crayfish can be . She says crayfish carcasses the part of the crustacean that humans often throw away are for the birds . As higher chicken feed costs push multi-national chicken firms like Pilgrim 's Pride and Tyson 's Food to report losses this year , Abdel Hadi says crayfish waste is an alternative source for the protein and minerals necessary to raise chickens . Abdel Hadi earned her PhD exploring the use of crayfish as chicken feed . Her studies included comparing chickens fed with fish meal , with those raised on meal made with crayfish waste . `` The group of chickens [ that we raised ] on crayfish have stronger bones , have a higher optical density of meat . The color of the meat is better , the taste is better , it looks better , '' she says . The crayfish carcass is largely shell and skeleton . Feed nutritionists say crayfish-sourced feed would therefore contain high percentages of calcium and minerals . As a result , Abdel Hadi says , her experiments show that chickens raised on a crayfish feed diet lay more , stronger , higher-protein eggs . But poultry nutrition experts warn that chicken farming is a complex science that involves multiple nutrition and energy needs . `` The challenge has to do more with genetics , and the right balance for this fast growing bird , '' says Martin Humphries , Feed Sales Director for an English specialist poultry feed supplier . `` Crayfish heads will have some meat in there for protein . Crayfish skeletons will have calcium and I 'm sure there is a nutritional value but perhaps [ feeding crayfish to chickens ] is a leap too far for now , '' Humphries says . Egypt is experiencing a crayfish invasion along the Nile River . Scientists like Dr. Madgy Khalil , who also works at Ain Shams University , say there are unprecedented numbers of crayfish thriving in the Nile with no natural predator , from the Mediterranean Sea or from the south of Egypt . The crayfish that have a penchant for clawing into fishermen 's nets and eating their catch are causing problems for fishermen . But are there enough crayfish to sustain a chicken feed industry ? Andrew Kendall , a spokesman with the UK 's largest feed manufacturer BOCM Pauls is unsure . `` Theoretically , it is possible to use crayfish remains , but they would be in such short supply it would not be a feasible solution . For manufacturers who make any kind any business on a large scale , there 's not enough [ crayfish ] supply to be a viable business . However , it could be better for a niche market , '' he says .
CNN 's Alphonso Van Marsh spent time with Nile fishermen in Egypt . Egypt is experiencing a crayfish invasion along the Nile River . Crayfish have been a problem for fishermen , but now used in chicken feed .