Quote:
Originally Posted by
tbitt 
I was out today at the eye Dr. and while I was in the waiting area I day dreamed about what I can do here at home to "raise" yummies for the ducks and chicks.
I actually wondered about meal worms. How do you do do it NotAFarm?
http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/492636/mealworm-farming Here is a link to a thread here on BYC....check the first post...hannakat has links here with condensed info.
Here's my basic info>
I got a starter (pupae-the stage between worm and beetle) from a BYCer in Florida a year and a half ago. I have three plastic shoe box size containers, one with small holes drilledi in top and two with a section of the lid cut out and screen duct-taped over the hole. I use Flock Raiser feed in all three. Box 1 has beetles that stay in that container for a month or so...then I move them (with a long handled Dairy Queen spoon) to Box 2 for a month or so and then move them to Box 3 for a month or so. The beetles leave eggs behind each time they are moved, the eggs hatch, the worms grow, I feed some, some I let develp into pupae which I put in a margarine contaier that has small holes drilled in it...they turn into beetles which are then added to whichever box has the beetles in it. The boxes have Flock Raiser and a couple of pieces of brown paper bag laying flat on top of the feed. I slice an apple, potatoe, carrot, or whatever and put them into the boxes directly on the feed. The beetles don't seem very interested in eating but they add some moisture to the box. The worms will eat the apples and leave the skins as dried little pieces. That's about it. When the beetles are ready to move back to Box 1, I take it out to the coop and dump it on the floor for the chickens to clean up. Wash out the container, dry completely, add Flock Raiser and move the beetles.....and so on, and so on....others may do things differently......the chickens LOVE them.....I've bought the freeze dried ones, which they also like, but they are expensive.
Oh....they live on a shelf in my laundry room....ranch house...no basement....laundry room has the furnace, water heater, pressure tank for well and water softner in it too!
Edited by NotAFarm - 3/9/12 at 6:28pm
Now that I know of at least 2 peeps out my way we will have to have a "peep party" 
to say hi!! We are new to this so we need all the help we can get 
