All beetles, no mealworms. WHY?

[Siler]

Oh jeez. The Search function. *face palm*

ETA: I found what I was looking for...

 

[Chieftain]

How warm is your worm farm?? The cycle slows down when the temperature gets too low, and their activity really picks up when the farm's warm. I've got mine on the counter for now and the worms are very active, and lots are pupating. Once you have beetles, another cycle is starting, so you may have a whole bunch of eggs in there ready to erupt any time. You could easily find yourself with hundreds of worms all at once,...(lucky chooks!)

 

[Intheswamp]

I think that I'd want to feed these outside in the yard rather than in the house.

For "fair and balanced"

reporting this is an informative article to read... Darkling Beetles .

Here is a cut-n-paste from Ohio State University:

Darkling Beetle

The darkling beetle or lesser mealworm, Alphitobius diaperinus (Panzer), is rapidly becoming more of a nuisance in the poultry operation. Large populations of beetles sometimes migrate into nearby residence areas, especially during litter clean-out time. Although beetles can fly up to one mile, most crawl at night from litter disposed to neighboring fields and homes.

Beetles are frequently associated with poultry feed, preferring grain and cereal products that are damp, moldy and slightly out of condition. Both adults and larvae consume poultry feed in amounts costly to the producer. Larvae are known as lesser mealworms.

Increased importance has been placed on control of this beetle. Both adult beetles and larvae act as reservoirs for many poultry pathogens and parasites. Scientists have been able to transmit the causative agent of acute leukosis (Marek's disease) in chickens with this beetle. Positive confirmation of the transmission has been made under both laboratory and field research conditions.

Marek's disease usually affects birds between three and four months old. Symptoms are characterized by various degrees of paralysis, most easily observed in legs and wings. Droopy wings, gasping, loss of weight, pallor and sometimes diarrhea are also symptoms. Birds severely affected may be found lying on their sides with one leg stretched forward and the other held behind. The disease affects both broiler and egg laying types of poultry. Losses can reach two percent of the flock per day, and mortality may exceed 30 percent of the flock within a few weeks.

Acute leukosis is highly contagious and has been shown to be airborne. Contamination may persist in the environment because the darkling beetle may serve as a reservoir for residual contamination. Beetles have been observed feeding on carcasses of poultry dead of leukosis, and it appears that beetles may become contaminated in the process. Adult beetles are capable of retaining the contamination and transmitting the leukosis when eaten by chickens, in the opinion of some scientists. Other diseases which are spread include the causative agents of avian influenza, salmonella, fowl pox, coccidiosis, botulism and new castle disease. They also act as vectors of cecal worms and avian tapeworms.

In the poultry house, the beetle can lay up to 800 eggs in litter during a 42-day period. Eggs develop into larvae in four to seven days. The life cycle requires about 42 to 97 days depending on temperature. Beetles live up to three months to a year. Adults are black or very dark, reddish- brown and about 1/4 inch long. Larvae are yellowish-brown (wireworm-like) up to 3/4 inch long and accumulate in dark corners of manure or litter, especially under sacks, in bins or in places where feed is stored. Pupation occurs in the litter, soil and side walls of poultry houses. They migrate frequently throughout the litter generally coming in soil contact.

Adult chickens and chicks are more likely to eat the beetles and their larvae than poults or turkeys. Consumption of beetles and larvae, rather than providing "extra protein" in the diet, actually has a negative effect on feed conversion and rate of gain according to research.

Not knocking the meal worms, but knowledge is good to have.

Best wishes,
Ed

 

[Chieftain]

Well of course Swamp, you are exactly right. I helped my teenagers raise mealworms to feed pet lizards and such and as long as you take reasonable precautions, like screening the plastic tub they are in, most people have few problems. The things you speak of are good to emphasize though, so you don't wake up to door prizes in your cornflakes one morning. Having served onboard ship where critters in the Mess Hall flour regularly produced "extra protein" in the French Toast, believe me, I appreciate what you are saying.

On my small scale, I keep all of my chicken feed in clean, dry, O-ring sealed, food-grade plastic buckets and I re-seal them after every use. I don't stock a lot of feed at any one time so I think on a small scale the mealworm farm is not a liability. For now it doesn't smell at all and is as secure as my coop is...

The chooks sure do like 'em for a snack though, and that's what counts...

 

[Intheswamp]

To clarify...the "house" is the hen house and the "yard" is the henyard.

The raising of the worms should not be a problem if precautions are taken as you mentioned. And, the feeding of the worms to the chickens shouldn't be a problem is precautions are taken during that event as well.

I was thinking more of the folks that have coops housing a dozen or three chickens which will be using larger coops. If the worms are fed to the chickens in a house using the DLM then there is a chance the beetles could begin breeding in the litter. The worms, other than being a possible vector for disease and possibly reducing feed efficiency, do no damage. The beetles, on the other hand, can damage insulation, cause health issues in chicks, etc.,. I just think it would be more prudent to feed outside in the henyard rather than inside where some worms might manage to evade the keen-eyed hens' beaks and set up housekeeping in the litter.

Ed

ETA: spelling

 

[IggiMom]

I am getting some also, so any information is appreciated! Where do you get the wheat bran?

Catherine

 

[IggiMom]

Ok, now I am a little distressed. I thought that mealworms were a very healthy high protein treat for the chickens, and perhaps they are not? Negative feed conversion?

Is this a sure thing?

Catherine

 

[possumqueen]

Are the "darkling beetles" the same thing as the commercially produced mealworms that we buy for our pets and chooks? Seems to me that if they came from a store then they would be clean and free of diseases, and then if we produce more for the girls we're not producing the diseases. ?????

And I've read in more than a few places that our chickens need MORE protein than they get in commercial food, which is why our back yard birds who can scratch and hunt produce better eggs and meat than the commercial birds. There's something about sunshine and bugs and dirt that you just can't put in a bag.

 

[redhen]

Mine are from a meal worm farm.... (where pretty much ALL meal worms sold today are from.. meal worm farms.. ) how can they have chicken diseases if they havent even been outside??... lol
I'm not worried about it. My chickens and ducks LOVE them..

 

[Intheswamp]

Ok everybody, don't dump your meal worm farms.

I just posted that information to let folks know another side of meal worms.

It is definitely a big problem with commercial growers, but shouldn't be a problem with a small backyard flock...hopefully.

Ed