Mealworm farming

[Wellington W]

I was planning on keeping all my beetles separate in a container with a mesh bottom, so the eggs could fall through. I haven't quite got round to the mesh yet, so I moved the beetles out to make it the eggs/nursery for the next generation. I was quite surprised to that it already had baby worms in. Obviously I can't say that they didn't eat any, but there were plenty left. They're taking ages to grow though. I have a bit of a worm flow problem!

 

[Jensownzoo]

Yeah, for some reason I thought the adults would die before the eggs hatched. So every week I added the newly hatched beetles to a different drawer, figuring once that happened I would sift out the dead and just add the bedding etc. to a fresh drawer to hatch. And then I noticed that the bedding was doing the wave and the beetles were still going strong on top of it. Had to come up with a new strategy to isolate the babies an eggs...and it's probably time to repeat it now that I'm reminded.

 

[Latestarter]

The beetles live up to 4 months and lay eggs over that period. The eggs hatch after 10-14 days, so you will have eggs, larva and beetles in the same container. Hard to avoid. You can make this into a full time job trying to micro manage the whole thing. Relax... all will be well.

The beetles are NOT cannibalistic by nature. They DO need moisture, and as long as you're providing that for them, they have no reason to "eat the eggs or larva". Their food is the substrate/bedding that you have them in... oats/wheat bran/etc.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

The beetles live up to 4 months and lay eggs over that period. The eggs hatch after 10-14 days, so you will have eggs, larva and beetles in the same container. Hard to avoid. You can make this into a full time job trying to micro manage the whole thing. Relax... all will be well.

The beetles are NOT cannibalistic by nature. They DO need moisture, and as long as you're providing that for them, they have no reason to "eat the eggs or larva". Their food is the substrate/bedding that you have them in... oats/wheat bran/etc.

Some how, I think this post is going to hep me a lot! I have been working every day since I started. Got a few kinks worked out. And will relax a little.

Getting it going has been demanding. But I actually enjoy the process. It's like soothing to the mind because I focus on what I'm doing instead of being distracted by all should have, could have, would haves, still have too's... Ah sweet relief, worm farming!

 

[Jensownzoo]

I am enjoying using the dermestids to clean up the dead...definitely a daily time-saver not having to pick them out.

I figure if I transfer the adults that are still alive about every 2 weeks, that will give me a drawer where all the worms are within a month of age of each other. More "important" when I start feeding out, but better to get the routine worked out now so things are streamlined.

 

[aart]

I am enjoying using the dermestids to clean up the dead...definitely a daily time-saver not having to pick them out.

I figure if I transfer the adults that are still alive about every 2 weeks, that will give me a drawer where all the worms are within a month of age of each other. More "important" when I start feeding out, but better to get the routine worked out now so things are streamlined.

That sounds like a good plan for harvesting.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I am enjoying using the dermestids to clean up the dead...definitely a daily time-saver not having to pick them out.

I figure if I transfer the adults that are still alive about every 2 weeks, that will give me a drawer where all the worms are within a month of age of each other. More "important" when I start feeding out, but better to get the routine worked out now so things are streamlined.

I better consider getting some of those!

 

[DIGGIN CHICKEN]

@Jensownzoo ..... dermestids ..flesh eating beetles ??? Don't know how i feel about that ... planning to dispose of any evidence ??? LOL!

 

[Jensownzoo]

@Jensownzoo
..... [COLOR=333333] dermestids ..flesh eating beetles ??? Don't know how i feel about that ...  planning to dispose of any evidence ??? LOL![/COLOR]

 

[Wellington W]

I am enjoying using the dermestids to clean up the dead...definitely a daily time-saver not having to pick them out.

I figure if I transfer the adults that are still alive about every 2 weeks, that will give me a drawer where all the worms are within a month of age of each other. More "important" when I start feeding out, but better to get the routine worked out now so things are streamlined.

That's why I move them around. At the end of the day, I want a whole drawer full of worms ready to feed to my birds all at the same time.