Mealworm farming

[Gallo del Cielo]

I've had mine going about 2 weeks now. Started out with 5000 but gave about 1000 to grandson to start his own.
These things are getting BIG. They are about twice as big as they were when I got them.

I'm starting to see quite a few pupa but just a few beetles and I'm not sure where they went. Don't see them now.

My question is, is this container large enough? It is 12 x 20 and the worms and substrates are about 2" deep. They seem to really crowd up in the corners.

Little gourmets! They love asparagus trimmings. Most of the ones I gave them are already buried.

Thanks!
Sherrie

I think you're O.K. with container size--at least for right now. However, consider the population explosion that you'll get as our temps rise and they pupate and begin reproducing. I would consider splitting them into another container to take advantage of the growth we'll see in the next two months. I'm taking all the beetles out of my 10 gal. colony today and putting them into a very large plastic tub in preparation for the coming heat. Besides, with as many eggs as you have in the incubator, you're going to have a lot of hungry beaks to satisfy.

 

[Chicks Galore3]

Now that i am (kinda) convinced that it isn't gross.....How long does it take them to grow to the final stage? how many stages are there? what do i need to do start? how do you tell if their ready to be eaten? how do you get the ready worms out? Is there a way without...touching....them. (shudders) I can't believe i am asking questions. (neither can my mother...HAHA) Last time I started asking, i ended up ordering chickens...lol but that wasn't half bad.

 

[OkChickens]

Now that i am (kinda) convinced that it isn't gross.....How long does it take them to grow to the final stage? how many stages are there? what do i need to do start? how do you tell if their ready to be eaten? how do you get the ready worms out? Is there a way without...touching....them. (shudders) I can't believe i am asking questions. (neither can my mother...HAHA) Last time I started asking, i ended up ordering chickens...lol but that wasn't half bad.

I ordered 10,000 Large mealworms and received them on 1-3-12. All have pupated and most are now beetles. I am seeing very tiny tiny worms now. All you need to start is a container, some wheat bran or rolled oats, and a few slices of veggies. I use a spaghetti strainer to sift through my drawers and it works ok. I don't have enough to start feeding my chickens yet but about May I should have plenty! I will just keep moving the beetles to new drawers to lay the eggs that will make new worms! It is a very easy thing to do! Ask questions on this thread and they should get answered!

Nate

 

[Emily1220]

I ordered 10,000 Large mealworms and received them on 1-3-12. All have pupated and most are now beetles. I am seeing very tiny tiny worms now. All you need to start is a container, some wheat bran or rolled oats, and a few slices of veggies. I use a spaghetti strainer to sift through my drawers and it works ok. I don't have enough to start feeding my chickens yet but about May I should have plenty! I will just keep moving the beetles to new drawers to lay the eggs that will make new worms! It is a very easy thing to do! Ask questions on this thread and they should get answered!

Nate

So Nate......you have close to 10,000 beetles now??? How many do you have in each drawer? Are you leaving them in the drawer til they die?? I am trying to figure out how long to leave how many beetles in each drawer with how many eggs they lay.

 

[OkChickens]

So Nate......you have close to 10,000 beetles now??? How many do you have in each drawer? Are you leaving them in the drawer til they die?? I am trying to figure out how long to leave how many beetles in each drawer with how many eggs they lay.

I probably have 8,000-9,000 total and probably 500 are still Pupa. I had some die and I fed some to my chickens to see how well they like them. They went nuts for them. I probably will let them reproduce 1 more time and then the eggs that those beetles lay I will grow them up and use those mealworms.

Nate

 

[HetaChick]

HetaChick,

The picture above are the mealworms I received from Westknollamy last week. She could not have been better to work with!!!!!! If you pm her, she will take great care of you!

Laurel

Thanks a bunch ! Thank you everyone who responded. This seems awesome, I know my chickens love these things to death haha.

 

[Chicks Galore3]

how long do they live? As adults. Do they die soon or would you be like: "die already! my chickens are hungry!" as your shaking the bin? How do you preserve them?

 

[OkChickens]

I don't know that much about their lifespan. To preserve them to use again later get a butter dish or cottage cheese dish put about 2 inches of Bran in the bottom and put worms in it. Place it in the frig and take it out of the frig 1-2 time a week and put a veggie in there and leave it sitting on the counter for a few hours. Them place it back in the frig. To just preserve them to feed to your birds as needed I am probably going to freeze mine in butter dishes or something.

Nate

 

[t/m]

This might be a dumb question...can Bran Flake cereal be used for the bedding?

I didn't use the cereal only because when I read the ingredients there was a bunch of other stuff I thought they didn't need (sugar etc.) I'd rather they fill up on good stuff, in the long run better for my chicks too! We were able to find straight wheat bran in the 'specialty' section (like gluten free stuff, powered eggs etc.) of Krogers grocery store. We had to find it on our own, when we asked they didn't know and not all our Krogers carry it. They were small bags but we only have a few worms for now. I'm going to check feed stores when I can get to them. Good luck1

 

[kizanne]

At the feed store I can get 25 pounds of wheat bran for $8 the 50 pound bag is cheaper per pound but I don't want 50 pounds at a time. The grocery store has small amounts available in jars and such but much more expensive per pound. So I get the 25 pound bag and microwave all of it in small batches and put it in a large feed container. Once they really start multiplying it is easy to start other bins. I run 4 bins. I never have enough for my chickens liking And I just start tilapia.....