Mealworm farming

[WillsC]

Dried rabbit manure? Hm. Don't think so, but Heaven knows I have enough of the stuff to try it! Although the redworms do seem to get the better kick out of it--they LOVE alfalfa and bunny poo!

Think I'll leave the mealies in the wheat bran--since I am trialing feeding the mealies to some of the rabbits as a high protein supplement, I don't want to get into recycled parasites.

I have a 30 foot redworm bed under one set of cages. I am curious...how do you get the rabbits to eat mealworms exactly?

 

[Kassaundra]

Rabbits are herbavores why on earth would you feed meal worms to rabbits????

 

[Debbz]

Has anyone tried raising them on dried rabbit manure? I realize alfalfa (the main component in rabbit feed) isn't a grain but I wonder if it would work? The rabbit manure still has a lot of nutrients in it after passing through the bunny.

I think WillsC was wanting to experiment with feeding rabbit poo to the mealworms, not the other way round.

 

[Kassaundra]

Yes, but onefixintocome was the one talking about feeding mealworms to rabbits.

 

[Kassaundra]

Dried rabbit manure? Hm. Don't think so, but Heaven knows I have enough of the stuff to try it! Although the redworms do seem to get the better kick out of it--they LOVE alfalfa and bunny poo!

Think I'll leave the mealies in the wheat bran--since I am trialing feeding the mealies to some of the rabbits as a high protein supplement, I don't want to get into recycled parasites.

This is the post I was referring to

 

[Debbz]

This is the post I was referring to

Oh sorry Kassaundra, I missed that bit thanks. Good question.

 

[sesa]

I started trying to raise mealworms this spring. I bought 2000 to start with with. I use 26qt storage containers with wheat bran and potatoes. The 2000 original I split up into 2 bins and let them grow until most of the pupated. After they changed into beetles I have been keeping them in 3 bins for about 3 weeks or so them sift out the beetles and put them into a new bin to lay more eggs. I now have 8 bins of worms growing and need to sift the beetles again. I would guess that there are at least 10000 worms or so and more egg bins waiting to hatch. I will be keeping them indoors this winter and hope that by next spring I'll have hundreds of thousands of the little buggers, then I can start feeding them to the chickens.

 

[binders]

Sounds like you are off to a good start. I love when I start to see the bran move!

 

[mychookschick]

Hmm... I will be watching this more closely... It seems I have missed some interesting stuff! i want to know more about the rabbit situation!

UPDATE ON MY MEALIES:

I have at least 150 pupae, probably 20 beetles, and TONS of larva! Hoping to have enough to feed as a treat in the winter...

 

[onafixedincome]

Seems that I started something...

It began by accident...the mealies are for the CHICKENS, let's get that straight. But...when you have a stubborn Serama on the cages jjjuuuuuuussst out of reach, you bribe them how you can, right? Right!

So I offered her a handful and of course there were a couple running up my arm. I twitched, and they dropped into a wire-mesh-bottomed feeder that happened to be otherwise empty, since I hadn't fed the rabbits yet. That doe gobbled them down faster than I could blink, and tried to chew on my arm for more.

I waited a few days to see how it affected her--nada. So I started to think...what if? Feed's going up and up in cost, and one of the main drivers is...protein. Hmmm....I handed out a few more to see if they were universally accepted, and they seem to be pretty well received. Most rabbits thought they were pretty cool, wiggly or not. I suspect that since they are said to taste nutty and wheat-ish, and rabbits love that sort of thing, that may be the key.

I'll be starting to breed again soon, since we're into fall now and the bucks should be fertile again. I'll be running some split-litter feed trials to see whether the mealies affect growth and feed consumption/conversion.

PS...the darn Serama came down in her own sweet time, thanks...!