Colorado

[coloradochick]

You could always run at them waving your arms and yelling Get! Get out of here! Go on!! and other noises like a psycho woman (man)

If they or the hawks are sitting in the trees they fly away the minute I step onto the deck

I can just hear them "Yikes, there she is, that nutso lady!!" "Fly away!!!"


It is extremely windy today with a cold bite to it

I'll take the 60* days anytime. But this wind is horrible if not very scary during the night.

 

[ruralmom]

Still looking for a RIR rooster. I am coming to town next weekend and would love to take one home. Would like a pure breed since it is for a breeding program.

 

[ryan820]

Quote:
Ruralmom-- I don't have one but have you checked with Aimee. If you PM me I can give you her address-- she's usually quite helpful in finding the birds you want.

Better yet here is her website.
http://www.manifestedwings.com/

 

[ryan820]

Ok... pardon me a moment while I totally geek out... my mealworms are pupating!!!!! I thought they were just dying but I guess they were just following the natural order of things. I have recently thrown in a lot more vegetable matter, including some apple cores and even broccoli stumps... these things weren't small but every bit is gone!!!!!! The pupating worms look white and have a distinct look to them...clearly a beetle is growing. I think I'll wait another week and introduce another generation to keep the supply going. Grossest thing I have EVER done, so I hope my peeps like the worms!

 

[OwensMom]

Quote:
Ryan, you are So funny. You are going to love this new adventure into insectdom!! Ok pupae don't do anything-they don't eat and only flip their tails. In my experience, the more veges you feed your worms(beetles) the faster the life cycle goes. My bins devour the veges and then explode with pupa. I'm on gen3 bin3. Finally feeding out about 1 1/2 cups of worms 1x week. The chickens go crazy for the worms. My goal is to be able to decrease the amount of pellets that I feed as I increase the amt of mealworms.

 

[ryan820]

Quote:
Ryan, you are So funny. You are going to love this new adventure into insectdom!! Ok pupae don't do anything-they don't eat and only flip their tails. In my experience, the more veges you feed your worms(beetles) the faster the life cycle goes. My bins devour the veges and then explode with pupa. I'm on gen3 bin3. Finally feeding out about 1 1/2 cups of worms 1x week. The chickens go crazy for the worms. My goal is to be able to decrease the amount of pellets that I feed as I increase the amt of mealworms.

So should I not feed them as much? I think it should be ok considering this is my first crack at this and I want to see how it all works. Is adding a new generation a good thing or will there be a natural ebb and flow, or a rush of insects? Instead of feast or famine, I'd like a more constant supply I can give to the chooks.

The pupae definitely flick their tails..and they are ghostly white. Honestly, it's disgusting. I am completely grossed out by wriggling worms and really anything with an exoskeleton in my house (I'm not a wimp, please don't think I can't handle bugs) but actually encouraging infestation kinda makes me want to puke and yet I'm completely sucked in by this dang worms. For the longest time it didn't look like they were doing much until I began feeding them more fresh foods. I can only assume they've been munching the oatmeal, too.

So would anyone recommend adding the next generation or will these worms establish their own rhythm?

 

[OwensMom]

You know, they really do have their own cycle. That is why I have 3 bins. I hope to cycle them at different times.
I was really grossed out by encouraging worms in my house. The sound of their scratchy little feet made me shudder. Now i can actually touch the pupae!! You will get used to it.
Adding new worms to the mix is not a bad idea, It gives you mass more quickly. That is how I began my second bin.
Diversity in food just increases the nutritional value of the worms. I really think that the great diversity in food directly impacts the speed of development of the colony.

 

[ryan820]

Quote:
I guess I'll just keep doing what I'm doing, then. We are vegetarians (I've become allergic to most meats-- though I wonder if it would matter if I ate free range...at the time of the reaction I doubt the meat was free range)-- so we have lots of vegetable matter left over from preparing foods and dishes and I just toss everything in there. Our dry climate keeps the mold at bay and I keep the tub in the basement near the boiler so it stays warm. Some of the worms, I noticed this morning, are quite large-- not yet pupae but still moving around and munching. I'd guess they're maybe an inch and a half long or longer and quite fat! So they must be digging the scraps.

This is a throw-back to my college days, but insects are generational-- meaning you have a large supply of eggs that will give rise to a large supply of adults and so on, with little to no ages in between. Imagine locusts and grasshoppers-- they come in waves for this very reason. So yeah, I think I'll go ahead and add a new generation while this one begins its transition and then likely another when the 2nd gen enters pupating. I think then at least I'll have worms in the worm form fairly often.

Ok...it's Monday morning and I've put a lot of thought into mealworms... *checking reality* wow. Good thing I'm among people who accept this sort of thing on here!!! LOL

 

[OwensMom]

I keep up on the mealworm farming thread and a common refrain at about your point of acceptance is "I HAVE WORMS".I'm sure that we all smile and nod. At least I do!!!!!
The gap in stages is exactly why I have 3 bins. I hope to keep cycling through them with no gap in edible worms!!! Thanks for explaining the generational thing. I did not know that about insects but did observe it. If your worms are that large and fat you are doing something right. I think that the mold problem comes into play when people put in veges and then close up the box or live in a more humid climate. I read somewhere that when the humidity rises to a certain level mites become a problem. These things can live in a dry enviroment just fine. I'm convinced that they only need a grain substrate and a moisture source ie veges.
Sorry for your meat allergy. Must have been a real pain at first but you seem to have adapted well. Free range makes for better tasting meat certainly. If you control what they eat you may find that you are actually allergic to an additive that the feed companies or mass producers use. But be very careful if you go down that path since I'm sure that you know the risks.
Glad to have another worm producer on board!! Best, Lynn
PS in my research I found that people eat those worms. To extreme for me!!!!!

 

[Coopa Cabana]

I hope someone can help me.

I am in need of having a puppy transported from the Cincinatti area to Denver, between now and Christmas. Of course I will compensate for gas and time.

If anyone can help, please send me a PM.

Thanx!! Gail