Consolidated Kansas

[tntblake]

When I click the link it keeps sending me to my email to email them. What craigslist is this on? Topeka? Lawrence? Emporia?

Nevermind. I found it. SE Kansas for anyone else that wants to look.

 

[HEChicken]

So raising meal worms do you start with the live worms or do you start with beetles. Once they turn to beetles which I assume you want to keep them coming, how do you keep them in the container? I've thought many times about doing this but didn't know how to go about it.

The beetles don't try and crawl out of the container. They really are easy to keep - I've been doing it for years. I just started with a couple of tubs from the pet store - maybe 50 per tub or so. It took a little while to start seeing new worms. The first ones pupated within a week to 10 days and I thought I was going gangbusters. 10 days later they transformed into beetles and I was like "oh, this is really FAST" and then....nothing (or so it seemed). When the little worms hatch out they are so very tiny that it was a long time before I saw any evidence there were new babies. Once I saw the first, it was all downhill from there. At one point I had so many I could reach in and grab them by the handful - literally.

The hardest part I've found to keeping them is transferring them to a clean container so I can clean out the old one. I haven't found an easy way to get them to migrate (like with earthworms, you just put the food where you want them to migrate and they just go there). So what I've finally started doing is just pulling as many as I can by hand in about 10 minutes, getting a few beetles, all the pupae and the rest worms, setting them up in a new container with new bedding (currently using corn cob bedding) and food, and then give the old container to the chooks. They have a blast picking through it and getting their mealie treats. Meanwhile, the new, clean container is repopulated and 3 months later I repeat.

 

[chicken danz]

Sorry, What was I thinking. Here is the correct link. It is in the SE Kansas thread.
http://seks.craigslist.org/grd/2834205650.html
Thanks for the mealworm info. Do you have to keep these inside?

 

[HEChicken]

Thanks for the mealworm info. Do you have to keep these inside?

I do. They like warm temps best (are most active and reproductive then) so I keep them on my snake rack. The heat tape keeps them at 85-90 which seems to be about perfect.

 

[ChooksChick]

Sorry, What was I thinking. Here is the correct link. It is in the SE Kansas thread.
http://seks.craigslist.org/grd/2834205650.html
Thanks for the mealworm info. Do you have to keep these inside?

That is really cute!

Tweety, maybe that is perfect for you!!

 

[shotah]

I used to raise mealworms for my pet birds and HEChicken is right. We kept them in a bucket and never had any escapees. I'm thinking about starting up some more, plus earthworm beds in my hoophouses. Hmmm. I'm going to have to figure out when I'm going to get started!

 

[Ivywoods]

Danz-I really can't answer any questions about the mealworms from experience, but I've been reading on here about it. There is a thread with about 3o00+ pages on it as well as some other shorter threads. It sounds pretty easy. The only part I haven't figured out in my head is the cleaning out the frass or whateveryoucallit.

HEChicken-that cleaning part is what I'm trying to figure out. I'm not sure how I'm going to do it. I am planning on using the "one container" method just for simplicity. If you scoop as many worms, pupae and beetles out as you can to put in the clean bed, aren't you throwing away all of the eggs and many of the newly hatched, tiny worms? Or do you just not worry about that since you have enough worms to continue the colony? I'm sure your chickens really have a heyday scratching through the remains of the colony.

I'm trying to figure out the warmest place in the house to keep them. The warmest place I have is on our waterbed. I don't think that would be a good option and I can tell ya, that "ain't gonna happen!"

I was hoping my worms would be delivered today, but they were not. I guess they are going to sit in the mail somwhere over the weekend. I sure hope they don't put them somewhere and let them freeze. That would be disappointing!

Wow! I'm surprised how many folks on here already raise the mealies. I thought about it a year ago, but just couldn't quite bring myself to do it. I plan to use them for protien supplement treats for the birds as well as for cage training some of the ones I want to show.

 

[Ivywoods]

Hawkeye- I was just looking through my pictures and I don't have a pic of my chicken tractor. I will have to get one, and maybe I can get some pics of the bookcase turned brooder that I'm working on. It won't be today. It is cold, windy, rainy and now snowing and generally miserable outside. I hope it is nicer tomorrow. I want to get that brooder done! I just discovered one of my little tiny rosecomb bantams dead. I am thinking he probably got smashed by the bigger chicks. They have a tendency to want to run underneath the big chicks like they would a momma hen. I want to get these chicks separated out!

 

[chicken danz]

I thought about it last year as well but didn't even think to look on here for info. It kind of creeps me out to think of keeping them in the house though. I can tell you if I do do it in the house it will be in the basement, cooler or not. I don't want them staying where I stay.
Where'd you get your starts Ivy?

 

[Ivywoods]

Shotah-I've never done the earthworm thing. It sounds kind of interesting. Where we live we have tons and tons of nightcrawlers. In the spring the chickens run around in the yard on a wet morning and have a feast with nightcrawlers all over the top of the ground. How hard is it to rasie them? Is it very costly to get started? Can you start it from ones you get out of the ground? Is it a seasonal thing? Whoooooaaaa.... too many quesitons.... well one more.... Do you know a good resource to read about them?

I guess I could just do a "search." Maybe tonight. Gotta get ready for work now.

Take care, everyone.