Do u raise your oen mealworms?

[Mwilliams32931]

I keep going back and forth on it. I can buy it from the local pet store for $2.99 for 50 or so but once I got them home I realized how many my quail can eat. lol.

 

[Silkies~Polishes]

Don't mealworms turn into beetles? Ick don't want that. But correct me if I'm wrong.
But I did find this:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-to-raise-mealworms

 

[Reedgirl20]

I have raised my own but have found freeze dried mealworms easier. I buy them from the grange co-op, ten pounds for I think $25. The quails and my chickens go crazy and a ten pound bag is HUGE!

 

[Chicken-Farmer]

Try www.reptilefood.com for mealworms a lot cheaper than $2.99 for 50!

 

[James the Bald]

Don't mealworms turn into beetles? Ick don't want that. But correct me if I'm wrong.
But I did find this:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-to-raise-mealworms

20 or so years ago, my wife and I had a box turtle, who absolutely LOVED meal worms. For the amount he would eat, I would go broke trying to keep him fed. Normally, we fed him meal worms until he stopped eating them, and he could eat a LOT. A week later, another $2.29 for 20 mealworms. Then somebody told me how to make my own mealworms... I had my own colony exactly like the one described at the above link. I had a screen on the top so the beetles wouldn't escape from the 5 gallon tank, and I would add wheat germ and other scraps in there. I never paid for meal worms again.

 

[CatFishTony]

i do.
my culture is now 15 years old.
i use old 5 gallon buckets as a home.
we feed them potatoes for water and old cereal,oats,barley,bran and the like for food.
carrots are also a good water source. some times old fruit but then you get fruit flies in the house.
i keep them in the laundry room all year were it is warmer.
but the best fast food for birds for the bang for your feeder buck is black soldier fly's.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...=X&ei=8K9kUbrUE4ejiQKkx4DADw&ved=0CJIBEPwdMAo

read this one for sure.
http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/waste_mgt/smithfield_projects/phase2report05/cd,web files/A2.pdf

http://www.steamykitchen.com/21602-make-3-day-compost-black-soldier-fly-larvae.html


http://www.caes.uga.edu/commodities...tfish/documents/soldierflymagazinearticle.pdf

now that was some light reading. but after this short few links you can see why they are a better choice
for a food culture for sure. i hope this helps some.

 

[Reedgirl20]

Thanks for the info on the black soldier flys. I had vaguely heard about them as a fish food when setting up my aquaponics system. Have looked further into it and will be setting up a larva bin this weekend for some compost. I actually seen the larva last weekend when empty the manure pan from under my outside quails but never realized that what they are. Should be able to compost the quail manure and have the larva self-harvest so have a great free food for the quails and chickens.

 

[Mwilliams32931]

Thanks for all the info! I will have to check in to the black soldier flys.

 

[CatFishTony]

Thanks for the info on the black soldier flys. I had vaguely heard about them as a fish food when setting up my aquaponics system. Have looked further into it and will be setting up a larva bin this weekend for some compost. I actually seen the larva last weekend when empty the manure pan from under my outside quails but never realized that what they are. Should be able to compost the quail manure and have the larva self-harvest so have a great free food for the quails and chickens.

you are more then welcome reedgirl20, if you are able to get a culture started i would trade for some new breeding stock.
i have some 200 types of heirloom tomatoes or other garden seed.i would like to cross your strain with mine here for a new mix in the old gene pool.

Thanks for all the info! I will have to check in to the black soldier flys.

you are more then welcome wmilliams32931, we all must help each other to make now a days right.