Don't tell the wife, I'm growing fodder in the 2nd bathroom!

[gtaus]

Roo, have you considered writing a mealworm article?

+1

 

[Barbs Girls]

All you really need is another bin on your fodder ladder. While multi-layered set-ups yield a lot more worms, you can do it all in one container, too. Mine are in a lovely old pasta bowl, right out on my kitchen counter. The beetles can't fly and mealies can't climb the ceramic sides, so they stay put. The only things that move are the adult beetles and they generally stay hidden under the apple slices they use for water. Most people don't even know they're there. If a guest is nosy enough to root around the corners of my kitchen counters, then they deserve the surprise they get. I do have to admit, though, that I get a kick out of some of the reactions when people discover what's really in that pretty bowl full of oatmeal and apple slices ...

I think I just passed out a little...I am open and do try a lot of crazy things but mealworms in the kitchen and crawling out of the bathroom!!! Gah!!!! You people are AWESOME !!!!

 

[gtaus]

@Barbsgirls, Wow!!! You text just like my mom!!! Love it!!! Added to the list!!!

18) OMG you are not going to believe what I did!!! I am so excited to see if this works!!! Can you imagine how happy the girls will be with fresh fodder all winter! I’ll take care of everything!!!

I'll be sure to try to put all the enthusiasm in it as expressed in your text. If she thinks I believe it enough, maybe I'll get by with it.

Thanks for bringing us back to the real topic of this thread which was how to help me get out of the expected jam I'm sure to find myself in once I'm found out growing fodder in the second bathroom.

Speaking of that, I was working in that bathroom today and left the curtain drawn back so you could see the fodder tower. Then I had to go into town for some stuff, ended up in town longer than expected, and my wife beat me home. I walked past that bathroom and saw my mistake and quickly drew the curtain covering the fodder tower from sight. Just about ratted myself out today!

I swear, sometimes I'm my worst enemy and that will probably be my ultimate downfall on this caper.

 

[gtaus]

I think I just passed out a little...I am open and do try a lot of crazy things but mealworms in the kitchen and crawling out of the bathroom!!! Gah!!!! You people are AWESOME !!!!

Worm bins are awesome. Worms escaping the worm bin and crawling all over the bathroom floor is NOT awesome!

Live and learn. I find that feeding kitchen scraps to the chickens outside is a much better idea for us. My wife actually likes to put kitchen scraps in a bucket that I take out to the girls almost daily. In exchange, I bring back some fresh eggs for my wife. She understands that exchange. We still don't talk about my worms crawling all over the bathroom....

 

[Barbs Girls]

@Barbsgirls, Wow!!! You text just like my mom!!! Love it!!! Added to the list!!!

18) OMG you are not going to believe what I did!!! I am so excited to see if this works!!! Can you imagine how happy the girls will be with fresh fodder all winter! I’ll take care of everything!!!

I'll be sure to try to put all the enthusiasm in it as expressed in your text. If she thinks I believe it enough, maybe I'll get by with it.

Thanks for bringing us back to the real topic of this thread which was how to help me get out of the expected jam I'm sure to find myself in once I'm found out growing fodder in the second bathroom.

Speaking of that, I was working in that bathroom today and left the curtain drawn back so you could see the fodder tower. Then I had to go into town for some stuff, ended up in town longer than expected, and my wife beat me home. I walked past that bathroom and saw my mistake and quickly drew the curtain covering the fodder tower from sight. Just about ratted myself out today!

I swear, sometimes I'm my worst enemy and that will probably be my ultimate downfall on this caper.

Bahahaha! A lot of enthusiasm will get you far! It’s hard to take down a person that is so darn proud of themselves!!!

 

[MROO]

That's just way cool.

I am getting more interested in trying to grow some mealworms. Any advice on where to start, links, etc...? Do you have to buy starter mealworms, bugs, or whatever?

All you need is a container, some dry rolled oats, an apple or potato slice and a package of mealworms from your local pet store. You'll need to get the "plain" ones that are refrigerated, not the ones that are dusted with preservatives or vitamin supplements.

• Pour a few inches of dry oatmeal into your container.
• Drop in a slice or two of apple or potato (that's how they get their water.) You'll need to change it every few days, or you'll have green oatmeal ... most unpleasant!
• Add your mealworms and walk away.

If you're concerned about escapees, which shouldn't happen with a straight, slick-sided container, you can put a screened lid or a piece of fabric over the top of it. I haven't had any escapees from my pasta bowl, or even the plastic container that started it all.

Ooh - BRAINSTORM - Put it all in a pretty fishbowl, add a fake aquarium plant (that doesn't touch the sides, so nobody goes walkabout) and call it a terrarium! It'd be like having an ant farm, only you can feed the mealies (and the beetles - live and dead) to your biddies. They're a lot easier to catch than ants ...

 

[MROO]

Roo, have you considered writing a mealworm article?

Hmmmmm ... "Creative Mealworm Farming" ... It has definitely has potential.
Maybe I should test out my fishbowl idea and get back to you on that one. Might be fun, at that ...

 

[gtaus]

All you need is a container, some dry rolled oats, an apple or potato slice and a package of mealworms from your local pet store. You'll need to get the "plain" ones that are refrigerated, not the ones that are dusted with preservatives or vitamin supplements.

• Pour a few inches of dry oatmeal into your container.
• Drop in a slice or two of apple or potato (that's how they get their water.) You'll need to change it every few days, or you'll have green oatmeal ... most unpleasant!
• Add your mealworms and walk away.

If you're concerned about escapees, which shouldn't happen with a straight, slick-sided container, you can put a screened lid or a piece of fabric over the top of it. I haven't had any escapees from my pasta bowl, or even the plastic container that started it all.

Ooh - BRAINSTORM - Put it all in a pretty fishbowl, add a fake aquarium plant (that doesn't touch the sides, so nobody goes walkabout) and call it a terrarium! It'd be like having an ant farm, only you can feed the mealies (and the beetles - live and dead) to your biddies. They're a lot easier to catch than ants ...

OK. That helps a lot. I'll have to check our local pet store for live meal worms. I am assuming that you can throw the apple/potato slices to the chickens every few days as you put in new slices? How long does it take for mealworms to mature to the size to feed to the chickens? Once you start the habitat, is it self sustaining as far as meal worms reproducing?

I think I have the perfect container for a meal worm project. I have an old 15/20 gallon aquarium in the garage and I think I even have a screen top for it to convert it into a terrarium. If not, I have plenty of old screen laying around in the garage and could easily make a cover for the aquarium. Excellent idea.

 

[Barbs Girls]

@Barbsgirls, Wow!!! You text just like my mom!!! Love it!!! Added to the list!!!

18) OMG you are not going to believe what I did!!! I am so excited to see if this works!!! Can you imagine how happy the girls will be with fresh fodder all winter! I’ll take care of everything!!!

I'll be sure to try to put all the enthusiasm in it as expressed in your text. If she thinks I believe it enough, maybe I'll get by with it.

Thanks for bringing us back to the real topic of this thread which was how to help me get out of the expected jam I'm sure to find myself in once I'm found out growing fodder in the second bathroom.

Speaking of that, I was working in that bathroom today and left the curtain drawn back so you could see the fodder tower. Then I had to go into town for some stuff, ended up in town longer than expected, and my wife beat me home. I walked past that bathroom and saw my mistake and quickly drew the curtain covering the fodder tower from sight. Just about ratted myself out today!

I swear, sometimes I'm my worst enemy and that will probably be my ultimate downfall on this caper.

Hmmm shower curtain left open and she didn’t notice... you are a lucky man... or perhaps we should say.... well played wife!!! Maybe she is on a blog this very minute...ha, he thinks I don’t know his secret(followed by a mildly sinister cackle).....
Now..getting back on task... you could use the open shower curtain to your advantage (should you be foolish enough to leave it open again) and say... honey- this has been going on for days, I thought I told you what I was doing. How did you not see me working on this? I’ve been in here everyday working!! Did you get a good look at how it’s coming along? Incredible, isn’t it(here’s were you inject all that excitement)!!!

 

[MROO]

OK. That helps a lot. I'll have to check our local pet store for live meal worms. I am assuming that you can throw the apple/potato slices to the chickens every few days as you put in new slices? How long does it take for mealworms to mature to the size to feed to the chickens? Once you start the habitat, is it self sustaining as far as meal worms reproducing?

I think I have the perfect container for a meal worm project. I have an old 15/20 gallon aquarium in the garage and I think I even have a screen top for it to convert it into a terrarium. If not, I have plenty of old screen laying around in the garage and could easily make a cover for the aquarium. Excellent idea.

I generally toss the slices after the mealies are done with them. There's not usually much left and they look nasty! An aquarium would work, but it's probably a bit of overkill. You only need a few inches of oatmeal to keep your buggies happy. If you put much more in there, you'll never find 'em until they fully morph into beetles. That's okay, too, I guess. My birds like to chase them, but the beetles are more likely to get away and I'd really rather not have them living in my yard!

I can't really tell you how long the little buggers live, because ours have been inconsistent from the get-go. To explain that, I have to tell you a story:

We started with mealworms looooong before we had chickens. DS' first grade class studied the metamorphosis of the mealworm from mealie to beetle. The process took them about two weeks, after which, the students were "allowed" to take their pets home. Many declined, so DS ended up with six of them, including "High Five," so named because "he" lost an appendage during Show-n-Tell on the bus ride home.

When DS arrived home, carefully carrying his cup cup full of "pets," I immediately got on the horn with the "thoughtful" teacher who allowed him to adopt these lovely little critters. She assured me that I had nothing to worry about, as Darkling beetles were completely harmless, took no real care other than the apple slice, only lived about a month and required "ideal conditions" to reproduce. Okay, I could handle pet bugs for a month.

Well, two strikes against that wise and helpful teacher-lady. Not only did our buddy "High Five" live a long and healthy six months, but apparently a styrofoam cup on my kitchen counter constitutes "ideal conditions" in the mealworm world. We had to expand their living quarters several times, as High Five and his friends were extremely friendly with one another and we soon had a healthy little colony going. I didn't really complain (at least not too much) because my super shy, socially awkward son was totally enamored of his pets. He took them out for exercise and showed them off to anyone and everyone who would listen to him recite their histories.

Well, over time, I managed to thin down the ranks by explaining to DS that we needed to "clean out" their bowl. Changing the oatmeal once a week effectively took out many eggs. Fewer eggs = fewer meal worms = fewer beetles = happier Mama. By the time the last one passed on (to much fanfare and a sad farewell from DS) we had been catering to his pets for nearly two years. I breathed a deep sigh of relief and ceremoniously put away the ceramic dish they'd been living in for so long.

Two weeks later, guess what DD brought home from her first grade class?