First attempt at mealworm farming

[Ital]

I’ve been keeping compost worms for a long time now and they definitely like their mouldy treats but just got my meal worms recently.
I plan on feeding them with a homemade gluten and oat free quail feed and extra lentils instead of bugs but I’ve not organised all the ingredients and grinder yet so they’ve been eating old stuff from the back of the cupboard, dog biscuits, and some veg bits.
I had some pasta made of lentils way past the use by date and this seems to be the favourite, some spiral and some penne shaped, they seem to enjoy crawling in and around them but they’re going mouldy near where I’ve been adding bits of potato.
I’ve been picking out the mouldy bits and giving them to the compost worms but it seems to be those that are most eaten which made me think they are probably eating the mould.
They seem healthy but I’ve not had them long, what sort of problems could potentially occur as a result of the mould?
I’ve read it can cause problems for crickets so have ordered some hydro gel for them to avoid mould growing on veg. Could be better/easier hydrating the mealys in the same way? No mouldy veg in there causing problems.

 

[Perris]

I’ve been keeping compost worms for a long time now and they definitely like their mouldy treats but just got my meal worms recently.
I plan on feeding them with a homemade gluten and oat free quail feed and extra lentils instead of bugs but I’ve not organised all the ingredients and grinder yet so they’ve been eating old stuff from the back of the cupboard, dog biscuits, and some veg bits.
I had some pasta made of lentils way past the use by date and this seems to be the favourite, some spiral and some penne shaped, they seem to enjoy crawling in and around them but they’re going mouldy near where I’ve been adding bits of potato.
I’ve been picking out the mouldy bits and giving them to the compost worms but it seems to be those that are most eaten which made me think they are probably eating the mould.
They seem healthy but I’ve not had them long, what sort of problems could potentially occur as a result of the mould?
I’ve read it can cause problems for crickets so have ordered some hydro gel for them to avoid mould growing on veg. Could be better/easier hydrating the mealys in the same way? No mouldy veg in there causing problems.

I've also found potatoes don't work very well, and I hardly ever add one for moisture; I use whatever veg trimmings I have instead - root veg tops and tails, outer leaves of greens, limp lettuce, apple cores etc. Some get sucked dry (e.g. kale leaves, carrot leaves), some consumed (e.g. lettuce, apple core).

I don't know what problems mould might create, I imagine it depends a lot on the precise type of mould that grows, but some produce toxins and almost all produce spores, which I prefer to avoid.

 

[Soujrnr]

I started to add a handful of dried dog food to the bran every now and then

What a cool idea!! I'm going to jot that idea down in my journal. Thanks for the tip!!

 

[Ital]

I noticed in the small print after ordering the hydro gel that it causes birth defects and cancer so that’ll be going straight in the bin when it arrives.
No mould since switching the potato for carrot in the mealy bucket, good info! Thanks and I’ve made a mini auto water feeder for the crickets out of a plastic vitamin bottle which will hopefully be less carcinogenic than the hydro gel, seems to work pretty well.

 

[User105877]

Following.

 

[David247]

Perris, I would love to feed my chickens mealworms. I read this whole thread and am not too sure about the process. I believe you said that you went from four drawers down to two. I would like it to be as simple as possible but did not quite understand how you did that. Could you please list each step and the equipment needed?

I have an old upright freezer that I use for a kiln to dry bowl blanks before turning them into bowls on my lathe. It is in my wood shop which I do not heat.

The shop never freezes here in Indiana because it is well-insulated. I just turn the heat on when I am working in there.

I used a hole saw to cut a hole to put a two-inch pipe at the bottom and one near the top on the same side, which allows air to circulate. I run the cord of a lamp holder, like you use to hold a heat lamp for chicks, through the bottom whole, and just set it on the bottom. It heats the air making it rise to the top, and leaves through the top pipe creating a convection effect. I use different wattage ceramic heat lamps to adjust the temperature. I think that would be the best place to put my farm. It is too cold here in the winter to put them in our basement and any dust would not be noticed in my shop, lol.

Thank you

 

[Perris]

I believe you said that you went from four drawers down to two.

that must be someone else, because I've stuck with 3 from the start (one for the beetles, one for the tiniest worms, and one for the worms at harvest and pupating stage). It is obvious from what you've said that this thread is not as clear as it might be - inevitable I suppose with any thread charting someone's developing story - and now with hindsight I can do a better job of it. So that is to follow.

 

[David247]

that must be someone else, because I've stuck with 3 from the start (one for the beetles, one for the tiniest worms, and one for the worms at harvest and pupating stage). It is obvious from what you've said that this thread is not as clear as it might be - inevitable I suppose with any thread charting someone's developing story - and now with hindsight I can do a better job of it. So that is to follow.

Thank you and I'm sorry. I read so much and like you said, it must have been someone else. Regardless, I would like to see a step-by-step of how your setup works. I could go back and make notes but that could take a while. (So many posts) Sorry for the bother and thank you.

 

[Perris]

So, four and a half years after I started it, the mealworm farm is still going strong. Here's the overview @David247

My set up is the same as it was at the start; there are photos and a description in this post https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/first-attempt-at-mealworm-farming.1350136/post-23054956 (#77 above)
There is more detail on management in #85 here https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/first-attempt-at-mealworm-farming.1350136/post-25186716 and #87 here https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/first-attempt-at-mealworm-farming.1350136/post-25753738
and on bringing in new blood after 2 years, in #89 here
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/first-attempt-at-mealworm-farming.1350136/post-26267156
There is also a bit on the bran substrate in #97 here
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/first-attempt-at-mealworm-farming.1350136/post-26742761 and on supplementing the mealworms' diet with dry dogfood in the very next post.
Good luck!

 

[David247]

Sorry about the tardiness of this reply - I didn't get any notice that you'd posted here. 416bigbore thankfully saw it then and offered a reply. Mine is slightly different.

I am retired so timing is not an issue and I'm sure I spend a good deal more time on them than necessary, for example rummaging about in the harvesting drawer to find and remove pupae to a safe place while they metamorphose, or lifting out beetles that I missed as pupae! My routine is every day I harvest some of the biggest worms I can see on opening the harvest drawer, and check all three drawers have some moisture source - typically veg trimmings e.g. broccoli stalks or banana skins - and nothing mouldy. The 'sifting' and rotating takes me about an hour, once a month to 6 weeks (depending on time of year and how fast they're growing). I put 'sifting' in apostrophes because I don't sift as such any more.

I rummage around by hand in the harvesting drawer to pick out whatever big mealworms or pupae remain after a month/6 weeks of harvesting, then give the drawer to the flock to glean. (Because I've been harvesting from that drawer daily for a month/6weeks, there are not many mealworms left in there by this time). Then I put whatever bran/fras etc. is left in the drawer on whatever bit of the garden looks like it needs some organic matter and fertilizer, wash the drawer, add some fresh bran, and - and this is the only time-consuming bit - pick the live beetles out of their drawer and put them into the newly clean one. Any dead beetles go into the feed bowl for the chooks' next meal. I find handling both beetles and worms easy, and there's no dust if you don't sieve; no allergies have reared their heads for me as yet. The drawer the beetles used to be in and contains their eggs and very small mealworms is put back in the middle shelf of the unit with some fresh vegetation to be the grow-on drawer. And what was the grow-on drawer is moved down to the bottom to become the harvesting drawer, while the new beetle drawer goes up to the top shelf.

I think a few live mealworms are a great source of protein, and also a great training treat for the chickens; if they know you are the bearer of live mealworms, they will come running when you call!

Perris: I read about how large/small the openings need to be in the screen at the bottom of drawers #1 and #2, but I can't seem to find that and more. Can you please tell me?