Meal worms: Super Expensive Form of Protein?

[Shiloh2298]

I have used the mealworms to train my ducks to come home when I shake the bag and whistle. They go nuts over the things. I get the big big bag from ts when they go on sale and I have a friends and family coupon.

 

[WindingRoad]

View attachment 1719629 I spoil my chickens.
I have my first colony of worms. That make beetles that make larvae/pupated grubs and then big fat meal worms. I feed all stages. Keeping them is easy.
I still buy dried worms because my husband just can’t handle ... live bugs

I thought I read somewhere that you need to keep the breeding worms in a very warm place. Like 80F. I don't have a place that warm. Even though I hate the cold I don't like it that hot. I don't have a garage or barn. So the house would have to be the place to keep them.

 

[Jessicanesh]

I also purchase dried mealworms from Amazon. Since the prices change frequently I always do the math before ordering and get the cheapest price. I’m not one for live worms especially in the house so it’s worth it for me to spend a little extra. Since I only use them for training and as treats barely once a day with my 36 birds my large orders last a very long time.

 

[Debby R]

I had two large trays of mealworms for months. They went through all the stages (darkling beetle, pupa, worm). The problem is they put out so much waste (it's like a fine sand) and they lay eggs that you can't sift out of it so as you add substrate (I used wheat bran for horses) the bins get more and more full and a little smelly. The chickens and chicks LOVED them. HATED the freeze-dried ones which I really can't see any nutritional value in them anyway. They are like the empty worm husks. I fed the worms, besides the bran, with carrots for moisture and that did not make the bran soggy. I quit with the meal forms. Too many predators here for free-ranging so I feed chickweed and other yard greens daily plus fruit and vegetables on top of their Purina feed. Keeps them entertained. I have 5 chickens in an 8x12 run and 4x8 coop.
I found the cheapest worms online (Rainbow). You can buy 1000 or 500 or however many. They will go dormant in the refrigerator.

 

[Debby R]

I thought I read somewhere that you need to keep the breeding worms in a very warm place. Like 80F. I don't have a place that warm. Even though I hate the cold I don't like it that hot. I don't have a garage or barn. So the house would have to be the place to keep them.

They just go dormant when it's too cold. I'd never keep them in the house as they get a little smelly as time goes on but they do fine in the mid 70's.

 

[MissChick@dee]

I thought I read somewhere that you need to keep the breeding worms in a very warm place. Like 80F. I don't have a place that warm. Even though I hate the cold I don't like it that hot. I don't have a garage or barn. So the house would have to be the place to keep them.

I keep them in my living room on the floor. It was the warmest spot in the house. They’re in a tote (now 3). It was no where near 80. They did just fine. They didn’t go dormant which they do if it’s too cold.

 

[breege]

I thought I read somewhere that you need to keep the breeding worms in a very warm place. Like 80F. I don't have a place that warm. Even though I hate the cold I don't like it that hot. I don't have a garage or barn. So the house would have to be the place to keep them.

Doesn't have to be 80, house temp works. I was taught growing up that you kept everything as clean as possible to avoid having bugs in the house, so mine are in the hall closet, as far away from the kitchen/food as possible. It works on another level, as they don't seem to be crazy about bright daylight

 

[Sea Wolf]

For what you get, I found the dried mealworms expensive and wasteful. Many of my chickens don't eat them and when I put them at the bird feeder, none of the wild birds eat them either. Live ones are a different story.
Instead of mealworms, I toss the birds a few handfulls of good grade dried dog food kibble. Not only do they scramble to get at this, they will come running when they see/hear the dish I have it in and several try to jump up off the ground and reach the dish when I have it in my hand.

 

[MissChick@dee]

They just go dormant when it's too cold. I'd never keep them in the house as they get a little smelly as time goes on but they do fine in the mid 70's.

Sounds like what I’m doing. Oat bran with dried milk and whole carrots on top. I’m thinking that when I need to change out their medium I’ll scoop and transfer as many as possible then leave what’s left to mature out before dumping. I started with 1100 worms so we’ll see how it goes.

 

[cbhunter777]

So, I read a lot about people feeding meal worms to their flock for high-protein treats.

A quick look at tractor supply shows the price ranging from over $1/ounce (for a 10 ounce bag) to about $6.50/lb for a 5 lb bag.

So, what am I missing? For far less than $6.50/lb, I can buy many different kinds of meat at the grocery store....ground beef, chicken, fish, even many cuts of beef. Heck, sometimes ground turkey or chicken goes on sale for 99 cents a pound around here!

What is it about meal worms that make them better? Is it the fact that they're dried, so without the moisture content you're getting more raw protein per pound? Is it the snack-ready size?
If it's not that, what am I missing? If they're worth $6.50+ a lb, should *I* be eating them?!

Meal worms in any form are very expensive. So I raise my own and my chickens and blue birds go WILD for them. Easiest things in the world to raise. I bought 2,000 as my starter set from my local wild bird store and a plastic 3 drawer set from Walmart on sale. I put a 5 lb. bag (I used wheat flour this go around) in the top drawer and dumped in the worms. For moisture I cut a potato in half lengthwise and set peeling side down on the flour. BAM! You're raising mealworms. My intention was to get the whole life cycle going before I started feeding the worms to my birds. The worms will turn into pupae next and go dormant during that phase. When they hatch into the darkling beetles I pick them out and put in another drawer with the same set up. The beetles will lay eggs that hatch into worms and so the cycle goes. As the veggies dry out, replace. You can use potatoes, carrots, lettuce, old bread. BYC has great info on the choices. Now that I have established the full cycle I am feeding the full grown worms while leaving some to complete the cycle. The length of each stage of the cycle depends on how much food you give them and how warm they are. I made the mistake of putting them in a spare room that stays pretty cool and that slowed everything down. I made the room a bit warmer and things picked right back up. In the summer they can be raised outside if you have a protected place so wild birds and reptiles can't access buffet style. And people can eat them too.