Meal Worms

[abryant25]

Has anyone ever tried raising your own meal worms verses buying them in the store?

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

Never have......I have always purchased them.
Welcome to our FUNomenal Community!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I raise them....super easy & cheap and the birds LOVE live mealies.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

my current setup.....this grows enough for my flock (11) and loads of extras that I can sell to offset costs, create some spending $.

What I started with, would easily grow enough for just my birds. I make and sell these locally to folks wanting to start their own farm. My cost to build these is about $11.00

I am at about a year in, just coming to the end of a 50 pound bag of wheat bran ($18)....and I feed my whole farm on two carrots a day (10lb bag $5 lasts about a month)

 

[AngieMaesChix]

I raise them....super easy & cheap and the birds LOVE live mealies.[/QUOTE

What do you use do you use three separate areas for each stage or do you do it all in one? I’m starting one next month and have heard people say that keeping them separate is not needed as long as you keep enough food source...I was planning on just using a ten/15 gallon aquarium with wore mesh lid not because I’m worried about them escaping but I don’t wanna take a chance

 

[AngieMaesChix]

Haha I soo did the quote thing wrong

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Best advice I can offer is find good starter stock. *some* commercially sold stock is treated to prevent pupation (hormonal treatment early on) which means they never turn onto beetles, which would mean no completing the life cycle. You *can* source from a pet store, but will pay a premium for okay stock that way.....you'll get more, bigger, healthier starter stock from a private grower imo. If you go store route, ask whether they source them commercially or from a local source

 

[AngieMaesChix]

Yes I plan on buying from a private breeder or my local bait store sells them as well and I’m sure he could/would order for me at his price or not much more tho these are probably the ones you are talking about that are unable to produce...I figure about 1500 would be a good start? And waiting a couple months before I start taking worms..

 

[Conan]

View attachment 1669427 my current setup.....this grows enough for my flock (11) and loads of extras that I can sell to offset costs, create some spending $.

View attachment 1669429
What I started with, would easily grow enough for just my birds. I make and sell these locally to folks wanting to start their own farm. My cost to build these is about $11.00

I am at about a year in, just coming to the end of a 50 pound bag of wheat bran ($18)....and I feed my whole farm on two carrots a day (10lb bag $5 lasts about a month)

So neat. Do you have an article on your awesome setup? I'd love to give it a try sometime.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

The colony approach, all together, can certainly work. I separate as it is more efficient for me at the volume I'm producing. There are 20 drawers in my carts....one is pupa, three are beetles, 14 are worms of various stages and two are currently empty as I recently consolidated and cut back temporarily due to going out of town for a time and trying to simplify fir the worm sitter....I had it down to 14 drawers total at that point and am ramping back up.