Meal Worms

[AngieMaesChix]

Thank you for the info!! I will start small but have a feeling it will grow just like my bird math haha more chickens/ducks = more works

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

The beauty of raising mealworms is there are so many ways to do it.....from bedding options, housing type, management and hydration source. Kind of like chicken keeping you just figure out what works for you

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Thank you for the info!! I will start small but have a feeling it will grow just like my bird math haha more chickens/ducks = more works

Yes, worm math happens....hence going from my one, small, self-sorting bin to having a "worm closet"

 

[abryant25]

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)

 

[abryant25]

Do you keep this in your home, garage? I think that is what I am trying to figure out. I have researched it and many state they have to have warmer areas to keep the boxes in

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Do you keep this in your home, garage? I think that is what I am trying to figure out. I have researched it and many state they have to have warmer areas to keep the boxes in

This is a closet in my home. They would not be suited to an unheated environment. I know some folks choose garage, etc and add heat to their farm (seeding mats, reptile heaters, etc) but that seems like making it harder and more costly considering you can put them anywhere in the house and never know they were there (maintained there is no smell, no mess). I know folks who use solid colored drawer units (plastic storage drawers) and have them out in an open part of their home with guests never realizing it's a worm farm.

 

[abryant25]

Thank you so much for the information! I have a lot to think about!

 

[RonP]

Here is a good link to start with.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/mealworm-farming.492636/

I currently produce around 15-20,000 per month to treat my dozen or so birds daily...

Hope this helps.

 

[SixNolans]

Question: grub worms just as good as mealworms?
When can I introduce them to baby chicks?

 

[Kris5902]

I’m just starting out with a 3 drawer self sorting system... praying my Pupae make it to beetles ATM because winter hit last night and we now have a foot of snow... my trailer got down to 4 degrees Celsius last night. Not the best environment for my worms I think