Meal worms

[ametauss]

anyone do meal worm farming?? At $3 for 100, it's getting expensive to buy them and I was wondering how to start my own meal worm farm.

 

[RendonRoo]

Do a search.. There are several sites that offer advise on this. You can also buy "worm trays". It's something i looked into but haven't done anything yet(chicken on my mind right now). Good Luck

 

[CovenantCreek]

Here's a shop that sells large quantities of mealworms at better prices than what you've been paying: The Natures Way

 

[ChicwannaB]

so excited about this, I googled mealworms Live, dealers in my state and found I can get 2000 for 16.00 so I've ordered some. Now I just gotta find that Wheat bran stuff. Does anybody know if they can also eat wheat germ? that has to be kept fridgerated so it don't sprout.
This is so cool, I'll be starting my own mealworm farm soon. YIPPEE, oh I'll have such happy hens.
thanks for all the info.

 

[ralleia]

I wouldn't try to grow them in straight wheat germ, but according to the bluebird site, you can raise them in oatmeal with some wheat germ in it. The site has a few different "recipes" for the mealworm bedding and feed:

http://www.sialis.org/raisingmealworms.htm

To find wheat bran, call around to feed stores. I found my wheat bran at a horse feed store in town. I had to buy a 40 lb bag, so be prepared to store in good sealable buckets if you do. It would be wise to freeze the wheat bran in whatever size batches fit in your freezer for a few days in order to kill grain moth larvae. Grain products are almost certain to have grain moth larvae, that can be maddening when they subsequently infest your pantry!

 

[binders]

There is a really active thread on here all about mealworm farming and how to do it. Here is the link:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/492636/mealworm-farming#post_6256559

Good luck with it. I really enjoy farming them and have found them really simple to do. It does take a while to get enough to be able to feed out a lot to your chickens.

 

[OkChickens]

so excited about this, I googled mealworms Live, dealers in my state and found I can get 2000 for 16.00 so I've ordered some. Now I just gotta find that Wheat bran stuff. Does anybody know if they can also eat wheat germ? that has to be kept fridgerated so it don't sprout.
This is so cool, I'll be starting my own mealworm farm soon. YIPPEE, oh I'll have such happy hens.
thanks for all the info.

All you need is wheat bran or rolled Oats. Check you local feed store. For a 50lb bags of wheat bran here its about $12. Check out the Mealworm Farming Thread on here and ask all of your questions there! There are many knowledgeable people that know a lot about farming Mealworms! Good Luck

Nate