Mealworm farming

[chickens? not yet]

from Az.

It is a great place for info.
About the 3-drawer method, I'm doing both, but I have to say I'm new at meal worms, but my tote is doing better than the 3-drawer, so when I have a beetle I'm putting them all in the tote and am going to stop using the 3-drawer. I'm not working on them very hard the tote seems to be doing very well with very little work, so I'm just letting them do their thing!
Glad to met you!! Connie



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[chickens? not yet]

Yes mam!!

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[andrea98]

My worm are on their way !!

 

[littlels]

We got our worms about a week ago and have them in one "under the bed" storage tub. They are in our shop which is cooler; however, we did put a heat lamp on them to keep them warm. What I am wondering is why half of them aren't moving...I don't know if they are dead or too cold that they are like that or what the deal is.... They are in oat and wheat bran. We have given them kale, cucumber and now carrots. The ones that are moving are pretty slow too. Are they normally that slow or do they usually wiggle around? This is our first time with them. So we aren't really sure what their normal behavior should be like. I have seen some skeletons laying on the oats too.

 

[Kassaundra]

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When the worms or pupa die they are easy to identify they will turn black. The beetles seems to move alot in my colony, I would say a non moving beetle is probably dead too. Be careful w/ a heat light, use it as indirect heat, not like a chicken brooder, the dry heat can easily kill them. And definately add some humidity if using a heat light. You can experiment w/ that some use damp paper, I put a margarine tub w/ water in it in my bin, if you are worried about it spilling you could to water gel pellets instead.

 

[littlels]

So then maybe they haven't really died? It seems like the ones further from the food are slower or not moving. Could they just been in some sort of hibernation mode? The light is over the middle and there are holes in the tub but not a big open window per se. I put a thermometer in there and will check it soon to see how warm it really is.

 

[andrea98]

Bring them in & put them on the table for the night without the lamp & see how they are in the morning...

 

[ipana]

The light may not be good for them since direct sunlight will kill them, as I understand. Others here who know more can chime in on using a light source for heat. Perhaps the reptile lights would be a good choice if you need heat? They give off heat but no light. I have them in my chicken house for times when the temperatures go into the mid to low teens. Can't have those combs frostbitten now, can we?

 

[WestKnollAmy]

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I second that motion!!!

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Happy Thanksgiving to all my mealie friends.

My meal worm bins did not like the sweet potato as much as the pumpkin. Go figure! Maybe they were just too full from pumpkin?