Mealworm farming

[SteveBaz]

It sounds like your farm is up and running. I'm pretty new at this, too, but everything you have said sounds right on. 80 degrees sounds pretty good. I'm wondering how you manage to keep it that warm. My house is not that warm. The amount of time varies, but with those conditions, depending on the age of the worms when you got them, you should see them pupate and then turn into beetles. A 5 stack tower should be more than adequate. I have 2000 worms in a rubbermade tub right now. I think it all just depends on how much time you want to spend separating them and how many you need to raise for your chickens.

Ivywoods,

Its easy to get the temps up with a bathroom overhead 250 watt heater red lamp. I bought one of the socket with the silver fly saucer cover with a clip on base and pointed it directly at the 10 gallon fish tank and wamo 89 degrees. I would use a cover over the top of the tank so the heat doesnt get out

 

[OkChickens]

Steve, Make sure that the lamp is very secure! Your colony will need ventilation so maybe a small piece or wood or cardboard to cover like 3/4's of your bin? Just an Idea.

nate

 

[SteveBaz]

Steve, Make sure that the lamp is very secure! Your colony will need ventilation so maybe a small piece or wood or cardboard to cover like 3/4's of your bin? Just an Idea.

nate

Nate,

Thanks I have a section at the very top and an entire 2" strip the length of the tank is open but thats a very good reminder to myself and all interested and that is ventilation or you get nothing Good tip Nate

 

[FrenchToast]

I just put 100 med mealworms into a plastic shoebox. I have about 3" of bran in the box. I drilled about 10 1/2" holes in the cover.
I put a few apple slices in it. I also put a the conatiner that the worms came in and put water in it and then put the cover on it. I thought it would give it a little bit of moisture.
I put the box in the bottom shelf closet in the bathroom across from the heat vents. I figured it would be warmest there since we keep out house temp between 63 & 65 degrees.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[FrenchToast]

Got another mealworm question.

I showed the neighbor my mealworms and told him I bought them.
He said he had them in an old pen he had some chickens in that had been sitting for about 9 months. (There weren't chickens in it for that time) He had it up high and when he took it down to use it he realized he hadn't emptied the litter. There were two feed bowls in the cage and one was turned upside down. When he lifted it up he found a few mealworms. So my question since he was feeding grains is it possible that there were mealworm eggs in the feed. He never fed his chickens mealworms.

I found this weird but also interesting. Makes me wonder why I bought some if I could just let nature provide them.

If that isn't how they got there then any ideas how they got there?

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

FrenchToast, your colony set-up sounds fine. Personally, I'd skip the water filled container inside, but it probably won't hurt anything unless the water gets out of the container. There are lots of different species of darkling beetles and your neighbor most likely had Lesser Mealworms (Alphitobius diaperinus). These types of worms are very commonly found in association with poultry. The problem with these guys is that they are very important vectors/hosts for a whole variety of poultry pathogens and parasites as well as being destructive to wood structures (see link above). I think that the potential risk with these kinds of beetles would far outweigh any feeding benefits for your birds. It's too bad too, it would seem like such a great food source. Good luck with your new colony!

 

[dmclalin]

and dose any one now if chickens eat fishing worms thanks Denise

Sure! But let me tell you fish love meal worms!!!!

 

[hannakat]

and dose any one now if chickens eat fishing worms thanks Denise

There are many kinds of 'fishing worms' so you'd have to find out which ones. Bait stores sell containers of worms and often they are mealworms. If they are longer, wiggly worms, then no...chickens don't seem to eat those.

 

[Ivywoods]

I would have to disagree with this statement. Mealworms may be bait, but bait is often earthworms or nightcrawlers. We have them all over the yard. My chickens follow me around if I've got a shovel in my hand and they grab those little wormies up as I uncover them. We have nightcrawlers come up all over the yard in the spring, especially when the ground is kind of wet. The chickens run all over the yard and have a heyday picking up those nightcrawlers. They eat LOTS of them!

 

[Ivywoods]

Here's a link to some happy hens eating earthworms.

No, I didn't make this video, but probably could have!