Mealworm farming

[Chaneys Ranch]

PUPA~ count em 3 of them!!!!!!
YAYYYYY!!!

 

[DMRippy]

PUPA~ count em 3 of them!!!!!!
YAYYYYY!!!

In an hour go see how many more you have....

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

In an hour go see how many more you have....

Thanks i just turned addict ROFL!
I am doing a 1 big drawer, feed and forget method..hehe..
My youngest bought a sugar glider tonight guess what their favorite treat is....
She text me...
Her: dont you raise them...mealworm things
Me: yep
Her: I love you mommy!! I am starting to understand why you do weird stuff
Me: OK, come get some Wormies
(she is 20)
Muhahaha a future wormie farmer is born!!!!

 

[DMRippy]

Quote: Nah... she will just let you be her SUPPLIER LOL

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Nah... she will just let you be her SUPPLIER LOL

LMAO she knows mom don't work that way....
She has to at least help with their care.
I am really proud of her, she has guinea pigs, fish, a cat and now the glider.
pays all the food, medical care.
School full time, and works almost full time..
But she loves her pets as much as i do mine

(I will probably bend a little if i can hold the glider sometimes, she is precious)

 

[Debbz]

Decades ago my uncle raised mealworms for finches in big numbers using a 44gallon metal drum in the shed into which he broke large chunks of unsliced stale bread turning the soft side down in the drum. Every day he harvested a huge handful of worms by lifting the crusts up to find lots of worms eating their way through the soft bread from underneath. Does anyone do the easy no-work stale crusty bread method, which seemed so simple and was larger scale?

I've just bought a small tub of mealworms and ordered a large bag of toss-out bread from the bakery tomorrow, so I hope I'm on the right track! Advice please?

 

[wolftracks]

Decades ago my uncle raised mealworms for finches in big numbers using a 44gallon metal drum in the shed into which he broke large chunks of unsliced stale bread turning the soft side down in the drum. Every day he harvested a huge handful of worms by lifting the crusts up to find lots of worms eating their way through the soft bread from underneath. Does anyone do the easy no-work stale crusty bread method, which seemed so simple and was larger scale?

I've just bought a small tub of mealworms and ordered a large bag of toss-out bread from the bakery tomorrow, so I hope I'm on the right track! Advice please?

I have no idea, but I'm hoping you find someone that has done this. Sounds so easy in comparison.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

I use whole wheat slices of bread a lot of times when I ship my meal worms. As far as I have found, I am the only one that ships the meal worms with food. I sometimes put bread in the bins but they are not thrilled since they have so much else to eat.
Now a piece of apple.....that gets them thundering over in a heartbeat! I harvest quite well with that.

 

[Debbz]

Thanks wolftracks and WestKnollAmy. Interesting that you ship with bread Amy(?). Elsewhere I found someone feeding them wholemeal flour, so I'm hoping the bread will do as their main food but may add a few cheap oats or a bit of bran if they're not so keen on it. Since posting here I've found another thread by Joe Bryant who uses one large bin only with bran as food. So it looks like it can all be made easier with good results. And I'll sure try apple, thanks.

 

[wolftracks]

Speaking of feeding them. I've mentioned before. I have narrowed it down to just carrots, since I rarely if ever find a rotten one. They devore them. I'm not going to use oats or anything else I've tried either. The only container I have used like that, the worms and beetles were 1/2 the size. I'm sticking to 30% Gamebird crumbles. The worms and beetles from those tubs are almost twice as big and some more. Now to figure out what to do during the cold months. I don't have a heater and used the over till that pooped out. I refuse to put something else new in this dump, till I find my own home to buy. And I'm looking for that daily, so here's hoping. But space here is very small. Our things don't even fit here. Most of our stuff has been in storage since we moved in here. It was supposed to only be a coupleof months till our house closed, but my husband died and I've been stuck here now for almost 2 1/2 years. I have to find some way to keep the worms going for the girls this winter. I haven't fed any to anything but a few brooder chicks so far. I may have a lot of worms, but it would be a one day snack for my crowd.

I need to find a way to use solar heat ourside or something, so they aren't inside all the time. Although I've had them inside all summer and it's been soooooo hot here. Just need some good ideas to keep going.

I know they will go dormant for the winter. How much of a loss do you think it would cause just for them to do this?