Mealworm farming

[onafixedincome]

"...with wheat germ....."

Um, no. Wheat bran is what you need... I spent months calling it 'wheat germ' and getting them mixed up, but finally managed to get it straight...

And I'll x4 on the 'don't keep 'em in the bathroom' comment--drier and warmer is best. Up to about 90*F, anyway.

 

[tazcat70]

Thanks everyone!

DMRippy that would be fantastic!

 

[furbabymum]

"...with wheat germ....."

Um, no. Wheat bran is what you need... I spent months calling it 'wheat germ' and getting them mixed up, but finally managed to get it straight...

And I'll x4 on the 'don't keep 'em in the bathroom' comment--drier and warmer is best. Up to about 90*F, anyway.

lol Thanks! At least I got the wheat part right.

Ok no bathroom. Just convenient storage there.

 

[LaBella]

Hmm..considering the relation between chickens and dinosaurs, I think I know why chickens adore the darn things....Seriously, does this look like a mealie, or what??

http://news.yahoo.com/500-million-old-sea-creature-limbs-under-head-180743101.html

"...with wheat germ....."

Um, no. Wheat bran is what you need... I spent months calling it 'wheat germ' and getting them mixed up, but finally managed to get it straight...

And I'll x4 on the 'don't keep 'em in the bathroom' comment--drier and warmer is best. Up to about 90*F, anyway.

That is a freaky giant mealie. No lie.
Also.. umm.... I have mine on wheat germ. Not wheat bran, wheat germ. They seem to be doing just fine.
One would think the germ would be more nutritious than the bran since the germ is what the plant grows from, and the bran is just.. well.. fiber, I guess, lol.
Someone back in the late 200s, early 300s said they grew up on a grain farm I think it was.. And the mealies when they would get into the grain would eat the germ and leave the bran. Though someone else said they would eat the bran too. Obviously they WILL eat the bran, I'm just saying don't dismiss germ, since I know that the nutrient profile of wheat germ is higher than that of wheat bran.
NOT that germ is more cost effective than bran. My mealies are getting germ that I originally bought for my own use. (Wheat germ in scrambled eggs is surprisingly good, wheat germ in yogurt, not so much, lol)

 

[hannakat]

Wheat bran .... wheat bran .... wheat bran folks!

Haven't been on the thread in a very long time and it's nice to see that more and more chicken folks are still getting farms going.

No idea about raising mealies with wheat germ but I buy 50 lbs of wheat bran at the local Agway/Diamond milling for $12.00. I originally used rolled oats in the substrate but after comparing a batch growing in rolled oats and a batch developing in wheat bran, the wheat bran colony won.

If you search on Ebay, you'll find many selling wheat bran for mealies but it is cheaper if you can buy it locally from a feed mill.

Meal worms will develop in many different kinds of substrate so it's a matter of preference and how well they develop for you.

Keep 'em growing!

 

[DMRippy]

Thanks everyone!

DMRippy that would be fantastic!

TOMORROW! I was so busy today... tomorrow is my off day LOL.... 300 chickens and it is my OFF day.... not my Day OFF... just not a full day LOL

 

[azygous]

I'm also a huge fan of wheat bran. The worms just seem to have more "fun" in it. However, I prefer rolled oats in the beetle tray because while the eggs can sift down through the screen floor into the "nursery" tray beneath, the substrate of oats stays up in the beetle tray. When I used wheat bran for the beetles, they're so active that their substrate quickly ended up sifting into the lower tray and they were left with nothing.

I also wish to report that my grain mites have not returned. Drying out the substrate until there was no moisture content left really did the trick, and the worms seemed not to be harmed much, if at all. The creepy mites simply dried up and disappeared. But I will be very, very religious about microwave heat-treating all new grains before I introduce them to the worms.

 

[UrbanMamaHen]

I have beetles in my worm farm. So excited. Does this mean I will have lots of baby worms soon? And how soon? I want to give some worms away, and am wondering how long I should wait to "harvest" them without depleting my base too much. I started with 500 worms and just added another 1000.

 

[onafixedincome]

Wheat bran .... wheat bran .... wheat bran folks!

Haven't been on the thread in a very long time and it's nice to see that more and more chicken folks are still getting farms going.

Keep 'em growing!

NO KIDDING!! Where have you BEEN, O Instigator Of Verminaceous Furor?? Bring us up to date on how your colonies are doing, and chime in more often--you're missed!

 

[hannakat]

I'm also a huge fan of wheat bran. The worms just seem to have more "fun" in it. However, I prefer rolled oats in the beetle tray because while the eggs can sift down through the screen floor into the "nursery" tray beneath, the substrate of oats stays up in the beetle tray. When I used wheat bran for the beetles, they're so active that their substrate quickly ended up sifting into the lower tray and they were left with nothing.

I also wish to report that my grain mites have not returned. Drying out the substrate until there was no moisture content left really did the trick, and the worms seemed not to be harmed much, if at all. The creepy mites simply dried up and disappeared. But I will be very, very religious about microwave heat-treating all new grains before I introduce them to the worms.

I keep the beetles in rolled oats, too azygous, for the same reason

I have beetles in my worm farm. So excited. Does this mean I will have lots of baby worms soon? And how soon? I want to give some worms away, and am wondering how long I should wait to "harvest" them without depleting my base too much. I started with 500 worms and just added another 1000.

It'll take a few weeks to see wormie babies UrbanMamaHen....be patient. With a starting base of 1500 worms, I'd wait a year before giving anyway
unless it's like 25 worms I know from experience how long that size colony will take before it's harvestable and you'd be better off letting all of
them morph into beetles. With all of them in beetle form, you'll be able to give some away from the first generation but it will take a few months to
reach that stage. Patience grasshopper!!! LOL!