Mealworm farming

[bnewns]

I've been selling meal worm kits and raising meal worms for almost a year. I use the dead worms and beetles for making treats for my birds. Also I only give frieze dried meal worms to my seramas and chicks. Also if you have an ill chicken don't give live meal worms because they might not have the energy to process a live on vs frieze dried ones. I've been doing my own frieze dried worms for a month, its easy to do if you have a dehydrator.

 

[MamaAB]

I've been selling meal worm kits and raising meal worms for almost a year. I use the dead worms and beetles for making treats for my birds. Also I only give frieze dried meal worms to my seramas and chicks. Also if you have an ill chicken don't give live meal worms because they might not have the energy to process a live on vs frieze dried ones. I've been doing my own frieze dried worms for a month, its easy to do if you have a dehydrator.

So you just put the live meal worms right in your dehydrator?

 

[bnewns]

Quote: No, you have to freeze them first. Usually in a cookie sheet thinly spread out and then after they are frozen and dead you put them in the dehydrator. You can also bake them in a toaster oven, but it can smell up the house.

 

[sophiesmith]

Does anybody know who sells in Ohio? Mealworming sounds like a fun project.

 

[bnewns]

I ship out meal worm kits all over the United States and have had very few problems. If worms or beetles arrive DOA its usually because they froze or fried to death and they are still good to feed your chickens. I will also replace them for you. Meal worms are fun to raise.

 

[gaitngirl]

You should not be providing mealworms "free choice." They are not nutritionally balanced. Mealworms should be treated as more of a snack or a treat, given maybe once a day. The black soldier fly larvae is more balanced and a more appropriate "free choice" meat, although they are a bit more difficult to have a colony of.

I'm getting ready to set up a mealworm farm - so much great info on here!!!. I have redworms (5 RM bins, 1 Can-O-Worms stacking system, and 1 Worm Inn) and tried (key word here, lol) BSFL with extremely limited success for two years (before I had chickens). I loved the BSFL but the summers here in MI are just too short to get a colony going well enough to build up significant numbers for the winter. I'm debating on whether or not to try the BSFL again but I know I can do well with the mealies.
Just curious as to if anyone on this thread has had any experience with this or not . . . composting worms love BSFL castings (part of the reason I had them). Does anyone give the mealie castings/frass to their composting worms? I read one of the articles that mentioned using frass as plant fertilizer successfully so I'm thinking it might do okay. I can always use one of my bins as a test bin (or start yet another, lol) but figured I would ask here first . . .

 

[onafixedincome]

You should not be providing mealworms "free choice." They are not nutritionally balanced. Mealworms should be treated as more of a snack or a treat, given maybe once a day.

Yes, I know...I discovered the capacity of the little monsters when the wind took the top off of one of my bins and 'someone' figured it out! Total desolation and eleven incredibly full and sleepy chicklets! And of course, wheat bran EVERYWHERE.

That's the problem with treats, though--it screws up a good balanced diet.....

 

[Lacy Blues]

Yes, I know...I discovered the capacity of the little monsters when the wind took the top off of one of my bins and 'someone' figured it out! Total desolation and eleven incredibly full and sleepy chicklets! And of course, wheat bran EVERYWHERE.

That's the problem with treats, though--it screws up a good balanced diet.....

I don't believe this at all. How enjoyable would it be if we had to eat the exact same thing for each meal day in and day out? I believe that snacks/treats not only decrease boredom but add diversity and therefore interest in life and food itself. Snacks and treats don't destroy, they are a good thing... in moderation.

Also, I don't know if you feed a commercially bagged mix, but remember that the scientists that formulate poultry food, spend a ton of money finding out how little the chicken can survive and produce eggs on... so just know that this balanced diet is the bare minimum needed.

 

[gaitngirl]

Well, here goes! I was going to wait until I had the 'right' bin set-up to buy mealworms and get started but I worked at an office next to a pet store today. I ended up walking out with (supposedly) 200 medium mealworms for $2.50. I have them set up in a Chinese take-out container for now. They were out of food in their original containers. I don't have any wheat bran on hand so I put them in oatmeal (maple and brown sugar - hope that's not an issue!) with some flaxseed meal. I added a couple slices of carrots and a small end of a potato. They must have been parched because they latched on to the carrots and potato quickly. I didn't count them but there seemed to be quite a bit less than 200 in the containers. I'm wondering if some were eaten?
I will pick up a larger bin this weekend to move them in to. I hope by the end of summer I will have a nice steady supply of treats for my girls!

 

[Demosthine]

Well, here goes! I was going to wait until I had the 'right' bin set-up to buy mealworms and get started but I worked at an office next to a pet store today. I ended up walking out with (supposedly) 200 medium mealworms for $2.50. I have them set up in a Chinese take-out container for now. They were out of food in their original containers. I don't have any wheat bran on hand so I put them in oatmeal (maple and brown sugar - hope that's not an issue!) with some flaxseed meal. I added a couple slices of carrots and a small end of a potato. They must have been parched because they latched on to the carrots and potato quickly. I didn't count them but there seemed to be quite a bit less than 200 in the containers. I'm wondering if some were eaten?
I will pick up a larger bin this weekend to move them in to. I hope by the end of summer I will have a nice steady supply of treats for my girls!

I've bought three or four of the "500 count" mealworms from PetCo and there are never close to that amount in there. They probably just take the average weight of one and then multiply it to get a rough estimate. And yes, many of them were dead or well on their way there. You will want to get at least 1,000 mealworms in there to start a good colony off.

The 10-gallon aquariums seem to be the ideal size. Check your local Goodwill stores. I see them often and could pick one up for $2.50 on half-price days. Also, WinCo is an excellent source for the wheat bran. It is 43c per pound here, so for under $2.00, I get enough bran to last a few months at the shortest. I probably have between a pound or a pound and a half worth of worms right now.