Mealworm farming

[MalMom]

Who'da thunk we'd get so excited over bugs, lol. Congrats! You will be pleasantly surprised at how fast the rest will morph now.

lol Thank you, I am very excited. From thinking I got the wrong worms (I bought giant mealworms by accident and thought they would never turn to pupa, so I had to contact the company and they assured me they do not treat their worms), to having about 5 or 6 of my pupa dry up and turn black (I thought they were all going to dry up and die), I was afraid they would never become beetles. I'm just not a very patient person. I think they knew I ordered 1000 more worms off they internet, so they had better start doing their jobs before they became chicken food.

I have decided that larva to pupa, and then pupa to beetles is like waiting for your popcorn to pop. It takes forever for the first pop, but once it does, all of them start to pop. I found three more beetles this morning, and one of my big pupa is sure trying hard to break out.

One of my bins was wall to wall worms, so I took a huge cup outside for the song birds. After I poured them into the tray that catches the seeds that the woodpecker spills, I realized the worms I put out yesterday were not eaten, but had crawled under the rock that holds the tray down! So there is a whole lot of worms out there, and my wild birds are not eating them! What kind of wild birds eat mealworms? We have Thrasher, Indigo Bunting, Cardinal, tufted Titmouse, Oriole, Chickadee, Cowbird, Sparrow, Grosbeak, Mourning Dove, all kinds of Finch, and I don't know what else. And the red bellied Woodpecker. The Robins would have but they are already gone up north. I hate to see the worms get eaten by the squirrels but that is what will probably happen. I won't risk regifting them to my hens since they have been in contact with wild bird dooky.

I have not tried to feed the wild birds yet, because I am just getting started, but I did read that bluebirds love mealworms. Do you have any bluebirds where you are? Maybe they all crawled under the rock so the birds couldn't get to them? I hope you find some birds that will enjoy your special treat. It might just take them a while to find them and realize they are suppose to eat them.

 

[SigningChickens]

Woo-hoo! My superworms finally pupated! Woot!

 

[Dipstick]

Finally, I have my first beetle!

I remember that feeling.

After weeks of

, FINALLY, something happened!

We are now into the hundreds if not thousands and I am still watching the bins like an expectant father... sad I know. I remember the day we broke 100 new beetles and 100 new pupae per day. I nearly popped a bottle of bubbly over that! Now We are quickly out growing our set up, and I am starting to ask myself, "What have you done???!!!!"

Time to go buy another 10 brooding setups.

1 million worms, here I come!

 

[Hypertay]

I have not tried to feed the wild birds yet, because I am just getting started, but I did read that bluebirds love mealworms. Do you have any bluebirds where you are? Maybe they all crawled under the rock so the birds couldn't get to them? I hope you find some birds that will enjoy your special treat. It might just take them a while to find them and realize they are suppose to eat them.

We are supposed to have bluebirds but I haven't seen any yet. I think I will hang up some bluebird houses by winter for next breeding season, maybe they will come if I do! The worms went under the rock because it was really warm under there, they are mostly still there today. The squirrel and juvenile cardinals that were here for breakfast just ignored them. The bluejay only ever grabs a seed and then takes off like a bat out of hell, can't even get a good photo of him.

At least I still have 9 chickens that love the worms! I am still debating freeze drying them myself since there are so many. I wish the pet store was closer to me, they might buy them. I am so pleased with my success at this, my husband says I am a pretty good worm mommy!

 

[Fryze]

LOL! I have come to the conclusion that everyone in this forum is obsessed!

Which to my way of thinking is the only way to be when raising chickens! I have 14 more days

till my hatch date for my first chicks ever!

 

[Fryze]

Where is everyone getting their mealworms from?Is there a GOOD online source?

 

[SigningChickens]

I got mine from Giminy Crickets on Amazon. They came in two days and were all alive.

 

[SigningChickens]

Here is the link:
Check this out on AMZN: 1000ct Live Superworms, Feed Reptile, Birds, Fishing Best B... http://amzn.com/B006JLJP3W
I got superworms but they have mealworms too.

 

[Fryze]

Ok I know this is a bit off topic, but for those of you also raising red or earth worms where do you get them besides bait shops (the ones around here have very poor worms) I was thinking maybe from these guys ( http://mypeoplepc.com/members/arbra/trshop/index.html ) has anyone bought from here?

 

[Fryze]

thanks so very much [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]SigningChickens[/FONT] !