Mealworm farming

[kubotafoot]

I am new to this farming of meal worms and have a bin which I started with the worms. They have given me pupa and now I have beetles, too! I am moving the beetles and pupa out into a new bin by hand. What size/type of sifter can I use on what is left to remove the waste, please?

 

[subhanalah]

I am new to this farming of meal worms and have a bin which I started with the worms.  They have given me pupa and now I have beetles, too!  I am moving the beetles and pupa out into a new bin by hand.  What size/type of sifter can I use on what is left to remove the waste, please?

what a lot of people do is leave the frass and old bedding alone in the old container and allow it to hatch the eggs and then remove the larva before they begin to pupate but after they are big enough to sift easily.

 

[kubotafoot]

"Leave the grass?????" I have no grass in the container....Should I have some there?
I understand you will need to sift it, but I tried a strainer and not almost nothing through. Then I went to a colander with like 16" openings and got a bit more. What do people sift with, please?????
So if I leave the box that looks like nothing living now well enough alone, any eggs laid by the beetles before I moved them will hatch into meal worms and I can then sift them out for use?

 

[subhanalah]

I had to edit my post to say frass. Geeeze.

Anyway, yes, leave whatever moisture source you use for the older ones in there for humidity for the eggs. After a period of time, all the eggs will have hatched.

 

[jenneverett]

"Leave the grass?????" I have no grass in the container....Should I have some there?
I understand you will need to sift it, but I tried a strainer and not almost nothing through. Then I went to a colander with like 16" openings and got a bit more. What do people sift with, please?????
So if I leave the box that looks like nothing living now well enough alone, any eggs laid by the beetles before I moved them will hatch into meal worms and I can then sift them out for use?

and also yes leave the bin that looks empty and as subhanalah said just put a carrot in there to ad moisture until the babies are big enough to sift out. the chewed up remains of food and the poop are called frass. they are normally fine enough to go through a spaghetti strainer but so can the eggs and babies, that is why you let them mature a bit in the same bin until you can cull them out.

 

[RoseMarie1]

I'm not understanding it all either but mine are making like crazy. I did a video of them to show the lady I got mine from because the thing is working alive in baby worms or whatever they're called. Not taking anything out and haven't. I just make sure they have a carrot or some potato and that's all I have done other than putting oatmeal and chicken layer in there. I've only had mine since Dec. and it's working alive in them. lol

 

[sueblack]

...

"Leave the grass?????"  I have no grass in the container....Should I have some there?
  I understand you will need to sift it, but I tried a strainer and not almost nothing through.  Then I went to a colander with like 16" openings and got a bit more.  What do people sift with, please?????
So if I leave the box that looks like nothing living  now well enough alone, any eggs laid by the beetles before I moved them will hatch into meal worms and I can then sift them out for use?
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Not sure. what material you are using for bedding but if it is not finely ground like wheat bran it will not go through a strainer. Even wheat bran wont go through a strainer. The idea is to let them eat most of the food and until you are left with mostly frass in the container. Then it sifts very easily. I do not use anything except wheat bran and powdered milk for this reason.

I tried oatmeal. That was a nightmare. I ended up just throwing. the whole lot to the chickens over several days.My new bins never have anything coarser than wheat bran. Wheat bran is very nutritious and they like it. I found that keeping it simple works the best..

 

[kubotafoot]

OK, so grass was really frass and frass is not at all like grass but really "waste." Got it......Leave the empty box and "after a period of time" all the eggs will have hatched. About how long is "after a period of time?" Days, weeks? How long should I wait for something to happen, please? After the eggs all hatch, at whatever interval of time, I then toss the remains in the garden as composting matter or do I sift out the frass and start again? Oh, and once again.....not to be stupid but what do I use to sift? I tried a colander again today and get almost nothing out! Wish it made more sense, but I am sure I'll "get it" with answers soon. Thanks!

 

[kubotafoot]

I am using oatmeal as base food......Guess I'll shift to wheat bran, as I have it for my goats, but thought since so many threads praise oatmeal, I'd use that. Guess I am trying to sift too soon to keep it clean. How often do you sift out frass? Thanks again for your patience during this learning a lot stage.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

OK, so grass was really frass and frass is not at all like grass but really "waste." Got it......Leave the empty box and "after a period of time" all the eggs will have hatched. About how long is "after a period of time?" Days, weeks? How long should I wait for something to happen, please? After the eggs all hatch, at whatever interval of time, I then toss the remains in the garden as composting matter or do I sift out the frass and start again? Oh, and once again.....not to be stupid but what do I use to sift? I tried a colander again today and get almost nothing out! Wish it made more sense, but I am sure I'll "get it" with answers soon. Thanks!

Just to be clear, you don't have to sift anything if you don't want. You can leave everything in a single bin and simply pull out the mealworms you want to feed to your chickens. Some people use a sifter (e.g. something like a colander) to collect the mealworms so that they don't have to touch them. I typically add something like a slice of potato and wait a few minutes so that larvae latch on to feed and shake it off in to a bowl to feed the birds. If you haven't seen it, my page on raising mealworms (you can find it in my signature line) might help clarify the process. Check it out and we'll answer any further questions you have.