Mealworm farming

[birdman55]

I'm new to mealworms farming. I started my colony last Saturday with 1500. I can not find wheat bran anywhere near me. I have been to 3 feed stores. I currently have them in oatmeal. Is there a better alternative to wheat bran?

walmart for sure...you should be able to find it just about anywhere....

the only thing bad about raising these ....is the wait...it takes forever...seems like forever anyway

 

[kubotafoot]

6 or 7 inches of depth for bran? Why so deep, just because you don't want to change it very often? I have NEVER used more than 3 inches of depth. Surface area is much more important than depth. I am shocked you use it so deep.....Any reason why, as the beetles will not burrow that deep........

 

[kubotafoot]

If cost is a concern to you, go to a feed store. They usually sell 20 pound bags for the price 2-3 of Bob's Red Mill cost and you get tons more. The extra feed can be fed to your hens, too......... Price savings all around.

 

[kubotafoot]

I use oatmeal and bran mixed and they do just fine. Started only with oatmeal and all was well. Just moved to bean as I could get it easily and cheap from the feed store. You worms will do just fine.

 

[kubotafoot]

More water products to the mix. I was amazed at how my colony took off with more sliced apples,carrots and potatoes!!!

 

[azygous]

On occasion, I've discovered half-grown larvae in with the adult beetles. The tray has a cutout hole in the bottom, covered with screen, so the eggs will drop through into the egg tray beneath, but some eggs defy the sifting process, hatch over time in the rolled oats substrate, and the growing worms have no trouble navigating and eating their way through the oats.

If you aren't able to find wheat bran, use rolled oats, and don't worry about it. The worms will thrive all the same.

 

[birdman55]

6 or 7 inches of depth for bran? Why so deep, just because you don't want to change it very often? I have NEVER used more than 3 inches of depth. Surface area is much more important than depth. I am shocked you use it so deep.....Any reason why, as the beetles will not burrow that deep........

i only use two inches maybe even less...but every situation is different....there are many ways to grow these little buggers...and many substrates to use as well....you just have to try one and if it works great...if not try another...or even try two different ones and see for yourself which one does better..

 

[Sidhe13]

I started off with a deeper container with large rolled oats and some kind of bran that I found in the supermarket. When I sifted out the frass, most of the bran went with it. I since moved them into shallower and larger containers with lids which are more convenient for me to stack in the wardrobe. And now I top up with instant oats, since I always have these in the cupboard for me, and I have found it heaps easier to sift through. I do a thorough comb through the worms for pupae every morning/noon/ish, then a quick surface look at night. Pupae to beetle transfer is done at the same time and is quick and easy. The morning one takes me about 10-15mins...the night time about 5mins. I am pretty thorough and I do worry about how much damage they take with me disturbing them so much once a day....any input? At the same time I want to get as many pupae as I can!

The worms have also stopped munching on the moisture food. When I first got them they went nuts for it and were always hanging off it and sucked it dry in a matter of days! Now I am finding none clinging to it and it withers naturally before they get into it...is this a lifecycle thing because they could all be turning into pupae soon? They are all the same batch so I am reckoning they are all at about the same life stage.
Do younger worms need more moisture foods than older worms?

I culled another beetle this morning. He was seriously munted. I forgot to take a photo. That is only 3 culls, and I still have 34 beetles. I am averaging 10-20 pupae a day, and 5-10 beetles. I really really have to get some new worms next week or I am going to end up with a gap in productions. I have a second container of pupae now because the one was getting a bit crowded and I wondered if space could have and effect on deformity rates.

One of my cats hears me pulling the trays out and comes running. She has developed a taste for them and sits waiting patiently. She does some basic "jump up" "jump down" and "sit" tricks for treats. I give her a mealworm or 2 if she is around and she got to eat the 1 culled beetle today, but she prefers the worms because they have such wiggly legs that tickle her nose.

There we go...that is my novel for the day...

 

[drewskimac]

I started off with a deeper container with large rolled oats and some kind of bran that I found in the supermarket. When I sifted out the frass, most of the bran went with it. I since moved them into shallower and larger containers with lids which are more convenient for me to stack in the wardrobe. And now I top up with instant oats, since I always have these in the cupboard for me, and I have found it heaps easier to sift through. I do a thorough comb through the worms for pupae every morning/noon/ish, then a quick surface look at night. Pupae to beetle transfer is done at the same time and is quick and easy. The morning one takes me about 10-15mins...the night time about 5mins. I am pretty thorough and I do worry about how much damage they take with me disturbing them so much once a day....any input? At the same time I want to get as many pupae as I can!

The worms have also stopped munching on the moisture food. When I first got them they went nuts for it and were always hanging off it and sucked it dry in a matter of days! Now I am finding none clinging to it and it withers naturally before they get into it...is this a lifecycle thing because they could all be turning into pupae soon? They are all the same batch so I am reckoning they are all at about the same life stage.
Do younger worms need more moisture foods than older worms?

I culled another beetle this morning. He was seriously munted. I forgot to take a photo. That is only 3 culls, and I still have 34 beetles. I am averaging 10-20 pupae a day, and 5-10 beetles. I really really have to get some new worms next week or I am going to end up with a gap in productions. I have a second container of pupae now because the one was getting a bit crowded and I wondered if space could have and effect on deformity rates.

One of my cats hears me pulling the trays out and comes running. She has developed a taste for them and sits waiting patiently. She does some basic "jump up" "jump down" and "sit" tricks for treats. I give her a mealworm or 2 if she is around and she got to eat the 1 culled beetle today, but she prefers the worms because they have such wiggly legs that tickle her nose.

There we go...that is my novel for the day...

I have less beetles than you. Only about 15 now, but i got 80 pupae yesterday

Anyways, about your fear of damaging them from the disturbance... Well, i worry as well, and i disturb mine much worse than you do. I gather pupa about 5x a day 0.0 However, i don't seem to have any issues directly correlated to the disturbance. Also, mine don't really go crazy on the moisture anymore, either. I think it is because they are full grown (in that stage) an don't need the extra nutrients to grow. Like my mom used to say "He's a growing boy, he needs a lot of food" But now guess what happens when i use that philosophy at nearly 19 years old? Fat. Fat happens.

 

[Sidhe13]

yea I remember my step-mum telling me "you will regret eating like that when you are older..." I had a lady in the shop tell me that it happens to us all after having kids... I was a tad offended because they are actually my step-kids

but I still blame them!


Well I had no pupae hatch for about a week, then BOOM! Constant hatching! Are they still in a nice warm, dark spot? I read that warmer temps speeds it up...but not over 40deg or they die...which is where we are currently struggling...

It would be interesting to see if there is just more pupating than hatching and it makes it LOOK like there is a distortion...perhaps if you had some little containers you could separate and date for a few days then see if they hatch in order....or vary the conditions so see what happens...

OH COME ON! THIS IS THE 21st CENTURY FOR CHRIST SAKES! THE AGE OF GOOGLE AND INTERNET AND OVER-SHARING! Someone MUST have done something like that somewhere before and posted data....any theories from anyone here?