Mealworm farming

[crazy huhn]

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Thank you so much for the  well packaged  mealworms. We were in awe of the excellent packaging!!

Just picked up another container, a triple decker, and got more bran out. WIll divide as you suggested. We did remove some of the worms and the dead beetles to feed out. THe extras are in the freezer.  THese are only fed to the chicks out with free ranging hens to help them love people. lol

Will look for carrots. ANyone use potatos?
[/quote

Thank you so much for the  well packaged  mealworms. We were in awe of the excellent packaging!!

Just picked up another container, a triple decker, and got more bran out. WIll divide as you suggested. We did remove some of the worms and the dead beetles to feed out. THe extras are in the freezer.  THese are only fed to the chicks out with free ranging hens to help them love people. lol

Will look for carrots. ANyone use potatos?

Sounds that you are doing well. Yes, I have used potatoes, but they dry out and turn moldy very fast. I mostly use carrots and cactus but the latter might not be an option for where you live

 

[Kusanar]

I am imagining placing a lid with 1/8- 1/4 inch lip on the bran, and placing the apple or potato ON the lid. Will the meal worms crawl over the plastic to reach the veg??  I'm a bit confused.  FOr some reason I thought they came up from underneath . . . ???

I do not recommend doing what i did, but, i took a small plastic condiment cup, put horse feed in it with some water at the bottom, and imbedded it in the stuff my worms live in (a mix of corn meal and powdered horse feed), the worms and beetles were up on the top and climbing all over the feed sucking the moisture out of it within minutes of my putting it in there. It will probably mold and will almost certainly attract other bugs, but, I'm just playing and experimenting at this point, not raising them to feed to anything. I already have a few small black beetles that arent mealworms and i have had grain mites, but my point was that they will find the moisture and go to the surface to find it.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: GOt it-- found some carrots in the frig -- will use those.

 

[Arielle]

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Quote: I have seen cactus at the grocery on occasion. Now I have a reason to buy a section!

 

[crazy huhn]

I have seen cactus at the grocery on occasion. Now I have a reason to buy a section!

Nopales, yummy. Hard to believe that I grew up in Germany on Sauerkraut

 

[Arielle]

Quote: I have lots of horse grain around but like you think they will have mites if not now, at some point. Thanks for sharing, But I will follow your suggestion and not do what you did, lol. Interesting to hear about the reaction of the mealworms though. Maybe they like the bit of molassses sweetness in their water. Have fun experimenting. Great way to learn!!

 

[Arielle]

Quote:
LOL, since getting chickens I have expanded my own pallette for foods!! I do like cactus fruit! Fruity but not sweet. Delicious. Still trying to figure out what to do with several foods from the Spanish cuisine. Just saw a recipe today using that funny green fruit/veg thing. Name eludes me.

 

[Kusanar]

I have lots of horse grain around but like you think they will have mites if not now, at some point. Thanks for sharing, But I will follow your suggestion and not do what you did, lol. Interesting to hear about the reaction of the mealworms though. Maybe they like the bit of molassses sweetness in their water. Have fun experimenting. Great way to learn!!

This is a high fat, high fiber pellet, i dont think it has any sweetner, but i caught my beetles as they ate the dropped grain in one of my horses stalls, so since they ovbiously like to eat it, and i have hundreds of pounds of it, i figured it wouldnt hurt to give them some.

 

[Yurd Ahd]

Here's one of my mealworm bins, the chickens helped me clean it so there are no visible ones left :b

 

[katatonic123]

Ugh came home from a weekend away and now we are infested with grain mites.