Mealworm farming

[aart]

Quote: There ya go, answered your own question
Well, it wasn't really a question, but, you know.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

There ya go, answered your own question
Well, it wasn't really a question, but, you know.

Oh ya, learning to live here has been an adventure compared to the irrigated desert of the San Joaquin Valley. Things rust even indoors. Well worth it though!

So you actually don't think I'm doing anything wrong? Should I sift more often? Or any suggestions besides changing my veg often?

Thanks.

 

[aart]

Quote: Not really sure what you mean by 'doing anythgin wrong'.
Hard to deal with prolific humidity...and can't really control spores in the air.

The moldy dog food in bottom of bin would concern me...wondering if the mold came in with the dog food or is from the environment in your home.

Anything too wet in the mealworm bin get moldy here too.....why I didn't use potatoes, just carrots in summer and often put them on piece of plastic instead of directly on the bran bedding.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Not really sure what you mean by 'doing anythgin wrong'.
Hard to deal with prolific humidity...and can't really control spores in the air.

The moldy dog food in bottom of bin would concern me...wondering if the mold came in with the dog food or is from the environment in your home.

Anything too wet in the mealworm bin get moldy here too.....why I didn't use potatoes, just carrots in summer and often put them on piece of plastic instead of directly on the bran bedding.

The dog food was an experiment because I read they would be nutritionally gut loaded for the chickens. It ended up disgusting. And not easy to get the worms out. IF I use dog food again, maybe throw a couple pieces in with just the ones I'm going to feed out that day. Even then, chicken feed would probably be a more appropriate choice.

I know if I have things in the kitchen they do get moldy faster than other places. And they were in the kitchen for a while which is often the warmest room in my house. Maybe since they are out in the pump house now, they might present less issue.

What I find weird is that anytime I get mold, it's always in the bottom layer like with the frass. Since I just got started in the past few months, I am sure I have some general adjusting to do to suit my environment. And I started with 45,000 in about 8, 1 sq foot bins, a couple inches deep with wheat bran.

When I put the veg on plastic, they quickly drag it off and it's buried in the bran within minutes. Carrots have to be my go to. Although I have had good luck both with celery and broccoli stalks.

Hmmm, here's a thought.... Could it be my dead loss adding to my issue? Possible over crowding would be my other best guess. I have even considered using heppa filters on the sides of my bins.

Thanks for your time and suggestions, brainstorming always helps me!

 

[Latestarter]

Maybe it's just me, if so, take no account... Gut loading might have some benefit when feeding a meal worm or 2 to a smaller lizard that's 10 times the size/weight of the worm, but when you're feeding that same worm or even 20 or more to a chicken, the affects would IMHO, be minuscule to virtually non existent. If you want your chickens to get the nutrients from the dog food, put some in a blender and then mix it with their food. Skip the middle-worm altogether.

I remember we used to "dust" the crickets with minerals/vitamins before feeding them to our tiger salamander. I don't think that would work with the worms though. And it's not really necessary for the chickens.

 

[Kusanar]

Quote:
If you want to go with the dog food, I would blend it, then sift it through the same sifter you want to use later to sift out the worms. I use a metal mesh strainer to sift mine, so I blend until it is fine enough it will go through the sifter before putting in with the worms. Also, dog food is moist, I know it seems dry, but it has oils and stuff that will make it mold and go rancid. I would suggest going with something more grain based, or if you want to use the dog food, maybe blend up some rolled oats and mix them in. I have a huge bin with horse feed and chicken scratched ground up to a course powder, and a small bin that has pretty much 100% rolled oats, I put the same number of baby carrots in both bins and the ones in the larger bin molded, the ones in the small one didn't. So it seems that the rolled oats may have some sort of anti mold characteristic.

 

[aart]

Quote: Ohhh...I didn't realize it was some dog food in the mealworm bin...thought it was a dog food bin....brain was not computing.

Not sure what to tell you.....overcrowding could be part of the issue....maybe try some not so deep bedding?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Ohhh...I didn't realize it was some dog food in the mealworm bin...thought it was a dog food bin....brain was not computing.

Not sure what to tell you.....overcrowding could be part of the issue....maybe try some not so deep bedding?

No, your brain is computing! I did have a bin that was all dog food. I will try less bedding and see.

If you want to go with the dog food, I would blend it, then sift it through the same sifter you want to use later to sift out the worms. I use a metal mesh strainer to sift mine, so I blend until it is fine enough it will go through the sifter before putting in with the worms. Also, dog food is moist, I know it seems dry, but it has oils and stuff that will make it mold and go rancid. I would suggest going with something more grain based, or if you want to use the dog food, maybe blend up some rolled oats and mix them in. I have a huge bin with horse feed and chicken scratched ground up to a course powder, and a small bin that has pretty much 100% rolled oats, I put the same number of baby carrots in both bins and the ones in the larger bin molded, the ones in the small one didn't. So it seems that the rolled oats may have some sort of anti mold characteristic.

Going rancid makes sense. I tried oats because again I thought they would have more nutritional value, but found it too hard to discern if the white dust was mold or not. So I have switched to bran now, those were to hold me over until the wheat bran arrived since I couldn't find it local until my LFS ordered for way less than what I could find it. Oats were pricey as well, although I didn't try the feed store... didn't think horse oats is the same.

Maybe it's just me, if so, take no account... Gut loading might have some benefit when feeding a meal worm or 2 to a smaller lizard that's 10 times the size/weight of the worm, but when you're feeding that same worm or even 20 or more to a chicken, the affects would IMHO, be minuscule to virtually non existent. If you want your chickens to get the nutrients from the dog food, put some in a blender and then mix it with their food. Skip the middle-worm altogether.

I remember we used to "dust" the crickets with minerals/vitamins before feeding them to our tiger salamander. I don't think that would work with the worms though. And it's not really necessary for the chickens.

Since I don't use mealworms as a main source of feed, I won't worry about gut loading as you suggest. I also read you should dust your mealworms, but I think they were referring to dried worms.

Thank you all for the recommendations.

 

[Jensownzoo]

I use rolled oats from the feed store and cabbage leaves for my moisture. I had problems with carrots going moldy. The cabbage leaves will dry up completely before they think of molding, so it has really been working for me. I like that the oats stay in the sifter for the most part...that way the frass can be removed. I find it less stinky if I can do that once monthly. I do see the benefits of the bran though. But, my chickens like getting some oats with their worms, so it works out.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I use rolled oats from the feed store and cabbage leaves for my moisture. I had problems with carrots going moldy. The cabbage leaves will dry up completely before they think of molding, so it has really been working for me. I like that the oats stay in the sifter for the most part...that way the frass can be removed. I find it less stinky if I can do that once monthly. I do see the benefits of the bran though. But, my chickens like getting some oats with their worms, so it works out.

Cabbage is a good idea. I might try that next time I buy "moisture". Also it would provide more surface area for feeding and be easy to find and remove.