Mealworm farming

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote:

Quote:
If it fit in my pocket or under my shirt it was MINE... We went to visit grandparents in florida. The very last day i hid several of the little green Anole lizards in the car while everyone was gathering to leave. Dad intended to drive all night to get home to indiana. So, we are all alseep.. he is driving, then he starts yelling my name (oopsie) the lizards had went to the dash lights in the car, dad thought he was seeing lil green men

He laughed for the rest of the drive home

 

[azygous]

You new meal worm farmers are in for a lot of fun. I've grown very fond of my meal worms and beetles. Do NOT forget to microwave or oven heat all bedding grains you intend to use. I learned the hard way, and just spent six hours fishing every worm and beetle out of the mite infested wheat bran and oats I had neglected to heat beforehand. Mites are miserable things to find in your worm farm, believe me!

I started out with just fifty meal worms over a year ago. I had spent $8 for a tiny carton of 100 at an aquarium store. I fed half of them to a sick hen, trying to get her to take nourishment. She died, but I decided to use the leftover worms to start a meal worm farm. It was loads of fun!

 

[onafixedincome]

Larger worms will often lie on the surface, or near it, when they are about ready to pupate, so don't freak too badly about possible mites. Keep an eye out but if your humidity is reasonably low, they should be fine.

Azygous--YOU BETCHA it's fun! I'm going to try and get mine working well enough this year (if I can keep the allergy thing down) to make sure I can give everyone at least some mealies (frozen or fresh) three times a week....and maybe even sell some for bait at the lake.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Wear a mask and gloves, i sneeze something awful. They sure help on boosting a weak bird. I have a ton of fishing friends asking for them, and the bait store by our campground too. I started with about 2 thousand from a friend that raised geckos and lizards. No clue as to how many there is now but i use about 4 0z daily for my new chicks, and the same on the adult birds. I have so many i wont ever use them up.

 

[LaBella]

If it fit in my pocket or under my shirt it was MINE... We went to visit grandparents in florida. The very last day i hid several of the little green Anole lizards in the car while everyone was gathering to leave. Dad intended to drive all night to get home to indiana. So, we are all alseep.. he is driving, then he starts yelling my name (oopsie) the lizards had went to the dash lights in the car, dad thought he was seeing lil green men

He laughed for the rest of the drive home

Jacksonville Fl 2008 I think it was. International Betta Convention.. I tried my damnedest to catch a few of those anoles. They were just too fast and I didn't have a net. I guess some things never change, lol
Yes, I could have bought them form a pet store, but it just wouldn't have been the same, lol.

 

[Dee Dee 2]

Question ?- The 10 gal. aquarium my vet gave me had a plastic "grate" in the bottom. It has small slits to keep gravel off the bottom of the aquarium when used for fish. Should I use this for the mealies or not.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Question ?- The 10 gal. aquarium my vet gave me had a plastic "grate" in the bottom. It has small slits to keep gravel off the bottom of the aquarium when used for fish. Should I use this for the mealies or not.

I would take it out. My concern is they'd get under, stay, and grow too big to get out. Usually the mealy poo (looks like sand) builds up on the bottom of the substrate, so you may encounter a cleaning problem later, just one more thing to clean.

 

[lorililly]

ABSOLUTELY!

*typed by Kid Chicken, ona's mealie-addicted hen*

Seriously, yes. MUCH friendlier chickens, healthier, happier.

alright i guess doing a meal worm farm for my chickens thanks now just need to figure out how to start one. and i am there..

 

[bobbieschicks]

alright i guess doing a meal worm farm for my chickens thanks now just need to figure out how to start one. and i am there..

When I started I had three bin method going. Separating larva pupae and beetles. It was a blast. It was warm outside so I did my sifting there to reduce dust and mess.

Them as fall approached I decided separate bins was a pain in the butt. So now I have 3 bins of all stages.

When it warms up outside I might separate again. But if I don't I know they will be fine mixed together.

My chicks love me feeding them beetles and larva.

 

[azygous]

The mites are back in the one tray of eggs and teensy baby worms that were too small to sift out and rinse. By the way, the larger worms withstood rinsing under warm water very well, and the pupae, also. After their bath, they were placed into microwaved bedding. (People all think I'm nuts when I tell them I wash my chickens. What will they say when they hear I wash my worms?)

But I couldn't microwave the bedding in which the eggs and baby worms were. I tried letting the bedding air out for several hours, thinking it might help desicate some of the mites, but it didn't help.

So I still have the question: is there anything one can do to get rid of mites without killing off worm eggs and babies?