Mealworm farming

[equinealot]

Can you keep them warm using a heating pad underneath. or is it better for a light on top. Right now their in the snake room which we keep at about 85.

 

[Hens and Roos]

We have beatles!!!

not sure on the heat pad- I do know from reading that keeping them warmer will help speed up the process. Good luck!

 

[Lacy Blues]

If they're in the snake room, 85* should work very well without additional heat.

 

[DMRippy]

If they're in the snake room, 85* should work very well without additional heat.

x2 they should be fine and thrive in that room.

 

[Mavrk]

Can you keep them warm using a heating pad underneath. or is it better for a light on top. Right now their in the snake room which we keep at about 85.

85 is a really good temperature, but if you have a heating pad that you can use to raise it another 5 or 10 degrees, that will be even better. I wouldn't go out and buy one for that little boost, but if you have one around I would use it as long as it won't raise the temp above 95. I wouldn't use a light on top.

 

[Ali707]

Hello experienced Meal wormers.......

I have a question that has been bugging me for a while now. I started my colony a couple of months back and now have quite a bit more than one beetle. For a while there I could only find one beetle.

I realize they are doing okay but for the last month or so they just don't eat the carrots I put in with them. This week I tried potatoes and not even a nibble! They molded after three days and I had to go dig them out. Yuck!!!!! I hate messing with the bugs. Especially now that the beetles are in there with their very clingy legs. They give me the heebies!

Anyway....... Does anyone have any idea why they wouldn't eat the carrots or potatoes? They used to.

Once I finally get my chickens I thought I would be able to fish out some worms by putting a slice of potato down. But I put many slices down and they weren't even touched. :/

 

[Lacy Blues]

Maybe they were too busy ensuring a future generation?

They'll eat later, so no worries.

 

[jlgoinggreen]

Hi,
I am sure this question has been asked, but I couldn't find it when skimming through this thread. I am only planning to have 2 to 4 standard sized chickens in my backyard. If given as a supplement, what has been your experience on the amount of worms you should have at hand? And how much should you feed per bird?

 

[MamaAB]

Getting my worms TODAY ! Excited yet feeling alittle creeped out haha Never thought I would want to raise worms!

I have a few questions that I havn't really been able to find as I was trying to read everything here.

1. I plan to let me chickens free range as much as I can so will feed more worms to them in the winter time. How can I save worms so that I have extras for then? Can I just put them in the freezer?

2. I second jlgoinggreen. How many should I expect to feed to my chickens? Is there an amount that would be TO Much?

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Hello experienced Meal wormers.......

I have a question that has been bugging me for a while now. I started my colony a couple of months back and now have quite a bit more than one beetle. For a while there I could only find one beetle.

I realize they are doing okay but for the last month or so they just don't eat the carrots I put in with them. This week I tried potatoes and not even a nibble! They molded after three days and I had to go dig them out. Yuck!!!!! I hate messing with the bugs. Especially now that the beetles are in there with their very clingy legs. They give me the heebies!

Anyway....... Does anyone have any idea why they wouldn't eat the carrots or potatoes? They used to.

Once I finally get my chickens I thought I would be able to fish out some worms by putting a slice of potato down. ***But I put many slices down and they weren't even touched.

How many worms did you start with? If they aren't eating, take all the carrot etc out for a week. (They will be ok, won't starve) Then add just one or 2 slices. Too much moisture will give you a huge mold/mite headache and its hard to correct, I hate to see anyone going thru that. Just try to think in terms of their size how very little they need to eat.