Mealworm farming

[kwol]

Anyone heard of "mealworms being calcium depleting"? I read it on another site and not sure if it's true. I DID have some soft-shelled eggs a few times this summer and wondered if maybe it was true (despite having oyster shell out) . There may have been other causes but wondering if anyone else had an issue with this? How much mealworms are you all feeding your birds a day?

I also had some soft shelled eggs and added calcium to my laying pellets. But the chicken continued to lay soft shelled and even shell-less eggs until a sudden death. I am not exactly sure what happened, but if I could turn back time I would research into the causes of the laying the soft shelled eggs besides mealworm consumption.

 

[MalMom]

Anyone heard of "mealworms being calcium depleting"? I read it on another site and not sure if it's true. I DID have some soft-shelled eggs a few times this summer and wondered if maybe it was true (despite having oyster shell out) . There may have been other causes but wondering if anyone else had an issue with this? How much mealworms are you all feeding your birds a day?

A while back someone brought this to my attention after they read it on that other site, so I checked it out. There weren't any actual references presented to demonstrate that it was the case and I was unable to find any evidence in the primary literature. Also, in the context from the other site, the concern was that most, if not all, the food delivered to the nestlings was composed of mealworms. You're not likely to feed enough to cause a problem there. If you're very concerned, put a cup or two of oyster shells in with your mealworm colony. The larvae consume it and significantly increase their calcium content. FWIW, I only feed out a handful or so a day, but I've never noticed a relationship between eating mealworms and soft egg shells.

You can also grind up oyster shell, or dried egg shells, to make a powder and sprinkle it on their food you use for moisture just before feeding them out. Or take some of the power put it in a zip lock bag, and when you are ready to feed worms out put some in there and give a a good shake. A nice coating of calcium will help.

 

[chrissyr]

I also had some soft shelled eggs and added calcium to my laying pellets. But the chicken continued to lay soft shelled and even shell-less eggs until a sudden death. I am not exactly sure what happened, but if I could turn back time I would research into the causes of the laying the soft shelled eggs besides mealworm consumption.

You can also grind up oyster shell, or dried egg shells, to make a powder and sprinkle it on their food you use for moisture just before feeding them out. Or take some of the power put it in a zip lock bag, and when you are ready to feed worms out put some in there and give a a good shake. A nice coating of calcium will help.

Thank you both I did add the oyster shell to the mealworms. I will try the coating them before feeding too, love the idea! In one coop it is just one hen with the soft shells, which hasn't really improved. The other coop is new laying pullets. Caught one at night with a soft one, so hoping it's just them getting in her groove and it will end quickly. I have a feeling I may have been giving too many treats. I have a mix of oats/wheat/sunflower seed that I throw, maybe too much. Also, letting them out on their pasture a little more may help. I think it's one of those things where you add oyster shell, do what you think is right...and rack your brain trying to figure out what you did wrong. Today was a great day. 3 new Blue Copper Marans eggs with GREAT shells. Thank you for all the input

 

[Mary Poopins]

Hey all,

I stumbled on some disturbing news regarding mealworms and poultry diseases I think you all should take a look.
Here is the link to the post I made here on BYC.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/819977/mealworms-friend-or-foe

There are links in this post that you may find interesting.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Hey all,

I stumbled on some disturbing news regarding mealworms and poultry diseases I think you all should take a look.
Here is the link to the post I made here on BYC.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/819977/mealworms-friend-or-foe

There are links in this post that you may find interesting.

Interesting, yes. Disturbing, not so much. There are more than 20,000 species in the family Tenebrionidae--the darkling beetles. The lesser mealworm (Alphitobius diaperinus), which indeed is a common pest in poultry operations, is a very different species from the common mealworm that we raise (Tenebrio molitor). As long as you refrain from feeding your mealworm colony parasite infected poultry droppings you'll be fine.

 

[Mary Poopins]

Hello Gallo del Cielo,

Thank you for clearing this up!
I got caught up in the common name and didn't research the Latin name before posting, now I feel like an alarmist!

Sorry!

I posted a full thank you in my original post.

Thank again!!!
Mary

 

[nxb161]

QUESTION: How quick is your second generation eating the wheat bran? I started with 1000. The other week I finally sifted through them (as I posted already) and I went away for vacation last week. I had put some hefty pieces of squash in there, when I came back not only was all the squash gone, but so was all the wheat bran.... I'm wondering at this point if I should just get 10lbs or so of wheat bran and put them in an old 10G tank.

How many people store mealworms in their fridge for winter? I was wondering how long they'll last and if you put much wheat bran in there also does it slow them down enough no need for veggies?

Thanks in advance

 

[gaitngirl]

My second gen is going through more than the first gen, it seems. And they devour the veggies faster, too. I haven't estimated how many are in there - I'm guessing around 5000. I started with a couple hundred from local pet stores.
I'm glad I kept that colony separate from the next batch I purchased. I got them from Rainbow Mealworms. I had a lot more die-off from those than the pet store mealies. Many of the pupa turned mushy and stinky. I still ended up with a lot of beetles but many didn't live very long - some died before turning dark even. Both lots get the same feed, same veggies, etc. They sit 3 feet away from each other.
I'm hoping the next gen from the Rainbow batch resolves these issues . . .

 

[AletaG]

My second gen is going through more than the first gen, it seems. And they devour the veggies faster, too. I haven't estimated how many are in there - I'm guessing around 5000. I started with a couple hundred from local pet stores.
I'm glad I kept that colony separate from the next batch I purchased. I got them from Rainbow Mealworms. I had a lot more die-off from those than the pet store mealies. Many of the pupa turned mushy and stinky. I still ended up with a lot of beetles but many didn't live very long - some died before turning dark even. Both lots get the same feed, same veggies, etc. They sit 3 feet away from each other.
I'm hoping the next gen from the Rainbow batch resolves these issues . . .

Interesting. One has to wonder... like buying hatchery birds vs. bred to SOP birds, maybe it depends on the management of the source beetles? I'm thinking once I'm sure I've got babies, going to start killing off all the mutant beetles as they hatch (the ones with incomplete development, etc.) and 'cull' like one should with any other breeding project. Hm....

 

[nxb161]

Interesting. One has to wonder... like buying hatchery birds vs. bred to SOP birds, maybe it depends on the management of the source beetles? I'm thinking once I'm sure I've got babies, going to start killing off all the mutant beetles as they hatch (the ones with incomplete development, etc.) and 'cull' like one should with any other breeding project. Hm....

Are you sure they are mutant beetles, sometimes it just takes them a little while to fully morph/dry out. A lot of that has to do with the humidity. Too much and they'll rot like the issue gaitngirl had, and not enough and they'll dry out and not look like perfect beetles right away. I started with 1000, and split them ultimately into 3 containers. Here is the second generation from one of those containers.

Yes I realize in this pic the ratio of mealworls to wheatbran is VERY lacking, I was trying to take a good pic to figure out about how many I have in there. I haven't taken the time to estimate yet. I think I'm going to clear out the 10G I have laying around somewhere and put all 3 containers together in that.