Mealworm farming

[dstinett]

I haven't read every post (there are so many!!), but I haven't seen anyone who is using mealworms tomeet the complete protein requirements for their birds. If I want to not have to bring in a feed and instead produce 100% of my chicken feed myself by sprouting seeds and providing mealworms as the main protein source (though I know there is some protein in grains) would that be feasible? If I have 5 layers and want to feed them year round on this system, what size mealworm operation am I looking at? What haven't I thought of? Has anyone attempted this?

you would have to produce thousands of worms to accomplish this. I could never go that big. My colony produces enough to provide as treats 2-3x week.

 

[beverly evans]

Okay, thanks, I also found an interesting video on YouTube that shows someone cutting up a slug and the chickens playing keep away with it. Am I up for that? We'll see.

I read that slugs, snails and worms carry parasites that can and do infect our chickens digestive tracts and cause all kinds of problems. So I am glad my girls don't like them. : )

 

[beverly evans]

I think the potato chip was meant as a visual descriptor rather than a meal description

They get pretty dried out and warped after a week or two. I only check mine about weekly now, and only add carrots/apple/a wet sponge about every other week, and they are all fine (2nd generation of an initial 5000 worms divided into 2 containers). They are all (beetles still left from 1st gen and worms of 2nd gen) doing just great! I think they'll prob be fine

I live in central Texas and everything I put in mine drys out daily and my worms(?) aren't doing well. I have many beetles and pupae but no, or almost none, mealworms. I have looked closely at the substate and can see no tiny worms. I do have weevils. Do they eat up the baby worms? Is that whats wrong with my "farm"?? Help! : (

 

[beverly evans]

Quote: Get a magnifying lense and look at them. Weevils actually have this long recognziable snout on them.

 

[Latestarter]

I live in central Texas and everything I put in mine drys out daily and my worms(?) aren't doing well. I have many beetles and pupae but no, or almost none, mealworms. I have looked closely at the substate and can see no tiny worms. I do have weevils. Do they eat up the baby worms? Is that whats wrong with my "farm"?? Help! : (

Hey Beverly: Couple of questions... where are you keeping the container? I hope it's a dark place, close to floor level (It's cooler at floor level than 3' up). Is your home/the place where they are kept air conditioned? That removes moisture from the air, but still shouldn't dry the veggies out in a day. Are you sure it's not just the worms/beetles sucking them dry? My baby carrots and apple slices disappear in a matter of days. All that's left of the apple slices is a shriveled up rind of skin/peel. One possible solution would be to place a tall jar full of water into the container. Tall enough so the beetles can't accidentally get into it and drown. That should add humidity/moisture to the colony to help keep your fruits/veggies from drying out so fast. I use/used a large sponge sitting on top of an old Tupperware lid. The colonists are slowly but surely eating the sponge along with everything else I put in there.

If your farm consists of the original worms you purchased, without further later additions, it makes sense that you will be seeing less and less worms as they pupate and become beetles. For a several week period, you may see no live worms at all! Then all of a sudden, you'll look in one day and see movement, but not what's causing it. That will be the babies, which are very, very small! Seriously, you can look as closely as you possibly can and I doubt you could see an egg or baby worm with the naked eyeball! A couple weeks after they hatch they should be big enough for you to see and they will be all together in huge groups. To try and see them, lay a small piece of newspaper and after a day or two, lift it and look underneath.

I would remove the weevils, but I've never heard or read anywhere that they eat the worms.... I honestly don't know, I do know they eat the food you're providing for the worms/beetles, so feeding them increases your costs. I've heard of one person taking just the beetles and rinsing them quickly under cool water then placing them in a new/clean container with "cooked" grain/feed/bran/etc (bake your wheat bran in the oven for a while to kill any pests/eggs before placing it in your colony) to eliminate other "pests" in their colony. Then as the beetles you've salvaged begin to lay eggs, you'll have a brand new, clean colony to grow with.

Hope this has helped. Good luck with your farm!

 

[evemfoster]

I live in central Texas and everything I put in mine drys out daily and my worms(?) aren't doing well. I have many beetles and pupae but no, or almost none, mealworms. I have looked closely at the substate and can see no tiny worms. I do have weevils. Do they eat up the baby worms? Is that whats wrong with my "farm"?? Help! : (

I use corncobs as a water source when it gets hot and dry. I pop them in when they are fresh and still have some uneaten corn on them and allow the worms to eat off all the uneaten corn. Then when the cobs are fairly dry i take out the cobs that still have the middle uneaten and soak them in water inside a ziplock bag. If you use the cobs that are hollow you will find there are worms and beetles inside the cob. It usually takes overnight to fully soak the cobs. Then i take them out of the bag and allow the outside to dry a bit. Enough that the cob aren't dripping and won't soak the bedding the put the cob back into the farm. They will stay damp for a few days. I have to watch that the cob doesn't start to mold occasionally they do so i soak them separately or one a day. It adds extra moisture to the farm and the worms will eat on the cobs a lot longer.

 

[RenaG]

Got worried because of the heat that we may have killed them all, but saw our first beetle today!! Boys were so excited.

 

[Dipstick]

I use corncobs as a water source when it gets hot and dry. I pop them in when they are fresh and still have some uneaten corn on them and allow the worms to eat off all the uneaten corn. Then when the cobs are fairly dry i take out the cobs that still have the middle uneaten and soak them in water inside a ziplock bag. If you use the cobs that are hollow you will find there are worms and beetles inside the cob. It usually takes overnight to fully soak the cobs. Then i take them out of the bag and allow the outside to dry a bit. Enough that the cob aren't dripping and won't soak the bedding the put the cob back into the farm. They will stay damp for a few days. I have to watch that the cob doesn't start to mold occasionally they do so i soak them separately or one a day. It adds extra moisture to the farm and the worms will eat on the cobs a lot longer.

Nice idea... I may experiment with that. I wonder about the nutrition level of the cob....?

 

[evemfoster]

Nice idea... I may experiment with that. I wonder about the nutrition level of the cob....?

Well i don't think there is much nutrition in the paper like part of the cob. But then mealworms will eat paper so i don't worry about it. I just use the old cobs for adding extra moisture into the bin. And they get an extra place to get a drink.

 

[aart]

Quote:
Kind of like an edible sponge.