Mealworm farming

[meafunkymunky]

Since i skipped that step should i remove the mealworms and start over (baking the oats), or just see if they will be fine? they are store bought rolled oats. I would hope there wouldnt be bugs in it

 

[Yurd Ahd]

Don't fret! Make sure it's not just their poo, it is black. Eventually all the oat and/or bran substrate you are using will be eaten by the mealies and beetles and replaced with poo - bug people call it "frass". I have separate containers I sift the frass in when all the substrate is gone and needs to be replaced so the eggs don't go to waste. Take a magnifying glass in good lighting and have a close look at the offender. If it's moving some kind of other insect has invaded your colony. Mites are round, really small and have eight arms/legs. I have had all kinds of stuff get into my colony before I made sure it was totally secure - moths, carpet beetles, mites, ETC.. So if you have an invasion just take like 10 beetles, rinse them off with warm water, dry them off and put them in new substrate in a secure container with new oat or bran (make sure it is secure, no gaps for other insects to get in especially if you keep your colony outdoors)! Take the old substrate and either feed it to your chickens or keep it to hatch the remaining eggs out, just keep it away from the new sterile colony. The offender may have even came from the place you ordered them from. Keep the new colony healthy and warm and you will get the eggs to hatch, you most likely have some but just can't see the hatchling larvae yet. Hope this helps, I have been maintaining the same colony for over 10 years so I have learned a lot through trial and error.

 

[Sabz]

Anyone using chicken feed as bedding? I read that somewhere and that is what I do. Wondering if they are pros and cons to that.
I give them dog food as well! haha The worms and beetles seem to grow fast and live normally. I give them vedgies and fruits for water.

EDIT: Oh yeah, I have another question. Why do we need to remove the dead beetles or worms? I thought the others would eat them It seems a big task, I lost many of them towards the start of my colony, they went through a lot more "water" (veggies) than I thought they would, I guess they died from dehydration.

 

[dstinett]

I lost most of my colony over winter. I only salvaged enough bedding to half fill a small container. I could see a few babies and that was it. 2 months later I had bugs for breeding. It seemed the process wasn't going fast enough. From past experiences I know summer is best growing season. I've always used cornmeal as bedding only potatoes for moisture and stale bread as food. I loved the fact that everything stayed clean and I didn't get other pests. Someone suggested I try feeding them chicken crumble. Wow! It made all the difference. 1 month later and I have enough to sell/trade for more chickens!!!!

 

[evemfoster]

Anyone using chicken feed as bedding? I read that somewhere and that is what I do. Wondering if they are pros and cons to that.
I give them dog food as well! haha The worms and beetles seem to grow fast and live normally. I give them vedgies and fruits for water.

EDIT: Oh yeah, I have another question. Why do we need to remove the dead beetles or worms? I thought the others would eat them It seems a big task, I lost many of them towards the start of my colony, they went through a lot more "water" (veggies) than I thought they would, I guess they died from dehydration.

I use non-medicated crumbles on occasion.

Yes you need to remove the dead beetles/worms/pupa from the colony. The chickens will eat them too. In fact they are happy to get them no matter how long they have been dead.

 

[kubotafoot]

Wonderful, thank you so much. Good to know about the bran as well. I started off with oats because that's what I had. Plus I wasn't sure where I'd put a 50lb bag from the feed store.

I'm going to give the colander a try. I already salvaged some so we'll see. Thanks again for the input!

A 50 pound bag will last you a lifetime for just the worms, so you might want to also feed the hens and goats (if you have them).....OR......buy some from the local store loose by bulk or in a bag intended for human consumption. Less worry about other bugs and no storage.
Paula

 

[Dipstick]

THX It is in constant shade. I think the problem is that it wasn't getting enough air circulation in there and the heat just builds up. I had a cover, actually a flat tub bottom, the type used to put long rolls of Christmas wrapping paper in, as a loose fitting lid on top of the screen lid. So I have removed it and I hope that fixes it. I still have a bunch of beetles so in time maybe I'll get worms again. How long to wait to see worms before I give up?? : (

Yeah, too much heat, no ventilation, no moisture... those are your primary problems.

As for how long to wait until you give up.... There are two mottos to personalize here... "Do, or Do not: but do not "try." and "No retreat, no surrender!" So... stay at it. More to the point of your question, realistically speaking, you can expect to have worms within 2-3 weeks of a beetle honeymoon, but you will not SEE them for another 3 weeks. Between 3 and 4 weeks you will be able to see the wheat bran twitch, or move depending upon the population, but that is about it. Obviously, there are variations in the time frames, but these seem to be the averages I have seen over the last year or so. I do not expect worms to be "large" for 6-8 weeks... though I usually beat that time frame.

If you have beetles, and they have all the moistue and wheat bran they want, then you WILL have babies... next month. Did I mention WHEAT BRAN? NO??? My bad... wheat bran. Yes they can survive on other things, but in my experience, they do just that... they survive.

So, provide them what they need, keep temps below 95*F, and they will do well. Yes they CAN grow outside of these parameters, but again, they will not THRIVE.

 

[Dipstick]

My son went to remove an old potato and there was mold on it and some of the oats. He picked out as much of it as he could. What should I do?

Use a LOT less potato next time, and scoop out the moldy oats. Another reason to NOT use oats. Keep your potatoe slices thin and few. No more than 3/16" thick, and no more than they can consume in one day.

 

[Dipstick]

Hey, I'm new to this thread. I know there is a good chance this may have been covered already but I don't have time to read through 250 pages.

I have been attempting to raise mealworms. It has actually been going pretty well. I had tons of tiny little babies when water somehow managed to get into my bin and all my oats molded! I am having a difficult time picking them out without getting a bunch of yucky oats too. Any suggestions? I was thinking about just dumping the whole thing out for my chickens but I'm afraid they might eat the moldy oats too? Any thoughts appreciated as I am a novice at both raising mealworms and chickens! Thanks.

My chickens had no problem picking through and eating what they wanted and leaving the rest. They do not have our help in the wild. As for the worms, start over, as the mold will actually make them sick and kill them... even if it appears that you have saved them, most will die within a few weeks, or so my experience has been. I lost over 20,000 worms that way in the beginning of my farm.

 

[Dipstick]

Wonderful, thank you so much. Good to know about the bran as well. I started off with oats because that's what I had. Plus I wasn't sure where I'd put a 50lb bag from the feed store.

I'm going to give the colander a try. I already salvaged some so we'll see. Thanks again for the input!

If you ever need wheat bran in smaller than 50LB quantities, I'm sure several of us would be willing to sell you some. I know I would.

Aso, if you asked nice, you might even get some beetles or some egg/baby rich beetle bedding for not a lot more.

The collander works well.