Mealworm farming

[BriardChickens]

Check your mail everyday. The only time i bought worms on the net i had put a 'hold at the post office' on the package because it was so hot and i have a black mailbox.

Well they came 2 days early and i just happened to be home because there was a power outage. I had already picked up the mail but went down the hill to check the power line repairs and found that instead of holding the package the post office they had made a special delivery because the box was labeled live animals. They would have cooked if i hadn't had to drive all the way down the hill to turn the car around.

Oh the driveway is 1/4 mile long. So i drive to avoid the 100+ degree heat and the four pawed wildlife.

Good point for the summer. Thankfully we are in the midst of fall and fall temperatures here. My PO box is in a small rural post office, the lady usually holds packages for us as she knows we come once a week at most. Worms are supposed to arrive tomorrow, however we are so rural here I wouldn't be surprised if they arrived a day later.

 

[Frazars Farm]

On page 410...

WooHoo! I have my first pupa!

 

[lightchick]

I want to try this not only for my chickens, but for my reptiles too. Where can you get bran?

 

[aart]

I want to try this not only for my chickens, but for my reptiles too. Where can you get bran?

Some feed stores have it. I get mine at a health food store that sells it in bulk.

 

[zarafa121]

On page 410...

WooHoo! I have my first pupa!

Awwww . . . cute little buggers! Now the wait for the first beetle to emerge! You are on a roll!

 

[Bugseye]

Sorry to have been gone so long. My password was being denied, and attempts to fix it weren't working. I think the problem has been solved by installing iOS 8 on my iPad. Where do I get bran? In the bulk food section of my supermarket. I heat it in the oven to cook unwanted passengers. I started with a tiny container of worms from Petco in April and am now the proprietor of hundreds of second-generation fatties, along with some industrious beetles. My girls are going to be excited, come winter.

 

[Frazars Farm]

(I am now read through page 510)

Does anyone know, or has anyone experimented with the following:

Do larger pupa, and larger beetles lay eggs that become larger worms?
or
Do worms that pupate faster lay eggs that become worms that also pupate faster?


Has anyone done any serious 'selective breeding' type programs to see what could happen?


(Also wanted to note that I ordered 200 breeding beetles from the member SillyBirds on Monday, and received them today, Wednesday, and they were well packed and wonderful & active! A+)

 

[aart]

I think I've finally got it...a sifting system to get the frass outta there!!

So I've got a small 3 bin/drawer deal to start out this endeavor, have been playing with them for about a year now.
Not trying to produce large number but more investigating the life cycle and just seeing how it goes on a small scale, might scale up eventually-time will tell.

One thing that bothered me was getting larvae separated from the frass and the shed skins, have played with several screens and finally got more serious about it today because 2 of my bins are chock full of frass. I waited until most the bran was gone then dug thru my materials and found some 40 mesh 316 stainless steel screening that I had left from another project. 40 mesh has 40 openings per inch created by 0.007" diameter woven wires leaving the material 55% open. You can buy it at McMaster-Carr for $20/sq ft.

It sifted out the frass beautifully and then I used a small battery operated fan to blow the skins out (alot of the skins were 'gone', either eaten or broken down into dust) out of the remains larvae/beetles in the bin. I'm convinced that although the larvae and beetles are not carnivorous so to speak, if there's nothing left to eat they will eat the dead beetles (I've seen partial beetles left in a bin of larvae with little bran and maybe the skins.

Anyway, here's a pic of the equipment and the sorted frass and livestock.



I'm going to set aside some of the frass for possible eggs hatching in it....also plan to try using it as fertilizer when I plant my garlic this fall.

 

[Frazars Farm]

On Page 659... Less than 100 pages to go!

Quick question, is the list of BYC folks selling on the first page still accurate, and updated?

 

[azygous]

I have a quick question. Is there any danger of beetles becoming overcrowded?

Due to my heating my mealworm farm https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/492636/mealworm-farming/6470#post_12746469, the speeded up life cycles have resulted in an explosion in my beetle population. I'm thrilled, but a little concerned. There seem to be thousands all roiling together in happy procreation, but is this healthy for them to be so crowded?