Mealworm farming

[Kusanar]

Do you raise a lot?
I have 2 of the 3 drawer dressers. Each drawer is 15.25"L x 21.75"W. Is this sufficient for raising the amount I need?

No, I don't have many, but, I started out with 5 wild beetles I fought, let them lay eggs until they died, then let all of the next generation pupate and turn into beetles, those eggs are the worms I have today. So I have quite a few considering I started with 5

 

[tfalls3]

I just got in 1000 worms on Friday and split them into 2 bins. I added potato and carrots to both, bin 1 is fine but bin 2 has a ton of sheds in it. Looks like everyone of them decided to shed over night, is this normal? No beetle or pupae yet but when I do have them do I have to separate them from the rest? I've seen mixed info on it.

 

[Latestarter]

Completely normal. The ones that shed probably ate/drank too much and burst their old skins. No worries, that's what's supposed to happen. As for separating, that is solely dependent on how much work you want to make this. Many just keep an all inclusive colony with all stages in the same container (simple, straightforward, easy; Read "me"!). Others have towers of bins with screened bottoms in the containers so eggs fall through and are constantly rearranging bins, moving beetles, larva, worms, up and down the stacks. You have to determine what your goal is and how best to achieve it, then proceed accordingly. Good luck!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I just got in 1000 worms on Friday and split them into 2 bins. I added potato and carrots to both, bin 1 is fine but bin 2 has a ton of sheds in it. Looks like everyone of them decided to shed over night, is this normal? No beetle or pupae yet but when I do have them do I have to separate them from the rest? I've seen mixed info on it.

They will shed several times. Completely normal.

As @Latestarter said you can decide which method is right for you. I have the multiple bins but was way to much work. I started with 45,000 worms. Now I am switching to no separation since I was never able to achieve it anyways.

My birds eat all life stages, though I think the worms or pupae might be favored.

Welcome to the meal worm farming fun!

 

[Latestarter]

Really, when it comes time to feed the birds, just get a cheap hand held sifter from the store. Use the sifter to scoop up a pile, sift it out and dump the remaining contents of the sifter after the frass and baby worms have fallen through, into a container. There's your bird snacks! My chickens eat live beetles, dead beetles, worms, pupae, and they also enjoy any oats or wheat bran that happens to stay in the mix. Now, the shed skins normally will NOT go through the sifter, but they are almost lighter than air. So, when I walk out side, I "shake" the container gently so the shed skins come to the top, then FROM A DISTANCE, blow across the top of the container and those skins just lift right out and fly away. Oh, also, you want to make sure that you're facing down wind (wind at your back) when you do this to further avoid a face full of shed skins. I'm guessing you won't have to ask me how I know this...

You could also set it on the ground or a structure and "fan" something over the top which will also cause the skins to lift out and blow away.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

@Latestarter Once after getting off my quad, I had to spit and it was super windy. So I thought I was brilliant and turned so I wouldn't be spitting into the wind. However, it was chilly with the wind blowing and..... I had forgotten to take my helmet off!

I think it's great advice to keep it simple.

 

[Latestarter]

Did that through (on to) a perfectly clean truck side window once... Boy was I embarrassed. Luckily; my truck, my window, and nobody was there to witness my stupidity. Cat's out of the bag now

 

[Kusanar]

Did that through (on to) a perfectly clean truck side window once... Boy was I embarrassed. Luckily; my truck, my window, and nobody was there to witness my stupidity. Cat's out of the bag now

And, I once tried to walk through a screen door... without opening it first.... is there any wonder that birds hit windows when even humans can't figure the darn things out?

 

[Kusanar]

I had a wonderful moment of clarity earlier... put horse grain and scratch grains in a blender.... give the worms whatever will go through the mesh sifter.... then re-blend the leftovers.... it worked wonderfully! I only did a little, but I have a sandwich bag of each at home to be blended when I get a chance, trying to sift out the dead beetles and oatmeal from the finer ground stuff now so that I can just sift and get worms....

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I had a wonderful moment of clarity earlier... put horse grain and scratch grains in a blender.... give the worms whatever will go through the mesh sifter.... then re-blend the leftovers.... it worked wonderfully! I only did a little, but I have a sandwich bag of each at home to be blended when I get a chance, trying to sift out the dead beetles and oatmeal from the finer ground stuff now so that I can just sift and get worms....

I've tried chicken crumbles, pellets, and dog food. The dog food seems to end up with moldy spots. And the crumbles & pellets were a pain to separate. Final conclusion for me was wheat bran, it was cheaper then whole wheat flour.