Mealworm farming

[knjinnm]

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Ha Ha, Let's nullify two wars.

Vietnam Vet.

 

[LibertyChick]

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Ha Ha, Let's nullify two wars.

Vietnam Vet.

Yes, they are working on 5 wars now. Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Pakistan and Yemen. I'm hearing that Oslow is a false flag and that guy is a patsy being set up.

 

[Klwright1122]

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I like to harvest with a new cat litter scoop or for larger amounts I use a colander.
You do want the worms to have some wheat bran and a little piece of carrot while in the refrigerator. They will just go dormant. As soon as you take them out, they will warm up and eat from the bran and get their moisture from the carrot.

Not sure why you have bugs in your bedding. I do freeze AND nuke mine before using it, maybe the bugs came from your veggies?

Ahhhhh....great idea...I knew I'd get good advice out here!! Thanks lady...

 

[Lil'ChickFarm]

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There is a group of us in town making progress towards getting the ordinance changed. We are making progress.

Where are you in OHIO? ARe the ordinances against chickens?

 

[OhioPete]

NE Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. Yes, there is a specific listing against chickens, roosters, gamebirds and waterfowl in our ordinances.

 

[hannakat]

Love the your setup OhioPete! Great photo.


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Hi bustermommy! There is a stage chart on the first post of the thread now. It still depends a lot on the conditions though. Here's a repost.

Egg Incubation: 4-19 days (usually 4-7). Another source says 20-40 days
Larva: 10 weeks. Visible after about a week
Pupa: 6-18 (18-24?) days
Beetle and Egg Laying: 8-12 weeks (followed by death). Egg laying starts 4-19 days (average 12) after emergence

There is a percentage that die so unless the majority are black, it should be okay. Let us know how they do in the heat though. The information is always appreciated!

Klwright1122 ~ There's photos of a 3-drawer colony on page 3 of the thread and many Youtube videos available. I think it was OwensMom who shared with us that using a toilet paper roll makes it easy to gather worms. Lay the roll in the bin and just wait a while for them to congregate.

 

[BuffyGRL]

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Sorry, been getting alot of mail lately, LOL. I got your message and sent the payment. Thank You so Much

 

[JSLKelly]

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OUCH! Sorry about that. To cut plastic, I went to the dollar store, bought a plastic handled knife (one with a metal blade), heat it until hot on the stove, touch the plastic where you want to cut it. Stinks, but works great. You can use the hot knife to melt edges that are sharp. I use this for everything plastic!

 

[JSLKelly]

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I just found bran and germ in bulk at www.bulkfoods.com Shipping is just $5 if you order $75 or more. I got a lot of stuff for the same price I'd have gotten just the bran I was ordering by using the 5 dollar order.

 

[JSLKelly]

Okay, to add to the 'bad meto' thread.

I've been misting my pupa about twice a day. Moved them to a bin that has no substrate...don't know if this has helped but at least it doesn't get 'crusty' when I spray it.

I also moved the bin away from the heat source. It seems the heat may have been the problem. I have fewer dried and black/dark brown pupa and for every 3 that don't mutate right, I get beetles. Before it was 50/50 with the dried up and 1/2 mutated.

I'll keep you up to date as to the progress. But, at least I'm getting about 3 beetles a day again! YEAH!

~Jenn