Mealworm farming

[kizanne]

Quote:
1000 mealies fit in a cup or so. Though they'd need more to reproduce an grow but they certainly don't need a whole room. What you need is an under the bed box. One of two of those and you'd have more worms than you know what to do with.

 

[appychick]

Thanks for ALL the input ! Guess there is NO reason for me to go into the fall & winter WORMLESS !!!!!! After I get a few more bags of grasshoppers froze,THEN I will start a worm farm !!!!! Really hope nobody looks in my freezer !

 

[CluckyJay]

They're everywhere, they're everywhere!!!!!

Hehehe, the mealies are squirming and growing so quickly! I will really be able to start breeding when I get a better set up!

I have my beetles in 4 parts oats, 1 part BOSS, 1 part yellow peas and, 1 part milo.

They are doing really well on it and breeding like crazzzzzzzzzy! Much better than when I had them in the whole wheat flour.

NO clumping too!

 

[emptynester]

I checked in my bin today, and already I have TONS of pupa and I when I picked up the small piece of peach I had put in there it was covered with teensy weensy wormies!

 

[Kassaundra]

I can officially confirm the worms do eat the okra, not just the adults. I picked up a pod and the whole underside was covered in tiny to small worms locked on in eating away.

 

[hannakat]

Quote:

Awesome! Okay...now I have a question. Where do you live that you have grasshoppers to freeze? I need a green-with-envy smilie.

 

[j3707]

Quote:
Sorry, I was being a little facetious about the whole room thing. Hundreds of thousands of worms per year just sounds like a big project. And with my addled brain, I start thinking how high can you push that number...what percentage of total feed could you make the mealworms, etc.

I think your idea of batches and 90,000 per 3 months is great. I might shoot for half that to start.

 

[appychick]

I live in MT on international border. Grasshoppers are really bad in some areas around here right now. Not hardly any at home as I have poultry . But at my relatives farm ~5 miles away there are no poultry & I can fill a pint in about a half hour. My chickens chase vehicles trying to get the hoppers off ! They can't wait for a vehicle to drive into our yard so they can "clean off" the hoppers !

 

[Terri O]

Hmmmm--just saw a few grasshoppers in the garden yesterday and remembered collecting them as a kid...might have to give the birdies a treat today!
I have my mealies in 3 cottage cheese containers...but now it is just two; "why?" you ask....well, I sorted them and refreshed their bedding and gave them a few saltines and some cucumber to snack on last weekend. My husband's beagle must have seen me put them back on the bookcase where they "live." THe next morning there were shavings and other stuff on the kitchen floor...then I saw the cottage cheese container with no lid! THat darn dog ate all the bedding (but the shavings), the worms and the cukes and crackers! I guess the smell of something in there was just too much for her....If I hadnt lost about 500 mature worms it might just be funny.....

TErri O

 

[hannakat]

Quote:
OH NO!

bet it was the cracker. I'm really sorry for your 'loss'....but it is kinda funny.....

I have to ask ......'bedding'? 'saltine'? These, dear Terri O, are original!!!! gotta

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