Mealworm farming

[Kassaundra]

becca, there are several of us that use the one bin method. I started w/ much fewer so my colony has taken a bit longer then most, but it is growing I am hoping to be able to feed a few out soon. I only started w/ a couple of hundred.


Sprouting is easy too, I do that w/ whole grain (usually oat but corn or boss too) I buy at the same feed store I buy layer pellets, it sprout great and isn't expensive around $10 for 50 lbs of the grains a little more for the boss.

 

[onafixedincome]

Well, here's an update... Started with about 600 mealies a couple of weeks ago. Slapped 'em in a dollar store shoebox with wheat bran and some pomegranate (they seem to like 'em), added a little ground up chicken feed, a couple of apple cores (flunk--not many takers), tried some bread (sourdough and wheat were both thumbs down for the most part), but....

Have lots and lots of molting going on here. A couple of the larger ones seem to have some trouble with the head/legs parts, and some never split to molt and died. Am pulling apple cores out as it's too wet in there.

Temp in the house is at 60*F; my desk lamp is on top of the box lid to contribute its warmth, which seems to help, but it's not on all the time. When I take the lid off and put the lamplight on them (it's halogen, so pretty warm--the cats love 'sunbathing'), they seem to enjoy coming up to the warmth.

Sooo...some dead here and there but not loads, and I'm thinking that it's looking a bit crowded in there now that the little'uns are getting bigger. It's astounding how fast they move considering there's only six legs under one part of 'em!

How many worms per square inch or foot should there be, on average, for a given depth of substrate?

 

[Clay Mudd]

Quote:
Between the sprouting and the mealies, I'm surprised you still have to buy layer pellets at all!

 

[Kassaundra]

Quote:
Between the sprouting and the mealies, I'm surprised you still have to buy layer pellets.

I just started raising mealies a few months ago and only started w/ a couple hundred mealies so my colony isn't big enough yet to feed out (I have 20 chickens). I feed sprouts and fermented grains (mostly oats but some wheat or corn or boss too) and I feed dubias, that colony is right at a year old but it takes longer to get that colony big, but I do feed out about 40 about 5 days a week. (my husband won't feed them out so if I'm not home they don't get any dubias) The also get garden stuff. But I am a worry wort about them not getting either enough nutrition or calories so I will always have layer pellets out as free choice, we have an automatic feeder out in the coop itself so it's no hassle at all, just refill the pellet bin every so often. My goal is to feed them enough grown insects and food that they no longer require the pellets, but I'm not there yet, and I plan to add more this coming year, and would really like to get my courage up enough to raise some for chickens for meat. (just DP's not X's)

 

[Clay Mudd]

Quote:
Well, your posts on sprouting AND mealies have been inspirational.


I've phasing out the layer feed, feeding fish meal, Nutri-balancer and kelp with the sprouts. My mealie colony is still growing, too, but I hope to have them become a larger portion of the protein. I've come to think that almost ANYthing fresh is better than bagged feed.

 

[Kassaundra]

Quote:
Well, your posts on sprouting AND mealies have been inspirational.


I've phasing out the layer feed, feeding fish meal, Nutri-balancer and kelp with the sprouts. My mealie colony is still growing, too, but I hope to have them become a larger portion of the protein. I've come to think that almost ANYthing fresh is better than bagged feed.

I'm wanting to learn to fish so I can catch them that protien too. I have a friend or two willing to teach me, just waiting for the new year so I don't have to buy the liscense twice. I figure the more variety I can supply w/o the pellets the better for the health of my girls. I will eat fish but my husband will not so feeding it to the girls is a better plan for me, and it would be even better to catch the especially bony fish that people don't like to eat as that would be extra Ca+.

 

[FrenchToast]

Ok, to many posts to read, so where is the best place to order 2000 mealworms?

I'm still confused with their life cycle.

So you buy the worms, then they hatch into the beetles right? The beetles lay the eggs, that is the larvae stage right? Then they turn into the papae (sp) which is the worm again? At what point do you take them out to feed to chckens?

Also I've seen the dried worms in the stores. Expensive (why I'd like to raise my own) but if you freeze them and thaw before feeding are they mushy? YUK !!!

Another question about the screen method. How deep of bedding do the beetles need and do the eggs just fall thru the bedding and thru the screen? I see using oatmeal for bedding will prevent the bedding from falling throuh.

Sorry for all the questions.

 

[Kassaundra]

Quote:
LIFE CYCLE

egg
hatches into tiny worms
tiny worms molt up to 12 times to be big worms
big worms last molt is to pupa
pupa molts to beetle which
lays eggs.

You can feed at any stage, but most feed out the large worms just before molting to pupa.

Yes when mealies are frozen and allowed to completely thaw they are mushy, just don't allow them to completely thaw before feed out, or feed fresh "on the hoof"

The first post has several options for purchasing them where others here have had good results.

 

[FrenchToast]

Ok, thought they might be mushy !! YUK I hate worms by the way, can't believe I'm doing this, they look more like catapillers so it makes it a bit eaiser for me. I won't touch an earthworm with a ten foot pole !! I must really love m chickens, Actually I do but I hate my feed bill.

So, how do you know your mealworms are safe from other parasites like the tapeworm eggs, cecal worms and the whole shot ???

I was looing on Ebay, looks like you can get 2000 worms for a good price. I'll go back and check out the threads. If anyone wants to pm me with where they go theirs that would help alot !!!

Thanks guys !!

 

[hannakat]

Quote:
I don't think you can overcrowd them as long as you have substrate for them to hide in, newspaper and cardboard for them to mull around in. They actually need a whole lot less than some here think. Gallo's single container has been functioning for years, which is always my inspiration for not going overboard.