Mealworm farming

[hannakat]

Quote:
Awesome photos Nate! Thanks.

Jayare's Chicks ~ I ended up buying wheat bran on Ebay...costs me as much for 5 lbs as it would for the 50 lbs the feed store has but I can store 5 lbs...don't have room for 50 lbs and it would take me forever to go through that much.

the4heathernsmom ~ It's amazing how quickly fascination replaces yuk ! Give 'em a try!

BeccaSmith ~ What Amy said x2!!! I provide them less food than I did originally. Found out that they do just fine with less and it reduces the chances of mold and mites. Like watering a plant....sometimes it's better to let it dry out first!

OwensMom ~ At this point, I really think I COULD use them in cooking. Eighty percent of the worlds population is a pretty strong motivator and indicator that what we think and feel about it needs evalutated. A nice crunchy topping on a salad? haahaaaaa

 

[F50myster]

You dont need wheat bran u can use oats

 

[hannakat]

Quote:
Absolutely. It's what I started with and what I still keep the beetles in. I've slowly switched over to the bran for the worms cause I like being able to sift. I started with a ground up substrate of different things but decided to make it simpler by using either just the oats or just the wheat bran.

 

[critterrun]

ok DH said ok to the mealworms

what is the best place to get them??
Thanks

 

[F50myster]

i bought mine from a bait store haha

 

[critterrun]

also

how many should I get
I am looking at a 10 gal tank
to keep them in

 

[kjfrogster41]

Quote:
Yea...I'm totally amazed. I ordered 1000 online but I think they sent more. I put 100 in a different medium just to see how they'd do. I did hours of research before starting. They go through much more veggies/fruit than I imagined. It's all been really awesome. I'm doing a 3-drawer farm.

I also put a couple hundred in a container in the fridge....been thinking maybe I should put more in the fridge they way they are popping. Still waiting for the pupa to turn into the beetles but I have several hundred now with 10-30 new every day.

I spent $40 buying large containers of freeze-dried mealworms over the winter and so far I've spent $28 on my farm ($20 for the worms and $7 for the drawers.... and a buck for veggies/fruit) and I expect to get thousands and thousands and thousands. Yep...happy chickens!

It took about 6 weeks and then I began to see beetles. Right now I have all stages: eggs, larvae, pupae and beetles. I did add some additional larvae when I started seeing the beetles. Not doing much to keep them fed, just some meal, occasional compost scraps, and I keep a portion of their tray moist. I tell you it's well worth it my girls go crazy for mealworms at any stage of development. Good winter time treat.

 

[hannakat]

Quote:
Look on the first post of this thread. There are links to reliable sources including 2 BYCers!

 

[hannakat]

Great news kjfrogster41! Sounds like the chickadees are enjoying the 'harvest'!!!

 

[colonel sander]

Quote:
I just set up a 10 gallon tank and purchased 2000 of them for it. I purchased the worms from Amy (WestKnollAmy)
here on the board.