Mealworm farming

[Tikkajazz94]

20 worm would take a LONG time! All you would need is like a small plastic container like 6'x12' with rolled oats or wheat bran. 20 worms can fit in the palm of you hand. They are very easy to raise!

Nate

but its only for a few treats to teach chicks that me=treats=friends... thats all.... Not 3 cups a day type thing

 

[ralleia]

I was reading that the preferred temps to raise worms is 78 degrees. My house is never that warm. In the winter it is 68 and the summer 72 degrees. Do I supply heat with a heat lamp or one of the blue basking lamps for reptiles? How do you keep yours warm?

I agree with Gallo. You needn't bother with any additional heat. Since mealworms also require certain levels of humidity, additional heat might actually create more problems.

In the winter I have my mealworms in the house with one triple-decker upstairs and one triple-decker of worms and eggs in the basement. Temperatures upstairs are in the 60s and in the unconditioned basement they are generally in the 50s or 40s if the weather outside is really cold. The mealworms do fine.

I keep all the beetles upstairs because the warmth probably encourages more mating, The larvae and eggs just grow a little slower at cooler temperatures is all.

Your cooler house will suit them just fine!

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Has anyone ever raised Red Wigglers? A friend of mine raises a ton of them to break down hay, poo, .leaves, etc for her garden. She said that they would make great chicken food, etc. Amy info would be great. Thanks

~ Aspen

 

[CluckyJay]

Aspen,

I am raising them and they are wonderful!

 

[CluckyJay]

I feed mine everything from chicken poo and goat poo to all of the livestock's litter. They are actively feeding right now in my pens. I made a slow release feeder out of a plastic bucket with holes in the bottom. I fill the bucket with sloppy poo/scraps and then the liquid drains into the soil slowly. The worms will congregate beneath and into the bucket and it makes for easy harvesting.

 

[ralleia]

I actually have a redworm composting operation in my basement. However, since the worm compost and worm castings are so valuable for my gardening operation, I haven't ever even considered feeding any redworms to my chickens!

I have a three-stage worm composting bin in the basement, though in earlier decades I used just a rubbermaid tub. One just provides them with bedding--like shredded newspaper, some dirt for grit, and then keeps the bin cool, aerated, and feeds 'em food wastes every few days.

I also dump them the leftover scraps of food from the mealworm farming (the dried up bits that the mealworms didn't eat), dead beetle bodies, sloughed skins, etc. So my mealworm operation helps feed my redworm operation.

It's quite easy to do both, though their requirements for temperature and humidity are very different.

This site has a bunch of good information: http://www.redwormcomposting.com/

I got my original batch of redworms from "Uncle Jim" though.

 

[ralleia]

I feed mine everything from chicken poo and goat poo to all of the livestock's litter. They are actively feeding right now in my pens. I made a slow release feeder out of a plastic bucket with holes in the bottom. I fill the bucket with sloppy poo/scraps and then the liquid drains into the soil slowly. The worms will congregate beneath and into the bucket and it makes for easy harvesting.

Clucky--

What size of operation do you have?

Are your worms standard redworms (Eisenia fetida) or a different species?

Do you keep them outside, and if so do you segregate them in any way from the natural worms?

I struggle to figure out what to do with our spent, poopy, smelly chicken litter--wood shavings that stink up a storm when put in a pile on top of our heavy clay.

I'm also trying to figure out a way to get huge worm populations to till my heavy clay!

 

[Smiles-N-Sunshine]

I refuse to lose to a bunch of worms.

 

[Smiles-N-Sunshine]

I raise composting redworms, too. I started my herd long before I started with chickens and the other critters!

I highly recommend the book "Worms Eat My Garbage" by Mary Appelhof http://www.amazon.com/Worms-Eat-Garbage-Mary-Appelhof/dp/0942256107 and the vermicomposters forum at http://vermicomposters.ning.com/

Composting redworms have different behaviors than do garden earthworms and night crawlers. In nature, redworms generally live on the surface, either in their food (manure) or hiding under leaves etc. "Domestic" redworms do very well in bins, converting organic matter into absolutely wonderful vermicompost. A healthy worm bin also has beneficial bacteria throughout. Vermicompost is almost black, smells like sweet earth, and holds moisture better than anything. (This is what master gardeners mulch their champion rose plants with. I get up to $3 per pound at our farmers market.)

Redworms eat just about anything that used to be alive. However, meat and dairy WILL draw flies to the bin, and fly maggots will take over. They're not big on onions, garlic, or citrus peels, either - but a few now and then doesn't hurt, and the bacteria will break it down eventually. Also, redworms do not appear to be affected by mold and mildew, and I have fed them some very foul "science experiments" I found lurking in the produce bin over the years. Redworms can have used coffee grounds and tea leaves. They can have poultry litter, but fresh chicken manure is "hot" (high nitrogen) so I recommend aging or partially composting it before adding significant quantities to the bin. (Rabbit and goat manure can go right in.)

For a single family with a few chickens, I recommend using an 18-gallon Rubbermaid tote bin, like the kind sold at Wal-Mart for $5-10. Drill 1/4" holes about 2" apart in the bottom of the bin (for drainage), and 1/8" holes about 1" apart along the top (for ventilation). (I no longer drill holes in the lid, as they can break when silly turkeys try to perch on them.) Place a few sheets of newspaper on the bottom of the bin, to keep worms in but let liquid seep out.

Next is bedding, which can be pine shavings, shredded newspaper or cardboard, or my favorite, moldy straw. Bedding acts as insulation, and I like to use a lot of it. Soak it in water, and add to the bin. On the top I usually toss corn husks (I love tamales). Put the bin lid on, place on well-drained soil in the shade, and you're done!

To feed the worms, I imagine the bin is divided into six sections, two by three. Each time I feed, I dig out one of the sections, add the food, and re-cover. The worms will move to where the food is. Covering the food with bedding and vermicompost keeps gnats and fruit flies away. Keep feeding in a circular pattern, and add water when needed. (You should expect the material at the top to dry out somewhat, which is fine. Plenty of moist room down below.)

After several months, the bin will be full of vermicompost and lots of worms. To harvest, you can either push everything to one side, place a screen in the bin, and only feed on the other side OR dump the contents onto a table, make vermicompost pyramids, and remove the outer portions of vermicompost. (Worms hate bright light, and converge at the middle of the pile.)

 

[BeccaSmith]

I raise composting redworms, too. I started my herd long before I started with chickens and the other critters!

I highly recommend the book "Worms Eat My Garbage" by Mary Appelhof http://www.amazon.com/Worms-Eat-Garbage-Mary-Appelhof/dp/0942256107 and the vermicomposters forum at http://vermicomposters.ning.com/

Composting redworms have different behaviors than do garden earthworms and night crawlers. In nature, redworms generally live on the surface, either in their food (manure) or hiding under leaves etc. "Domestic" redworms do very well in bins, converting organic matter into absolutely wonderful vermicompost. A healthy worm bin also has beneficial bacteria throughout. Vermicompost is almost black, smells like sweet earth, and holds moisture better than anything. (This is what master gardeners mulch their champion rose plants with. I get up to $3 per pound at our farmers market.)

Redworms eat just about anything that used to be alive. However, meat and dairy WILL draw flies to the bin, and fly maggots will take over. They're not big on onions, garlic, or citrus peels, either - but a few now and then doesn't hurt, and the bacteria will break it down eventually. Also, redworms do not appear to be affected by mold and mildew, and I have fed them some very foul "science experiments" I found lurking in the produce bin over the years. Redworms can have used coffee grounds and tea leaves. They can have poultry litter, but fresh chicken manure is "hot" (high nitrogen) so I recommend aging or partially composting it before adding significant quantities to the bin. (Rabbit and goat manure can go right in.)

For a single family with a few chickens, I recommend using an 18-gallon Rubbermaid tote bin, like the kind sold at Wal-Mart for $5-10. Drill 1/4" holes about 2" apart in the bottom of the bin (for drainage), and 1/8" holes about 1" apart along the top (for ventilation). (I no longer drill holes in the lid, as they can break when silly turkeys try to perch on them.) Place a few sheets of newspaper on the bottom of the bin, to keep worms in but let liquid seep out.

Next is bedding, which can be pine shavings, shredded newspaper or cardboard, or my favorite, moldy straw. Bedding acts as insulation, and I like to use a lot of it. Soak it in water, and add to the bin. On the top I usually toss corn husks (I love tamales). Put the bin lid on, place on well-drained soil in the shade, and you're done!

To feed the worms, I imagine the bin is divided into six sections, two by three. Each time I feed, I dig out one of the sections, add the food, and re-cover. The worms will move to where the food is. Covering the food with bedding and vermicompost keeps gnats and fruit flies away. Keep feeding in a circular pattern, and add water when needed. (You should expect the material at the top to dry out somewhat, which is fine. Plenty of moist room down below.)

After several months, the bin will be full of vermicompost and lots of worms. To harvest, you can either push everything to one side, place a screen in the bin, and only feed on the other side OR dump the contents onto a table, make vermicompost pyramids, and remove the outer portions of vermicompost. (Worms hate bright light, and converge at the middle of the pile.)

I tried vermicomposting once, I bought an established system off of some moving. It just all seemed to be very wet and mucky, it was like that when I got it. After sorting the worms from the muck and putting them into fresh bedding I decided I didn't want to deal with muck after that and sold the system....maybe it was just the set up I had, it was a two bin tote system with air holes drilled in the sides....nothing fancy. I would like to give it a try again if I knew my end results wouldn't be muck!