Mealworm farming

[Smiles-N-Sunshine]

This weekend I plan on buying some wheat bran. For $13 dollars I can get a 50 pound bag, or for $8.50 I can get a 25 pound bag. I am planning on keeping just 1,000 mealworms. It's tempting because for just $4.50 more I can get twice as much than if I went with the 25 pound bag (The different amounts are from different places, that's why there is such a big price change). My mom is worried that the 50 pound bag will be too much.

Can anyone tell me about how big a 25 pound and a 50 pound bag is? How long each one would last? Which one you suggust?


BTW, I wouldn't be using it all at once - I would store it with my chicken feed in a trash can (in seperate bags in the trash can, of course).

I went with the 50 lb bag, but didn't store it properly, and it became infested with moths. I had just rolled the open end down, like you would the bag in a box of cereal.

 

[hannakat]

Excellent plan!

Thanks for the info. I just ordered 2,000 of them from NY Worms. I have a plastic tote I'm going to put them in. I think I will use the one-compartment method rather than the 3 drawer method for now. We have had a few grain moths around, so I'm gong to use a lid to keep any of those out of there, then cut the middle out of the lid and put a window screen cover over that. We had a bad infestation of grain moths last year from some parrot food we brought in for my DH's double yellow headed amazon parrot. We've had a heck of a time getting rid of all those stupid little moths. I think we have it under control, but since the mealies will be in grain I don't want to risk it.

I will be following along on this thread as I still have a lot to learn.

 

[hannakat]

Check out the photos on my mealie page..... https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/mealworm-fam-experiences

I have photos of the eggs, newly hatched worms and a beetle laying an egg. Cool stuff.

.....will someone please tell me what the eggs the beetles lay LOOK LIKE????

I had a friend give me several beetles to get started. I had 'bout 100 mealworms and have gotten 6-7 pupuas (sp?) BUT, I don't know what to look for when it comes to the eggs the beetles will lay!

Help? Thanks!!

Okchickens ~ Congrats!! You're gonna have so much fun and your chickadees will LOVE you!

Ivywoods ~ So glad you've joined us! You'll be off to a good start. You'll find that it's really easy to raise them in a single container.

Scooter&Suzie ~ Go with the 25 pound. If I could find someone local to get 25 lbs from, that would have been the choice. Local stores will only sell the 50 lbs and I don't want to store that much. I buy it on Ebay and pay more for 5 lbs than what the 50 lbs would cost. However, I don't have to worry about storing it. I still microwave it before I use it.

Which reminds me..... to remind all of you.... freeze or microwave the grains and bran before you use it for mealie substrate. It's mainly the wheat bran from a feed store and chicken crumble that can potentially cause mite problems.

.... and we really don't like mite problems....

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Hannakat speaks the truth! It is always best to freeze or microwave your grains beforehand. I keep saying I am going to try some chick starter with mine but I keep forgetting to debug it so they are only in wheat.

Okay, incubator meal worm up date today......OMG!

I put a carrot in with the control group and one in the bator group. Ha! No contest really. The carrot is totally gone today from the bator group and they are yelling for hardier vittles while the control group in the living room (and our days have been in the 60's so the room is nice and warm during the day) has barely touched the carrot in comparison. The bator group is running around, playing games being all frisky and yes, they are a bit bigger! The control group is sluggish and says "stop bothering me!" when I check on them.

Sooooooo, I have popped another tray of small itsy babies into the bottom of the bator and am about to crank up my friends' still air LG to use until she needs it for me to set her eggs.

Can you say "Hooray! Finally Amy had a good idea!"? I can!

 

[hannakat]

Hooray!!!

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Hooray!

Three cheers for Amy's awesome incubator idea!

 

[OkChickens]

Amy- what I am seeing in my bator group at 100 degrees is that most of the 50 have pupated while about 10 our of the 50 have pupated in the control group at about 70 degrees. The ones in my bator eat MUCH MORE and faster than the control. This is a pretty neat experiment. I might have to fashion a permanent bin to put mealworms on my bator!

Nate

 

[binders]

Now I want an incubator. LOL

 

[OkChickens]

About how long after they become beetles do they start laying eggs? And how long before I will start to see small mealies? I have about 200 Beetles right now. Today I found over 75 so far. Thanks!

Nate

 

[vclark321]

I have my mealie farm next to my heater in my bedroom and they are doing incredibly well! They like the heat like I do! I started with mealies back on November 19th and I am just now getting lots of pupae and I have 2 beetles! That is exciting! This thread has been a wonderful source of knowledge and information and I thank you all for the sharing of your experiences! I am enjoying this process truly!