Mealworm farming

[Turkeytruff]

Awesome, sounds like the colony has taken off!

Thank you! Oh, it goes really fast once they all become beetles. there's about a month, 6 weeks maybe, and you think there's no eggs or wee wormies, then BOOM! Mealie madness! My girls (chickens) are going thru a hard molt, the mealies are really helping them, even my Roo is having a bad one this year. At first i saw them getting pale, so i upped the mealie feeding. Please, don't hesitate to ask or PM I am the worst one on the 20 questions. I get on peoples nerves i bet, i just want to learn everything i can. On Bacon, he was about 50 pounds, and supposedly a "runt" but i don't see it! We got him the first week of sept, and he is just HUGE. There's a "string test". You wrap the chest under the armpits, measure the full circumference of the chest. then measure from that point of their shoulders to the base of the tail. there's and equation to figure the weight from those measurements, i can't find it

but will share when i do. I ferment his feed, pelleted and use their recommended amount for weight, then follow up with scraps. (He is estimated about 200 pounds right now by our dear farmer friend up the road.). He will leave food uneaten (never would have believed it!) Once his pellets are eaten in the morning, his evening meal is scraps and a little more pellets in a warm slop mixture..its cold here, 20s at night already. Bacon wasn't gaining much at all till we started fermenting. I am flat sold on it. All the animals smell and look wonderful. The BBB or BBW turkeys, i will have to order from a (EEK) hatchery. Hubby and Dad hate dark meat

But i want heritage too, those i will get from a breeder locally.

that sounds great re Bacon's progress with the FF! I will definitely work on my husband re the piglets for next summer.....
Speaking of turkeys, grrr!

I have no one to blame but myself, but my Narragansett's (at least I think they were the main culprits although the chickens were in on it too) stripped all of my cabbage plants that I lovingly grew from seed to have this winter, battling cabbage moths, etc. They were forming nice little heads which clearly were much appreciated by the turkeys. One was sitting happily in my raised bed as I brought in the FF this afternoon - and they all acted as if they'd never been fed but their crops must have been bulging with all that heritage cabbage! I have to let them have access to the raised beds on their way to the grassy field that I let them free range in.

I am excited to report that the mealworms are starting to really show up now. I just put a base of wheatbran into the aquarium tank that I acquired last week and slid them in. They obviously like being down by the boiler and in the dark!

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

that sounds great re Bacon's progress with the FF! I will definitely work on my husband re the piglets for next summer.....
Speaking of turkeys, grrr!

I have no one to blame but myself, but my Narragansett's (at least I think they were the main culprits although the chickens were in on it too) stripped all of my cabbage plants that I lovingly grew from seed to have this winter, battling cabbage moths, etc. They were forming nice little heads which clearly were much appreciated by the turkeys. One was sitting happily in my raised bed as I brought in the FF this afternoon - and they all acted as if they'd never been fed but their crops must have been bulging with all that heritage cabbage! I have to let them have access to the raised beds on their way to the grassy field that I let them free range in.

I am excited to report that the mealworms are starting to really show up now. I just put a base of wheatbran into the aquarium tank that I acquired last week and slid them in. They obviously like being down by the boiler and in the dark!

The aquariums are just ideal for the mealies. Awesome, hope you can post pics soon, i will too! i bet heat really improves production. UGH bad turkeys!!! did you threaten them with Thanksgiving? hehehe i can relate, my sweet little chickens polished off my Roma's, i didn't get a single one.When they were ready, mom was in the hospital, and my oldest had no idea they would ravage my plants.

I bet you get a bumper crop of mealies in about 2 months!

 

[Lacy Blues]

Buy about 1,000 even 100 will work. the more you get the more productive they will seem. u can use any container as long as the sides are plastic or glass (smooth, and slick) to keep them from escaping. Sterilize the bedding to prevent unwelcome "bugs" by baking for 15 -20 min at least 150 degrees F or freezing a few days. You can use wheat bran or oats for the bedding. even the feed you use for your chickens.Let them grow, .. add a carrot or a potato sliced up once a week. the life cycle is a few months. You will see mealies pretty easy when you add the veges by the 2nd month, just put a big slice in and pick it up a few minutes later. Don't allow moisture or mold to develop, it will kill your colony.
I use several different types of containers. just depends on how many wee wormies you want. The drawers, i cut a hole in the bottom of top drawer, left an inch all the way around. glued a metal window screen on it with hot glue gun. i pull the 2nd drawer below it out last day of the month. dump it into a shoebox and date it. put the drawer back... i don't move any bugs anywhere unless they are getting ate. I have several huge colonies now, and am selling to the bait store near the campground we are members of. If you have a friend that raises or keeps reptiles or lizards, they may be doing this already. I started mine from a friend that breeds geckos. We both need different sizes and its worked out great! I hope this helps, they are really easy once you get it going!

Thank you. I will go back and read this whole long thread as I can, and have time, but at least I should be able to start them off right.

 

[lbrtyldy]

Is it normal for the pupaes to be a dark color? They start out white but I have a TON of dark colored ones. They are still soft so I'm hopeful that they are getting ready to pop into beetles.

 

[Sumatra503]

Is it normal for the pupaes to be a dark color? They start out white but I have a TON of dark colored ones. They are still soft so I'm hopeful that they are getting ready to pop into beetles.

Usually the dark ones are ones that have died. If you pick them up and they don't wiggle, then you will need to remove them.

 

[Sumatra503]

Have my first batch of eggs set to incubate. Due in about 5-7 days.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Thank you. I will go back and read this whole long thread as I can, and have time, but at least I should be able to start them off right.

you're welcome, if you run into a problem at all just pm or post here. good luck!

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Have my first batch of eggs set to incubate. Due in about 5-7 days.

Best of luck to you! look like fat healthy starter batch.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Is it normal for the pupaes to be a dark color? They start out white but I have a TON of dark colored ones. They are still soft so I'm hopeful that they are getting ready to pop into beetles.

When you say dark, are they black, or just brown? pupae will change to a brown when they are ready to molt into a beetle.

 

[Turkeytruff]

The aquariums are just ideal for the mealies. Awesome, hope you can post pics soon, i will too! i bet heat really improves production. UGH bad turkeys!!! did you threaten them with Thanksgiving? hehehe i can relate, my sweet little chickens polished off my Roma's, i didn't get a single one.When they were ready, mom was in the hospital, and my oldest had no idea they would ravage my plants.

I bet you get a bumper crop of mealies in about 2 months!

yes I did! D day for 2 of them is not that far off anyway...

. I have put wire over the 3 surviving cabbages.
yes the aquarium is great and they seem to be thriving in the warmth and dark. Do you use wheatbran or rolled oats or...? Because people seem to be using both.