Mealworms farming

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EggSighted4Life said:
I just got my meal worms a few days ago and think I might be hooked. 

I've read a lot of good advice here. All the helpfulness is great! I do have some questions, sorry if any are repeats.

So I started with 5000 on oats with veggies for moisture. My house rarely hits 70, we are at the coast so its humid by most standards. Overnight lows around 60. I want to treat 40 chickens daily (1/8 cup each maybe). But now I think I want to sell a few as well, I can't believe how pricey they are. 

Can you give me any direction as to how many more I would need and how long it might take to get there? Thanks in advance.
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5000 beetles can lay about 25,000 eggs a week or about 16-18 cups worth of worms a week once fully producing
 
EggSighted4Life said:
I recently bought 45,000 meal worms and am having quite a bit of dead loss. But I am not sure how much would be normal for that large of colony. Or am I doing something wrong also?

I keep the pupa on a paper towel and covered with a paper towel. Some turn crunchy and black. Especially when I just had a few. Now with a drawer full  usually have 10 or more beetles a day.

Since I didn't have wheat bran yet they were bedded on chicken feed and I tried 1 with dog food. They did fine and loved the dog food but I don't recommend it as a whole drawer for bedding. It was greasy.

So will the meal worms or won't they take care of their own dead? I currently remove them and feed them out.
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ten percent dead loss is normal. You need high humidity for pupaes. They will eat some dead but most are left there for you. I have some videos up on youtube for my huge setup. Let me know if you want a link. I produce about 600,000 a month.
 
lovemealworms said:
ten percent dead loss is normal. You need high humidity for pupaes. They will eat some dead but most are left there for you. I have some videos up on youtube for my huge setup. Let me know if you want a link. I produce about 600,000 a month.
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I am so glad you responded, I was hoping to hear from you since as I read the thread a majority of the great information came from you.

A link would be great. Will it show me how you get rid of the dead in a more efficient manner than picking out 1 at a time?

So basically from your numbers, it sounds like I have WAY more than I need. When I was doing my planning I was afraid the temps here wouldn't be high enough. But I didn't account for that many worms making heat of their own, when I ran my hand through it felt warmer than the ambient temperature. Right now I am having a bunch of beetles (more than 20) hatching daily. I ordered different sizes hoping they would pupate at different times but it seems so ,any of them are all doing it at the same time.

What I wonder is if I am providing enough moisture (for the worms) and space. How can I tell how much I need to insure that I am not adding to their discomfort or death? I have the plastic drawer set up. 8 with worms, 1 with beetles, and 1 with pupa.

Also what is your favorite thing to use for the beetles to lay eggs on? Is there a limit to how many beetles I can put in 1 drawer and how long should I let them stay there? Does the amount of frass on the bottom of the bun effect the worms/beetles?

Thanks a ton for your time!

ETA- I don't mind if you want me to watch your videos before your spend time answering.
 
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EggSighted4Life said:
I am so glad you responded, I was hoping to hear from you since as I read the thread a majority of the great information came from you.

A link would be great. Will it show me how you get rid of the dead in a more efficient manner than picking out 1 at a time?

So basically from your numbers, it sounds like I have WAY more than I need. When I was doing my planning I was afraid the temps here wouldn't be high enough. But I didn't account for that many worms making heat of their own, when I ran my hand through it felt warmer than the ambient temperature. Right now I am having a bunch of beetles (more than 20) hatching daily. I ordered different sizes hoping they would pupate at different times but it seems so ,any of them are all doing it at the same time. 

What I wonder is if I am providing enough moisture (for the worms) and space. How can I tell how much I need to insure that I am not adding to their discomfort or death? I have the plastic drawer set up. 8 with worms, 1 with beetles, and 1 with pupa.

Also what is your favorite thing to use for the beetles to lay eggs on? Is there a limit to how many beetles I can put in 1 drawer and how long should I let them stay there? Does the amount of frass on the bottom of the bun effect the worms/beetles?

Thanks a ton for your time!

ETA- I don't mind if you want me to watch your videos before your spend time answering.
Click to expand...
happy to reply over here. The notification system only lets me know anything when my posts are quoted or my name is posted.

Here is the link for my youtube channel. Yep it has a video on cleaning out the dead and anything else that doesnt sift out. https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCjYa2RbtZ8mhqxqOF4ybnKA
Moisture veggies have to be adjusted depending on the age of the worms, heat where they are and humidity. If they finish every bit but the skins in under 24 hours its too little. I adjust it until they have about 10% of the veggies left after 24 hours and thats what they get every 48 hours.

You can fit about 8-10,000 per sq ft as worms in 3 inches of substrate

My beetles lay all eggs in the grain. I keep mine down to 1000 beetles per sq ft for up to two weeks laying eggs

Frass build up should only effect the worms. The beetles should be out before there is any real buildup. Too much frass while they are worms will cause about 20% more to turn to male beetles so i sift mine weekly.

Hope this helps. Please quote me or pot my name with your questions to get a timely reply. You can pm as well.
 
lovemealworms said:
happy to reply over here. The notification system only lets me know anything when my posts are quoted or my name is posted.

Here is the link for my youtube channel. Yep it has a video on cleaning out the dead and anything else that doesnt sift out. https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCjYa2RbtZ8mhqxqOF4ybnKA
Moisture veggies have to be adjusted depending on the age of the worms, heat where they are and humidity. If they finish every bit but the skins in under 24 hours its too little. I adjust it until they have about 10% of the veggies left after 24 hours and thats what they get every 48 hours.

You can fit about 8-10,000 per sq ft as worms in 3 inches of substrate

My beetles lay all eggs in the grain. I keep mine down to 1000 beetles per sq ft for up to two weeks laying eggs

Frass build up should only effect the worms. The beetles should be out before there is any real buildup. Too much frass while they are worms will cause about 20% more to turn to male beetles so i sift mine weekly.

Hope this helps. Please quote me or pot my name with your questions to get a timely reply. You can pm as well.
Click to expand...
OK, I watched all those videos. Cool set up, love the sander ideal! Also enjoyed the silliness of "not busting in the room and vacuuming".
tongue.png


I still have a couple questions.

What are you using for substrate? Do you separated the dead and pupa by hand? And I didn't really see any dead. So the bin that got the left over stuff with eggs includes whatever frass was left behind along with leftover substrate? when do you get rid of it completely and how much of your grain ends up going to waste? Do you do all of your bins on one day? Are you able to describe 8-10 thousand worms in how many inches thick they would be per sq foot on top of the substrate?

I think I might need to use a bigger strainer or something. I have been improvising with a fine mesh strainer but it seems like it's taking me too long. Maybe I missed some stuff on the videos so i will watch again. I think another part of my problem is (aside from jumping in the deep end first) is I am still trying to get the assembly line going so I probably have all life stage in all my bins except pupa. But I am spending all day ever day sorting stuff
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I think I am starting to get a clue though!
 
EggSighted4Life said:
OK, I watched all those videos. Cool set up, love the sander ideal! Also enjoyed the silliness of "not busting in the room and vacuuming". :p

I still have a couple questions.

What are you using for substrate? Do you separated the dead and pupa by hand? And I didn't really see any dead. So the bin that got the left over stuff with eggs includes whatever frass was left behind along with leftover substrate? when do you get rid of it completely and how much of your grain ends up going to waste? Do you do all of your bins on one day? Are you able to describe 8-10 thousand worms in how many inches thick they would be per sq foot on top of the substrate?

I think I might need to use a bigger strainer or something. I have been improvising with a fine mesh strainer but it seems like it's taking me too long. Maybe I missed some stuff on the videos so i will watch again. I think another part of my problem is (aside from jumping in the deep end first) is I am still trying to get the assembly line going so I probably have all life stage in all my bins except pupa. But I am spending all day ever day sorting stuff :oops:

I think I am starting to get a clue though!
Click to expand...
i use wheat bran as substrate.
I leave the dead and pupaes behind with what i keep back weekly for breeders.
Yep the grain and bugs that wouldnt stay attached to egg crates goes into my future breeder bins.
The grain all gets used up and turned to frass. I sift the bottom bins through the colander to get worms and other bits out. The substrate that goes through and small worms i sift with a fine mesh screen and then put it in the bin above.
The only time grain is thrown away is after all worms in a breeder bin have turned to beetles i toss the whole contents of the tub because it gets a bit stinky with dead worms pupae and beetles in there for so long.
Yes i normally did all bins each day but have dropped it to once weekly to cut down on time.
10,000 will be about an inch thick on one sq ft.
Bigger strainers have cut my time by 90%
Any other questions let me know. Or if you need clarification on any answer.
 

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