Mealworms farming

[lovemealworms]

Question I'm having a lot of beetles now, several times a day I have to pick them out....But, a lot of them seem to stay on her back.. Some seem more strong... I try and turn them over to their tummy but it is hard... I now have a lot of them.... When do they start laying their eggs? Rae

when they are new they aren't used to walking yet and flip over easily. Don't worry about it. They start laying in a week to two weeks. They will fully blacken and then mate. Eggs will be laid starting a couple days later.

 

[Granny368W]

when they are new they aren't used to walking yet and flip over easily. Don't worry about it. They start laying in a week to two weeks. They will fully blacken and then mate. Eggs will be laid starting a couple days later.

Thank you again.... I now have a lot of black beetles and they are all over the carrots... So I guess I'm doing something right...lol I must have had some eggs in the bran that I got from Rainbow Mealworms because I saw some little tiny worms in with my big worms....

 

[nuklee0]

So I fed my chickens live mealworms for the first time the other day and they went BERSERK! They followed me everywhere I went and fought each other for them and even the chicks were playing tug of war with them. It was such a delight to see how happy the chickens were... So now I want to raise mealworms. My question is do you need to heat or freeze the bran/oatmeal before using it? Like even the ones we humans eat from the grocery store? Or is the heating/freezing only for animal grade bran?

 

[lovemealworms]

So I fed my chickens live mealworms for the first time the other day and they went BERSERK! They followed me everywhere I went and fought each other for them and even the chicks were playing tug of war with them. It was such a delight to see how happy the chickens were... So now I want to raise mealworms. My question is do you need to heat or freeze the bran/oatmeal before using it? Like even the ones we humans eat from the grocery store? Or is the heating/freezing only for animal grade bran?

animal grade only. Freezing almost never works. The mite eggs go into stasis at standard freezer temps. Best plan is 200 degrees in the oven mixing every ten minutes for about an hour or until all the grain has been at 165 for five minutes. Grain mites are a pain but they do not harm the mealworms they only eat the grain. If you end up with an infestation just strain out all worms beetles and other stuff and cook the grain again. They do not thrive in dry grain.

 

[nuklee0]

animal grade only. Freezing almost never works. The mite eggs go into stasis at standard freezer temps. Best plan is 200 degrees in the oven mixing every ten minutes for about an hour or until all the grain has been at 165 for five minutes. Grain mites are a pain but they do not harm the mealworms they only eat the grain. If you end up with an infestation just strain out all worms beetles and other stuff and cook the grain again. They do not thrive in dry grain.

Perfect, thank you!

 

[Granny368W]

So I fed my chickens live mealworms for the first time the other day and they went BERSERK! They followed me everywhere I went and fought each other for them and even the chicks were playing tug of war with them. It was such a delight to see how happy the chickens were... So now I want to raise mealworms. My question is do you need to heat or freeze the bran/oatmeal before using it? Like even the ones we humans eat from the grocery store? Or is the heating/freezing only for animal grade bran?

Isn't it so exciting to see the hens loving the worms? Mine love them so much... I have so many beetles now, I can hear them when I open the drawer...lol

 

[Bridebeliever]

Does anyone on here sell them for less than the store sells them for? They are so expensive!

 

[Granny368W]

Does anyone on here sell them for less than the store sells them for? They are so expensive!

I don't sell any,I'm just growing them for my hens, they love them!!

 

[nuklee0]

Does anyone on here sell them for less than the store sells them for? They are so expensive!

The stores are so expensive! I ordered mine from a lady in Edmonds. It was 2500 live mealworms for $20 + $7 shipping... And I got them the next day due to being so close. This was better than the dried worms for $30 at the store.

 

[nuklee0]

animal grade only. Freezing almost never works. The mite eggs go into stasis at standard freezer temps. Best plan is 200 degrees in the oven mixing every ten minutes for about an hour or until all the grain has been at 165 for five minutes. Grain mites are a pain but they do not harm the mealworms they only eat the grain. If you end up with an infestation just strain out all worms beetles and other stuff and cook the grain again. They do not thrive in dry grain.

So I'm thinking about just keeping them all in one bin because I would like to try to have the lowest maintenance possible. Have you had any experiences with just keeping everyone in one bin? Also, is that really the lowest maintenance method?