Mealworms

[Delaneygraces]

hello! Earlier today we took some shovels and raked and took out the flooring (hard rock/dirt mix) of the chicken coop’s roost area, and we are replacing it with a new dirt that will dry and turn solid, but not get dusty. Well, we have a wall that has pens hanging for the winter, to move everyone outside in, and we had to pry the boards of the bottom ones up, and guess what we found?? A TON of live mealworms, and beetles!!! We always see the beetles, because the chickens love to eat them, but we never knew that they were mealworm related! So, we scooped some up, and have them in a gallon ice cream bucket, along with some dirt/Straw that they were already in, and some chicken feed (I’d assume that’s what they’ve been eating, all the food on the floor.

But I’m wanting to raise them, and use them as treats for the chickens. What’s the best way to go about this? What all should I add to their bucket? I’ve seen some articles over raising mealworms, but didn’t see anything else other than using wheat bran or chicken feed (I’m using chicken feed for now) and the occasion vegetable. Thank you!

 

[ChickNanny13]

Search in the forum or the internet (MealWorm Farming) there's info on raising mealworms. I did several times but found it easier to purchase freeze dried ones from Amazon It's simple & fun, however not for me

Wheat bran is what I used as a substrate, I fed them veggies & fruits but you need to be careful mold don't develop. I put my veggies/fruits on brown paper bags (remove any printed matter). Sold my first farm, learned the guy then split it several times, he had several bins going. I did the single but he also tried the tier, went with the single.

Also if you purchase wheat bran, I advise freezing for a couple days, defrost & put a fan on it to dry .... I normally did that but once I didn't & I had some kind of mites, yuck! It was from the bran as I was raising in my spare bedroom...That was the last time I raised.

Have fun & if you decide to give-up on the farm I'm sure your chickens will help you

 

[007Sean]

I use oatmeal and carrots for raising mine. I have TP rolls cut in half for the worms and bettles to get under and away from light. It works for me!
Have several plastic stackable containers that I raise mine in.

 

[snow5164]

They will eat most veggies but carrots are the best , they eat the whole thing .

They do need moisture from something so an apple slice is good too

 

[centrarchid]

My birds are very partial to live meal worms, but inconsistent about eating dried meal worms.