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is anyone in this group raising meal worms?

I have been trying to do this............it sounds so easy.

What I am finding is that I see mostly .........if not all beetles and no worms.............what is up with this?

I use oatmeal and a bran mix

I use wheat bread, carrots, and other veggies on occaision.

Is it possible the beetles are eating the worms? how long does it take for the transformation from worm to beetle to egg to worm etc

what am I doing wrong?

thanks in advance
 
if anybody is interested in rhodebar, welsummer and buff orpinton chicks mine are due to hatch in december. i can ship and npip. located in hanover pa. rhodebar chicks st run are 12.00 or females 15.00. welsummer are 7.00 st run or 10.00 female. buff orpington 7.00 st run.
these are heritage birds not hatchery.

717-224-7322
 
LisaYolkUm said:
is anyone in this group raising meal worms?

I have been trying to do this............it sounds so easy.

What I am finding is that I see mostly .........if not all beetles and no worms.............what is up with this?

I use oatmeal and a bran mix

I use wheat bread, carrots, and other veggies on occaision.

Is it possible the beetles are eating the worms? how long does it take for the transformation from worm to beetle to egg to worm etc

what am I doing wrong?

thanks in advance
Click to expand...

Lisa, you probably aren't doing anything wrong.... it seems like it takes forever for them to get going, I think we had our boxes up and running for nearly 3 months before we finally hit the right combination of factors and started really getting a lot of good meal worms. It just takes them a while to get the breeding cycles going and get their numbers up enough to show. We use about the same set up as you describe, we keep a bunch of balls of newspaper in each tub for them to climb through and feed on and we add a wet paper towel or two to each tub every week or so (when we add fresh carrots) when the paper towels currently in the tubs are dry. They like the humidity.

Only other thing to check is their temperature. Ours do better when they are kept warmer than 68*, we set them in an area that stays 72* or more... just remember to check for moisture in the paper towels frequently to add water as needed.

Good luck! It is awesome to have a tub or two going that you can grab a big handful of meal worms and beetles from to share as treats for the chicks!
 
Avlana said:
Hello everyone
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I'm new to the PA thread. Thought I'd join. I'm located in south central PA. Just south of Harrisburg.
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Welcome...
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fisherlady said:
Lisa, you probably aren't doing anything wrong.... it seems like it takes forever for them to get going, I think we had our boxes up and running for nearly 3 months before we finally hit the right combination of factors and started really getting a lot of good meal worms. It just takes them a while to get the breeding cycles going and get their numbers up enough to show. We use about the same set up as you describe, we keep a bunch of balls of newspaper in each tub for them to climb through and feed on and we add a wet paper towel or two to each tub every week or so (when we add fresh carrots) when the paper towels currently in the tubs are dry. They like the humidity.

Only other thing to check is their temperature. Ours do better when they are kept warmer than 68*, we set them in an area that stays 72* or more... just remember to check for moisture in the paper towels frequently to add water as needed.

Good luck! It is awesome to have a tub or two going that you can grab a big handful of meal worms and beetles from to share as treats for the chicks!
Click to expand...

hey thanks!

I will try the paper towel idea................I am often wondering if they are getting enough water............its a balance between not getting mold vs not having enough water.

re: warmth.............they will just need to manage with low to mid 60's right now..............I cant justify turning up the heat for meal worms! and I am not sure if I have a really good warm spot for them. such is life!

thanks again!
 
LisaYolkUm said:
is anyone in this group raising meal worms?

I have been trying to do this............it sounds so easy.

What I am finding is that I see mostly .........if not all beetles and no worms.............what is up with this?

I use oatmeal and a bran mix

I use wheat bread, carrots, and other veggies on occaision.

Is it possible the beetles are eating the worms? how long does it take for the transformation from worm to beetle to egg to worm etc

what am I doing wrong?

thanks in advance
Click to expand...


fisherlady said:
Lisa, you probably aren't doing anything wrong.... it seems like it takes forever for them to get going, I think we had our boxes up and running for nearly 3 months before we finally hit the right combination of factors and started really getting a lot of good meal worms. It just takes them a while to get the breeding cycles going and get their numbers up enough to show. We use about the same set up as you describe, we keep a bunch of balls of newspaper in each tub for them to climb through and feed on and we add a wet paper towel or two to each tub every week or so (when we add fresh carrots) when the paper towels currently in the tubs are dry. They like the humidity.

Only other thing to check is their temperature. Ours do better when they are kept warmer than 68*, we set them in an area that stays 72* or more... just remember to check for moisture in the paper towels frequently to add water as needed.

Good luck! It is awesome to have a tub or two going that you can grab a big handful of meal worms and beetles from to share as treats for the chicks!
Click to expand...


LisaYolkUm said:
hey thanks!

I will try the paper towel idea................I am often wondering if they are getting enough water............its a balance between not getting mold vs not having enough water.

re: warmth.............they will just need to manage with low to mid 60's right now..............I cant justify turning up the heat for meal worms! and I am not sure if I have a really good warm spot for them. such is life!

thanks again!
Click to expand...
Lisa, watch out for flour mites too. I had 5 bins progressing nicely, (had lots of tiny worms hatching) then made the mistake of added some "fresh" bran. A few days later, I discovered tiny little bugs walking up the sides of 4 of the bins. MITES...yuck! Those 4 bins are now outside freezing the little buggers. My remaining bin is full of beetles which were rinsed off and added to new "microwaved" bran. Good luck!! Oh... watch out for respiratory issues. Some people develop allergies or breathing sensitivities when breeding mealworms.
 

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