Pest or darkling beetles+mealworms?

[Patiocoturnix]

Do keep an eye on your birds. Given the chance, they will over eat on them. If they are buried, it may take the quail enough effort to get them that they don't overeat, but that could change if the mealworm population gets big enough.

Yes will do and as they get bigger I will remove them and only leave the tiny one.

 

[Patiocoturnix]

Do you think the mealworms could be why the cage they are in has absolutely 0 smell it actually have a kind of pleasant smell?

 

[Cool-breeze7]

I’m surprised by
#1 they didn’t get eaten in the first couple of days as I only put like 15 in a cage of 5
#2 they were able to survive and breed with no food source other than maybe quail feed and in such dry conditions as I live in Florida and the dirt is as dry as can be.

I agree with 1. But number 2 makes sense. Moisture encourages a lot of other bacteria and such that can harm them. They typically get their water from the food they eat.

My little mealworm farm is dry grains except the occasional piece of potato or carrot.

They are considered an invasive species in the US if memory serves.

 

[Patiocoturnix]

I agree with 1. But number 2 makes sense. Moisture encourages a lot of other bacteria and such that can harm them. They typically get their water from the food they eat.

My little mealworm farm is dry grains except the occasional piece of potato or carrot.

They are considered an invasive species in the US if memory serves.

Yeah but they had 0 food other than dry quail crumbles.

 

[007Sean]

Yeah but they had 0 food other than dry quail crumbles.

They are champions on feeding on whatever grain is available....including dry crumbles!
I use to raise mine on whole rolled oats and baby carrots for moisture.

 

[ChickNanny13]

I agree with 1. But number 2 makes sense. Moisture encourages a lot of other bacteria and such that can harm them. They typically get their water from the food they eat.

My little mealworm farm is dry grains except the occasional piece of potato or carrot.

They are considered an invasive species in the US if memory serves.

Recently read somewhere, that mealworms eat anything and everything, surviving if the conditions are right. I've raised mealworms several times; sold several "farms" and dumped a couple in the coop/run when I got bored with them. When I read that article it concerned me ... Do they eat wood?

Started a smaller colony, in the past I'd feed the hens with a chopstick or a plastic dish. The other day I dumped a few in their enclosure, they went at for hours. Hope they got them all, it's warm & humid here but we do get alot of rain so may have been lucky in the past. From now on will use their feeding dish, it's plastic and hopefully none escape.

 

[Patiocoturnix]

Recently read somewhere, that mealworms eat anything and everything, surviving if the conditions are right. I've raised mealworms several times; sold several "farms" and dumped a couple in the coop/run when I got bored with them. When I read that article it concerned me ... Do they eat wood?

Started a smaller colony, in the past I'd feed the hens with a chopstick or a plastic dish. The other day I dumped a few in their enclosure, they went at for hours. Hope they got them all, it's warm & humid here but we do get alot of rain so may have been lucky in the past. From now on will use their feeding dish, it's plastic and hopefully none escape.

My quail are in a two story metal cage on my screened in fully concrete balcony so I don’t have to worry about them eating wood luckily. Once I build their new cage I’m prob gonna have to seal the wood.

 

[007Sean]

Recently read somewhere, that mealworms eat anything and everything, surviving if the conditions are right. I've raised mealworms several times; sold several "farms" and dumped a couple in the coop/run when I got bored with them. When I read that article it concerned me ... Do they eat wood?

Started a smaller colony, in the past I'd feed the hens with a chopstick or a plastic dish. The other day I dumped a few in their enclosure, they went at for hours. Hope they got them all, it's warm & humid here but we do get alot of rain so may have been lucky in the past. From now on will use their feeding dish, it's plastic and hopefully none escape.

I don't think they eat wood? but I'm not 100% sure of that....it is a cellulose fiber but has little to none in the way of protein. If it was wet wood they would be getting the moisture but not eating it.

 

[ChickNanny13]

@007Sean ... Thank you for the reassurance, it sure was fun watching the hens scrambling for the "treats"

 

[Patiocoturnix]

Do keep an eye on your birds. Given the chance, they will over eat on them. If they are buried, it may take the quail enough effort to get them that they don't overeat, but that could change if the mealworm population gets big enough.

I have their average weights that they have been in the last little while and will weigh 1 to 2 times a month and if they shows signs of gaining weight I will completely change out their soil.