I just harvested a lot of my mealworms. I started my farm in September and over the last few weeks have watched my tiny worms grow into big, juicy chicken food. I have a large slotted spoon that I used to sift through and get the larger worms out. Some went through the holes, of course, but I got a huge amount that way. The smaller ones that fell through will be harvested in a few more days.
I have a three-drawer system with two drawers for the worms and one for the beetles. After one more sifting, I will combine the two drawers of worms and let what's left morph into beetles. I will clean the empty drawer (after combining the two), set it up, and add the beetles that are in the third drawer so they can start over again. Any beetles that morph will go in with them. Then it's waiting time for the drawer that I took the beetles out of for the eggs to hatch, so I can start all over again!
So ... I will end up with one drawer of beetles, one of eggs, and one of worms ready to turn to beetles. Eventually I hope to have a steady supply of worms without having to wait so long. I probably should have kept some more back, but my chickies were so happy I just couldn't say no!
I have a three-drawer system with two drawers for the worms and one for the beetles. After one more sifting, I will combine the two drawers of worms and let what's left morph into beetles. I will clean the empty drawer (after combining the two), set it up, and add the beetles that are in the third drawer so they can start over again. Any beetles that morph will go in with them. Then it's waiting time for the drawer that I took the beetles out of for the eggs to hatch, so I can start all over again!
So ... I will end up with one drawer of beetles, one of eggs, and one of worms ready to turn to beetles. Eventually I hope to have a steady supply of worms without having to wait so long. I probably should have kept some more back, but my chickies were so happy I just couldn't say no!