Questions about raising Meal Worms

[Boo-Boo's Mama]

Ditto, I feed fresh, do not freeze, chickens go crazy for the wiggling worms. They disappear within seconds of feeding.

I give my meal worms sliced potatoes and they are all over them immediately. I make sure there is plenty of air...not a closed container...that keeps down the mold.

Mine grow in Flockraiser. When it appears there is a lot of poo and dust, I sieve and save the dust in a jar. After a few weeks I sieve the dust again and remove the tiny worms to be added to Flockraiser.

When I first started, I used that dust in my garden but realized one day I might be throwing out lots of eggs.

 

[cluckcluckluke]

I never freeze mine. I always feed fresh. I would pull out the new adults and start another bin. I would then feed the worms to the chickens now. Mostly it depends on how many mealworms you want to maintain.

I want ALOT of meallies as i have 24 chickens and want to give them all 2 hand fulls a day over the winter plus extra's for the pullets and chicks and ducks.

 

[vmdanielsen]

I want ALOT of meallies as i have 24 chickens and want to give them all 2 hand fulls a day over the winter plus extra's for the pullets and chicks and ducks.

Then I would get a bigger container to grow them in. More adults create more worms and I feel live is better. Because I feed mine in the winter as well I pick out the beetles and let them hatch more in a separate container. I stop adding adults when I feel I have enough. I keep one container with worms only....they cannot lay eggs, so when that container is empty, I know I can dump all the frass and not worry about dumping eggs or the newly hatched worms(very small). When winter is approaching, I feed less to slow maturity. If I get too many pupas or beetles, I feed them to the chickens as well. I feed oatmeal(uncooked) to the worms and beetles because when I sift out frass it is just easier. Potato peels or a damp paper towel for moisture.

 

[Chickens R Us]

This might be a stupid question but what is frass?

 

[Sgtfirstwife]

Can someone tell me where to find the original thread on how to start raising mealworms? Thanks

 

[vmdanielsen]

This might be a stupid question but what is frass?

Excrement of insects. In this case, meal worm poop!!

 

[hemet dennis]

Can someone tell me where to find the original thread on how to start raising mealworms? Thanks

Here

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/492636/mealworm-farming

 

[bbsnooks]

Hello..
does it mean any thing if they gather at the top of bran.. at one side..

? over crowding? maybe..
the temp is good..
and i have given them.. a cerial box.. and paper towel. tube.. to crawl on.. they seem to like that.

I'm new to this.. and find that they gather .. at one end..
thanks

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Hello..
does it mean any thing if they gather at the top of bran.. at one side..

? over crowding? maybe..
the temp is good..
and i have given them.. a cerial box.. and paper towel. tube.. to crawl on.. they seem to like that.

I'm new to this.. and find that they gather .. at one end..
thanks

They like to gather in groups; it's thought that the larvae produce an aggregating pheromone. They do much better in large groups than in smaller groups, for a variety of reasons, so overcrowding is most likely not an issue.

 

[bbsnooks]

They like to gather in groups; it's thought that the larvae produce an aggregating pheromone. They do much better in large groups than in smaller groups, for a variety of reasons, so overcrowding is most likely not an issue.

Thanks.. I also posted in the other thread..< duplication> Thanks for the help here..
Its nice to know.. that is normal..