Superworm Farming - Information, Tutorials and Questions

[sueblack]

I also have 4 totes wirh varying ages of superworms since they take so long to grow. They really congregate under the cardboard egg crates so I am going to replace them with a single piece of cardboard thats 1 to 1-1/2" from all edges so they can spread out more. They really want to be in the dark even more so than mealworms. 1,000 superworms go thru a large carrot every day.

 

[ChickieNOLA]

Hello, I read through your thread and am glad to see it. I ordered 2,000 small superworms yesterday. Today, I bought a couple of bead organizers, a plastic chest of drawers with 5 drawers - 2 small and 3 large. I also bought some peat humus. I am ready to go when the worms arrive. I am going to pick up more carrots at Whole Foods or the farmer's market, and another 50# bag of wheat bran at a local feed store this weekend.

I started raising mealworms for my chickens several months ago and have been very successful at it. After reading around a lot, I am ready to expand to Superworms also. I would like to breed enough for my four hens, and have some to sell. It would be nice if the worms could pay for their keep and the chicken feed, too. Or is that hoping for too much?

 

[subhanalah]

Hello, I read through your thread and am glad to see it.  I ordered 2,000 small superworms yesterday.  Today, I bought a couple of bead organizers, a plastic chest of drawers with 5 drawers - 2 small and 3 large.  I also bought some peat humus.  I am ready to go when the worms arrive.  I am going to pick up more carrots at Whole Foods or the farmer's market, and another 50# bag of wheat bran at a local feed store this weekend.

I started raising mealworms for my chickens several months ago and have been very successful at it.  After reading around a lot, I am ready to expand to Superworms also.  I would like to breed enough for my four hens, and have some to sell.  It would be nice if the worms could pay for their keep and the chicken feed, too.  Or is that hoping for too much?

with enough patience and space, and a customer base, it's possible.
I'm not really sure how large or small scale it would need to be.
Please let us know ow how it turns out!
will you be keeping them inside? Will you have a heat source for them?

 

[ChickieNOLA]

Hi there, subhanalah; thanks for your response. I am in New Orleans..nothing needs a heat source down here this time of year!

I do have a heat bulb set up that I used when my chickens were small, and I am sure I will need it this winter.

I am keeping them inside my house for now. I have a workshop in my back yard that I plan to move all of my worms to in the near future. I already have three chests full of meal worms and assorted bins for sifted bran, etc. A friend owns a pet store in the French Quarter that will buy meal worms from me, and I am pretty sure she will buy the Superworms, too. I am considering crickets, also. Has anyone bred/raised crickets?

I am excited to get started with the Superworms. How are yours doing? How many do you have.. what is your set-up, what do you feed them, etc. I am full of questions!

 

[subhanalah]

Hi there, subhanalah; thanks for your response.  I am in New Orleans..nothing needs a heat source down here this time of year!     I do have a heat bulb set up that I used when my chickens were small, and I am sure I will need it this winter. 

I am keeping them inside my house for now.  I have a workshop in my back yard that I plan to move all of my worms to in the near future.  I already have three chests full of meal worms and assorted bins for sifted bran, etc.  A friend owns a pet store in the French Quarter that will buy meal worms from me, and I am pretty sure she will buy the Superworms, too.  I am considering crickets, also.  Has anyone bred/raised crickets?

I am excited to get started with the Superworms.  How are yours doing?  How many do you have.. what is your set-up, what do you feed them, etc.  I am full of questions! 

I do not recommend breeding crickets, they are dirty and stinky and much more work than they are worth!
What about dubia roqches? They don't fly or climb slick surfaces. They are live bearers, so you don't have to worry about proper conditions for eggs to hatch.
They are sexually dimorphic so you can easily feed off excess adult males to keep your breeder ratio in check and keep productivity at a maximum.

 

[Lil'ChickFarm]

I did these for years when I bred bearded dragons. I want to start back up for my chickens, but film canisters are so hard to find now. Does anyone know of other solutions to put the worms in and pupate them?

 

[aart]

I did these for years when I bred bearded dragons. I want to start back up for my chickens, but film canisters are so hard to find now. Does anyone know of other solutions to put the worms in and pupate them?

I think folks are using thread storage containers....if you look back a few pages I think there are some examples?

Film canisters reminds me of pill bottles, I needed a bunch (a dozen or two) once and was able to get them at the pharmacy for a dime or so each with lids.

 

[Lil'ChickFarm]

Oh wow and I throw those away each month. lol. Thank you.

 

[subhanalah]

I was using the bead storage containers sold in the crafts section of Walmart (or at a craft store, or the dollar stores if you luck out and they have any)

 

[Sojourner2]

How funny. I saw this thread and just had to look. I am a real annelid farmer - real worms not "superworms". But my chickens think my worms are quite "Super for Supper". Whenever I am harvesting the birds all come around my barn windows, giving me the eye - just in case I have an extra few for them. I actually used the worm treat to train my Turkeys to come home - they tend to wander much more than the chicks. Blessings!