Well, three months have gone by since we repaired the collapse of the breeding tub, and we have learned so much. Come check it out for some inspiration of your own.
Пікірлер: 91
@TrashCashDumpsterDive4 жыл бұрын
Just ordered my mealworms last night, started with 5000 from dales bearded dragons. I’m glad you suggested to start out at 5000
@anniemomma53895 жыл бұрын
I heard that when beetles hatch from pupae stage that they need to b separate from the pupae that hasn’t hatched. So when ur cutting the bottom of your bins to place screen keep the bottom and cut it down so that you have a raised table in your beetle bin so when they hatch they crawl off and into the cornmeal, wheat bran, oatmeal, or whatever you choose to use. I just started my farm with 250 mealworms and am waiting for my beetles to hatch from pupae stage they should be by the 15 or the 19 have some be beetles 😊 I am gonna watch them crawl off the raised table that I made and into the bin. I hope this helps with ur production😊
@dresdelparry2346Ай бұрын
Excellent idea. 😊 As you know they, normally, just pluck out the beetles & put them in the beetle bin. You could also glue on little legs to raise it a little above the bedding so the bedding/food doesn't get onto the plastic sheet. Just a thought, they are cannibalistic so, hopefully, the beetles don't eat the pupae first! Hopefully, they'll be more attracted to the food below. Maybe better without the legs? Not sure. Maybe ensure the 'table' is not too wide so when they start wiggling whilst hatching, they fall over the edge into the bran or whatever you're using. It will be an interesting experiment to see which works best. 🤔 No-one really knows whether the beetles eat any pupae before they're removed into the beetle bin. They say, as long as there is sufficient food for them, they don't eat their brothers and sisters. Another thought, do the pupae need the bedding to keep them warm? Would the pupae being out in the open like that cause them to hatch more slowly? During the Summer months, it might not make a difference but on cooler days, it might slow them down. 🤔 Gee! You've got me brain working in overdrive here! 😅 Still, it's a good idea and worth experimenting with. I might test it out when I get a 2nd run bin going. 😊
@patshhi46206 жыл бұрын
Thanks for sharing. Glad you’re up and running again.
@marylynncarns2744 Жыл бұрын
I was told that when the pupa turn to bugs they will feed on the pupa, I always leave a carrot or potatoes slices in the pupa box so they go to the veggies and not the remaining pupa
@joannlamberti18215 жыл бұрын
I started Dec. 10, 2018 with 5,000 meal worms. Now I feed my 19 chickens twice a day with meal worms and they go nuts.
@michaelhope91894 жыл бұрын
I'm trying to start mine today for my chickens. How do you know when to harvest for the birds and how long did it take you to feed daily for the birds ?
@cassiepauley8973 Жыл бұрын
So do you have a screen on the bottom of the beetle tub? For your wheat bran, do you bake it to kill any other bugs or eggs?
@RobertBronco78idi4 жыл бұрын
What size is the screen size to use for the Beatles
@nolebloodedfarmer74452 жыл бұрын
why dont you time the beetles as feed to chickens/ducks?
@MrCbell576 жыл бұрын
Great video and info. However. Does it not take a long long time to get through the cycle? Months go by when you only get a few meal worms and start a farm. Would it be best to buy the beetles up front and just start getting eggs and worms a plenty? How many beetles would you buy to grow 500k mealworms? Or would you need different beetles from different farms? Is there such a thing as inbreeding ? Thanks again and keep em coming.
@WelcomeBackWoods6 жыл бұрын
Rick Bell I have wondered about the in breeding question myself. So far, haven’t found any information. Starting with beetles would be faster for sure. If you are wanting 500k mealies, I would start with 2k-5k. Thanks for watching!
@MrCbell576 жыл бұрын
Thanks for your help buddy. Look forward to learning more from your videos.
@MrCbell575 жыл бұрын
I did read about the inbreeding and it appears they have a built-in system that prevents it. They beetles give off certain pheromones and it will only attract another beetle from a different group. However, it can be that they dance anyway, occasionally. But usually, and normally this system works.
@UnisausS13 жыл бұрын
How long do the Mealworm beetles live for ?
@larrygorski86443 жыл бұрын
Can you use whole oats (chicken feed) with the mealworms?
@alemho95613 жыл бұрын
How come my beetle keep dying
@conniecrites51486 жыл бұрын
How many chickens will you be feeding. We have 16 hens so I'm wondering how big of a setup I'll need.
@WelcomeBackWoods6 жыл бұрын
Connie Crites working up to be able to feed 70 birds, but I still need to expand.
@conniecrites51486 жыл бұрын
Welcome Back thank you
@graphene14875 жыл бұрын
music is sik
@974KiteSurf6 жыл бұрын
Follow them live here :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/gYO3kouafbuNrsU
@r4ptor-g4ming346 жыл бұрын
Mmmmm grub
@kelseyhiscock11105 жыл бұрын
How did I end up here
@liamsworld21986 жыл бұрын
Your videos are very helpful I am setting up a mealworm farm for my daughters reptiles and stumbled across your videos, just incase you didn’t know duckweed is good for chickens as it’s high in protein and grows supper fast. I grow it out and use it for fishfood (turning it into a sinking pellet for bottom feeders) our chickens also would eat it when we had them. Anyway thanks so much for the helpful video
@WelcomeBackWoods6 жыл бұрын
Liam's World thanks for the tip! We are going to be installing some aquaponic systems soon; I’ll be sure to set some up :) Thanks for watching!
@RuRaynor4 жыл бұрын
Very helpful and concise thank you. I'm raising them for chicks too as quality chicken food gets expensive fast! They arrived yesterday and I've been giving them old granola and potato and swede slices as the wheat bran I ordered hasn't arrived yet.
@UnyJustAGirl6 жыл бұрын
Im so glad youre making these videos. They help a lot
@neptunezilla4 жыл бұрын
I had 3 beetles and now I have around a hundred worms :)
@MistressOP6 жыл бұрын
The mealworm timelapse was really cool.
@rudygregory74824 жыл бұрын
And the substrate would be ...........
@WelcomeBackWoods3 жыл бұрын
Wheat bran
@littleozarksfarmstead4 жыл бұрын
Came for mealworm knowledge, stayed for the beard! 💗 Subbed! 👍😋 Love and blessings from Zephyrhills FL
@sueb-t21836 жыл бұрын
I just bought my first 200 mealworms and I noticed some were turning dark andnot moving . are they dead? I am wondering if they got chilled in transport. They are not very big and I gave them potato instead of carrot till I can pick some up also I put them in oatmeal. not sure if I am doing something wrong.
@WelcomeBackWoods6 жыл бұрын
Hey Sue, Yes, when they turn black/dark brown, that means they are dead. Generally, mealworms do not get very big. There are large mealworms that you can buy, but they are just regular mealies that have been treated with a growth hormone. Potato should be fine, I just felt that carrot had a bit more nutrition that potato. I have seen many systems using oatmeal, but I can get wheat bran cheaper at the local feed store (I think it is about $13 for a 50 lb bag). Good luck, and thanks for watching!!!
@andressanchezblanco26 жыл бұрын
Sue B-T you can literally just give them styrofoam.
@LeeChristopherson5 жыл бұрын
@@WelcomeBackWoods Mealworms become Darkling Beetles. The larger ones are called Superworms and they become Mario beetles. Completely different species. There are also mini mealworms that turn into Diaperinus or Buffalo beetles. They work great for clean up crews in reptile vivs.
@dresdelparry2346Ай бұрын
"Dying beetles fall apart after a while". Very possible or could also be from eating each other. They are cannabalistic.
@rhondaskinner5111 Жыл бұрын
Do you have a problem of wheat shorts? I can not find any in the Gulf coast . Can you tell me why ?
@MistressOP6 жыл бұрын
You should try some quail tractors since you have the beatles and mealworms
@sansomspressurecleaningpoo95196 жыл бұрын
You are too cute. Great video thanks
@edwardkeenan61385 жыл бұрын
Now that what I need to for my chicken so cool video. Save money love it
@rickbell28106 жыл бұрын
Would you recommend 10k or 20k mealworms to get going fast? And buy large so they are already close to morphing into pupa? If you had 20k mealworms, how many containers would you have? Oats or wheat bran for your bedding. Thanks again. Great videos.
@WelcomeBackWoods5 жыл бұрын
Rick Bell depends on your goals. 10k would work for home use; if you are looking to sell them, I would go with 20k. I keep my bins with 1-2k beetles, and change the carrots/sift the wheat bran 1-2 times a week (more often for mealworms; they are bigger eaters than the beetles. Wheat bran has been the best medium for me. Good luck!
@mrs87925 жыл бұрын
Do you feed the dead Beatles to chickens too?
@frezing874 жыл бұрын
hello, welcome back,i want to ask you about pupae turn to beetle,how many days they start eating? my beetle was 24hours no eating at all,now they turn to brown colour already
@vickieads435 жыл бұрын
Which website do you purchase your mealworms from? I saw it in one if your videos but I watched so many that now I can't find it back. Thanks😊
@WelcomeBackWoods5 жыл бұрын
vickieads43 I got my first batch at the local pet store; but now I would recommend buying bulk online. Try www.spacecoastmealworms.com/
@tammyray97225 жыл бұрын
AIR - I just received 1200 mealworms and haven't finished by tub yet. With this many, what size tub would you start with and is it okay to put on hole in the middle of the lid with a screen on it? Can they crawl out the top of the tubs?
@khailam60105 жыл бұрын
I'm really enjoying your videos. Thanks so much for documenting your experiences. It's nice seeing how you're refining your processes. I have a question: I'm only interested in harvesting frass for my garden. I'm an avid veggie gardener. How much frass does a few thousand mealworms generate in, let's say, month? Also if I were to sell the extra mealworms and darkling beetles what would be a reasonable/low-ball price point. I'm not looking to make money off this, just keep my populations reasonable and maybe offset any cost. Thanks again. Keep up the great work.
@Lewisiaisoutofcontext5 жыл бұрын
I'm a bit late to the party so maybe you've already got your answer, but from experience I'd say you'd get at least 1-2 cups of frass a month, presuming you keep a fairly large amount of young mealworms. The worms only eat so much before they have enough energy to pupate, so you have to keep up the maintenance of a breeding colony to get new mealworms every few weeks to generate more frass. Also, keep in mind that you can get allergic to frass over time. I've bred mealworms for 6 years now and I've just started to notice my throat getting swollen when I get it out from the tubs. Please use a respiratory mask (doesn't have to be an expensive one) and gloves when collecting the frass to be on the safe side. :)
@dresdelparry2346Ай бұрын
Check mealworm sellers online and you can work out what is comfortable for you. In the beginning, you won't need to sell them but after a long time of continuous recycling of them and having plenty of frass in storage to use whenever you want and your colony gets too big for you, then you'll want to, Take a look at their cycle timeline. They go dormant in the Winter and slow down in Autumn and slowly become active in Spring. If you get snow where you live, that will kill them. What quantity of meal worms you get will decide how big your colony will become. Each Darkling Beetle will lay 70-100 eggs during a 3 month period. Good luck! 😊
@terrygist46894 жыл бұрын
I’m finding excessive moisture accumulating inside my tubs. What could be causing this or what could I do to prevent this?
@JimJim-yh6ek2 жыл бұрын
Hi how much meal worms weight wise did you get before pupae stage for each of your breeding system?
@patshhi46206 жыл бұрын
Is there anything that can be done with the beetles, as far as anything eating them?
@WelcomeBackWoods6 жыл бұрын
Patshhi4 I throw them to my chickens as well.
@stuffmartusa23483 жыл бұрын
how much do you pay to feed the meal worms? Thanks!
@bernhardtmitdt25864 жыл бұрын
Great! Sounds like a Mealworm-Rap :-)
@FusionDeveloper3 жыл бұрын
Beware of GRAIN MITES.
@BlaisZeroni4 жыл бұрын
If I want to start with an A4 sized drawer (around 21x30cm or a little over 8”x11” inches) how many mealworms should I start with? 2- how many beetles should I aim to keep in the system in a drawer of that size? 3- any idea what my potential output could be? (I have no idea how to calculate that)
@WelcomeBackWoods4 жыл бұрын
BlaisZeroni honestly, I can’t give you many answers. It is all a bunch of trial and error. Good luck!
@neridaneuman95342 жыл бұрын
Thank you for your sensible advice
@kathleenmonsegue97004 жыл бұрын
The pupae looks like the pokemon kakuna.
@The34dBacon3 жыл бұрын
What if I have only 30. Cam I start there
@WelcomeBackWoods3 жыл бұрын
Might lead to some inbreeding issues, though I am not sure that is a thing for insects.
@The34dBacon3 жыл бұрын
@@WelcomeBackWoods Well the meal worms seem happier. They are more active in there new home and they are going through food pretty quickly. But can they reproduce as larvae or do I have to wait until they turn into the beetle?
@gaypanic28325 жыл бұрын
I just got my first gecko and I have a question. What is the easiest way to breed them? My mom doesn't want "to many in the house at once" so how many do you think I should buy to start off?
@WelcomeBackWoods5 жыл бұрын
why tho? 100-200 beetles is what I started with. It was pretty manageable.
@dablaugntximntxub23185 жыл бұрын
200 is not gonna get you anywhere so, but you'll see your meal worms produce, but not enough to feed your chicken at the same time...you should start with 2000- 5000 and within few months of breeding beetles is going you'll start to see a major impact and you'll be changing new bins every21 days... you should give these guys few handful of cat or dog food for protein... i found out by giving them few dog/ car food the beetle lives longer than the straight wheat bran or oats.... i use the meat maker # 3-4 for better protein than the wheat bran or oats,.
@samkom335 жыл бұрын
200 starting beetles is more than enough given a few months to let the colony grow,, since 1 beetle lay 500 eggs.. so if there are 100 beetles laying eggs, you have 50,000 mealworms .. and if those 50.000 lay eggs, you need more than 1 tub.. hehehe
@dablaugntximntxub23185 жыл бұрын
@@samkom33 if you're a small time worm breeder it's not gonna enough to feed all your birds, chickens, lizards etc.. i have 1000 and it's barely enough for me to feed my asian song bords..they go through these meal worm like candy when breeding season is on... you'll know what i mean when you have birds or critters that eats these every day ..200 is not enough for you to feed your pets...as they hatch it takes them at least 4months to be good size to feed your pets and with only 200 hahhaha good luck..i breed them for a long time now and i would start out with 1000 and still has to buy 2000 to feed my birds and the one i'm breeding is barely good to feed my birds .
@samkom335 жыл бұрын
@@dablaugntximntxub2318 agreed,,, if you have say lots of birds ore a trout farm you need millions of worms. .. but if your a hobby breeder you soon run out of space if you manage to raise most of the eggs until they grow up. hehe. im just saying if you have to pay 1 dollar for 1 worm its cheaper to buy 10 and wait a month getting your own eggs, than using 10.000 dollar on worms. but i guess it depends where you buy your worms-beetles a big worm farm might sell worms cheaper than a pet store. same with wheatbran,, if you buy it from a food shop,, 1 pound cost around 2 dollar. but if you live near a mill, ore know somone at a bakery, you can get it almost for free.
@dawnschneider46884 жыл бұрын
What do you have in the bottom of your tub
@Angelica-gw3st5 жыл бұрын
Some suggested to keep them in organic soil even though I’ve kept mine in oatmeal for a few months. Do you think coconut coir works as soil?
@WelcomeBackWoods5 жыл бұрын
Em Jay I have no idea; but if you try it out, let me know 😊
@bowfishingfalcon11625 жыл бұрын
Yup itchy and nasty 😝😝😝😝👎👎👎
@ahmedalshaabiny78426 жыл бұрын
nice and helpful video .. i have question please .. at what age do you feed your chickens to these worms ? thanks
@WelcomeBackWoods6 жыл бұрын
Hosny Sayed I have not timed it out exactly. I feed them when they are full sized. Usually between 3-5 months, I think.
@vandyniyomkham50326 жыл бұрын
now i gotta grow carrots? can they eat daikon radishes? those grow quicker and easier.
@WelcomeBackWoods6 жыл бұрын
Vandy Niyomkham not sure. You don’t want so much moisture that things mold quickly. I have also seen people use potatoes. Honestly don’t have any experience with daikon radishes.
@unqurdu26355 жыл бұрын
Hello
@WelcomeBackWoods5 жыл бұрын
Un Qurdu hello to you!
@coelhoazul6 жыл бұрын
I love your beard and mouth!!! I have those worms here to feed free birds that come by. Thanks for the video.
@bagginshates5 жыл бұрын
What's the upside-down egg carton thing for?
@annikaewing9605 жыл бұрын
Eric Grose it gives them something to hold onto and crawl on. It’s especially important when they are so compact like his are.
@roseswitzberg20026 жыл бұрын
What is the substrate you use
@WelcomeBackWoods6 жыл бұрын
samantha ramirez wheat bran.
@roseswitzberg20026 жыл бұрын
Welcome Back thank you
@keyboardwarrior51755 жыл бұрын
Can I feed the mealworms chicken feeds and not oats ?? Oats are kind of expensive
@WelcomeBackWoods5 жыл бұрын
Keyboard Warrior not sure on the chicken feed 🤔 I use wheat bran for my worms; $20 for a 50 lb bag.