So, you want to be a cricket farmer? | Things to consider and prepare for

[@cardboardu6019]

I am a writer and will never be a cricket farmer. I live in Indianapolis. Great videos. Shelby approaches these topics like an intellectual. This is a person who can educate people, a teacher. Great job. I write professionally on other topics, but I had a cricket issue in my parents house that brought large spiders to feed on the crickets. I imagine a lack of predators helps in farming crickets. Awesome job Shelby.

[@BuildingInASmallTown]

Thank you so much for your kind words 💕🙏🏻

[@Angela-px1cq]

Excellent video and really answered a lot of my questions and I’m looking forward to more. Hola from SoFlo 🍊

[@valooh97]

Thank you so much for this great informative and educational video

[@BuildingInASmallTown]

Thank you for watching!

[@IAmNotABot9]

One question, do crickets bite?

[@IAmNotABot9]

One question, do crickets bite?

[@frenklibor]

Thank you. I thought I would start with paper boxes lined with plastic and each had an electric terrarium pad at the bottom, because I don't want to heat a whole of my 1076 ft2 with a few boxes from the beginning.

[@BuildingInASmallTown]

Have you started up yet? Are the terrarium pads working as heat sources? That's something I've never tried!

[@apollosniblett9626]

So glad to find you!!! Aloha and Mahalo You’re fun to watch and super informative! Great teacher

[@BuildingInASmallTown]

Oh my gosh you are too kind! Thank you for watching.

[@limey3r]

Thank you! I only wanted crickets to raise for a tasty quail or chicken snack and the occasional fishing bait but cricket flour cookies are looking pretty good

[@javiermontes905]

Excellent video.

[@BuildingInASmallTown]

thanks so much for watching! I'm glad you found value in it :-)

[@TS-vr9of]

I love this video. You are such a good teacher. Getting all pumped to start cricket farming. lol

[@BuildingInASmallTown]

Thank you so much!! Are you planning on starting a farm?!

[@mwillis794]

How many breeder crickets do you keep back for breeding and how many pinheads on average do they produce under your conditions.im trying to scale up my business but I am not there yet I seem to always sell too many and I have to buy breeders. I can't seem to keep up.thats a good problem to have but I need to figure it out .thanks for the info.

[@BuildingInASmallTown]

I don't keep any back for breeders. I am not quite sure of what you need to do for the live market in terms of timing. The friends I have that do it are hatching every day. We hatch once and grow them out (we don't need to have different sizes in stock) Sorry I can't be more help!

[@mwillis794]

@@BuildingInASmallTown Thats right your in a different market.thanks for the fast reply.

[@96HDFXSTC]

Got my package of cricket bars today.. Awesome.. Thanks Shelby...

[@BuildingInASmallTown]

Hi Gary! Glad you got them. You’ll have to let me know which flavor is your favorite.

[@oneperson5760]

I'm thinking of small scale raising crickets and red wiggler worms as a protein source for my chickens, and possibly for the family if things ever get that bad. Can you recommend a reliable source of information to start reading? Also, are different cricket species recommended for different climates? I'm in the Gulf South, so maybe I'd need to use a different kind than you? Thanks for any direction you point me!

[@BuildingInASmallTown]

Hi! Have you checked out the rest of my videos? They are a good place to start. My best piece of advice is don't complicate things. There are a two different species that I would recommend: the house cricket (what I raise) and the banded cricket. Each does have slightly different environmental requirements. I am not as familiar with banded crickets. Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.

[@JCWren]

Shelby, I've been watching a lot of videos, and finally found your series. I'm not all the way through them yet, but one thing I haven't seen addressed is population control. I'm not planning on going large scale. I'd like to raise feeders for our gecko, and perhaps make enough to break even selling to a few local pet stores, bait shops, and perhaps some individuals. I personally have no desire to eat crickets (kinda finicky that way :) ). So let's say I need 3000 per week. That's a really low number, and based on what I've seen, starting with 1000 crickets as my initial breeders. Let's say 50% are female, so 500. Each female can lay 5 to 10 eggs in a 24 hour period, so let's say 3000 pinheads in a breeding tray survive. To keep the rate going, I'm guessing I'd need to be starting a new breeder bin every 3 days. Not sure how many breeding cycles I can get out of my initial 1000, but before long I'll have to start using the offspring as breeders. It seems like I'm going to be overwhelmed before long, having far more than I need. Since I'm not converting them to flour for human consumption, what would I expect to do with the unsold/uneaten crickets? Letting them die/killing them seems pretty heartless, so I'd like to minimize that by managing the population. What are your thoughts on this? Also, great work on the videos. Out of all I've been watching, yours are the best presented, best produced, and most informative. There's only been one other set of videos that come even close to yours, and those are 5 years old, the presenter is often hard to understand (poor production), and there's way too much "ummm...." between sentences. So kudos to the work in producing high quality videos.

[@BuildingInASmallTown]

Hi JC! Thanks so much for watching. When you start out, I wouldn't worry about population mitigation. Pinhead mortality rates are usually 50-70% (they can be reduced, but in the beginning, that's usually where they are). If at a certain point you start to get your populations too high, take away the breeding substrate from the females. You might only allow them to lay eggs for 1 round (48 hours) as opposed to 3-5 rounds. Again, until you're really comfortably with the process, I don't recommend this, but once you've got the hang of it, pulling back on the populations is doable. Let me know if you have any other questions! :-)

[@mwillis794]

Thanks for putting out great information.ive been raising crickets for about 2 years and there is a learning curve.the biggest problem I have is crickets attract SPIDERS. great info

[@BuildingInASmallTown]

They sure do!! I find weekly vacuuming is the best course of action for us

[@cristianrivas3475]

Thank you! Who do you recommend selling your crickets to, commercially speaking?

[@BuildingInASmallTown]

Hi Cristian! Depends on what you’re selling them for. Live market vs. food market is different.

[@elmuth_8121]

Thank’s for sharing your expertise with us. You’re testimony is the real deal, I like the way you speak to us with sincerity. That farming is not a fairy tale and it is Hard work. I only have a thousand or so dead crickets on me, but it’s a relief to know that I’m not the only one. Keep your good work

[@BuildingInASmallTown]

Thank you so much for watching!!

[@giosuereina6791]

Noice !!! Thank you, it was honest and straight forward!!!

[@BuildingInASmallTown]

Thanks so much for watching!!

[@ironwoodserpents7733]

I keep exotic animals and insects are a staple. Right now is a scary time. Feeder insects are getting harder and harder to find so ive decided to start a cricket culture. I do have some interest in human consumption but no idea how to get people to try it lol. I dont have the space for large scale but for personal use I think I have the room. if it works out i may move to a garage and expand but for now its just for me. thanks for the videos. very informative

[@BuildingInASmallTown]

Hi! I'm sorry that sourcing insects has been so tough. Great to hear you're looking at starting your own colony! Thanks so much for watching. Please don't hesitate with any questions.

[@tomlink8866]

Have you ever used shipping containers as rooms?

[@BuildingInASmallTown]

Hey Tom! I’ve never used them personally. My current set up is an old single-wide mobile home. I’ve seen others use shipping containers with success though.

[@Red_Proton]

What are the basics that I need to know, such as: tools and equipment, breeds, environmental conditions, resources, PPE and health, critical failures, and so forth? I'd like to start with my own personal use in mind, first, then try selling dried, ground cricket "flour" as an additive. Thank you!

[@BuildingInASmallTown]

Hi! Thanks for watching. There are a few other videos on this channel that touch on almost all of those topics. Hope they help!

[@Red_Proton]

@@BuildingInASmallTown Yes ma'am. They are very informative. Thank you for taking the time and effort to help others. I'm slowly making my way through them. I'm about a year out before taking my first steps. Thanks again.

[@Xx_Eric_was_Here_xX]

appreciate the video shelby!

[@BuildingInASmallTown]

Thanks for watching!!