Why We’re Raising HALF-A-MILLION WORMS For 50 Ducks

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Earthworm populations in the UK have declined by 30% over the last 25 years-but here on our farm, we’ve created a thriving ecosystem that’s creating an abundance of earthworms. These hardworking worms break down our duck manure, enrich our compost, and provide a high-quality, sustainable protein snack for our flock of 50 ducks.
What You’ll Learn in This Video:
✔️ How we’re raising 500,000 worms in our duck house
✔️ The benefits of vermicomposting for ducks and soil health
✔️ Why earthworms are critical for regenerative farming
✔️ How biodiversity thrives in our compost ecosystem
✔️ Steps we’re taking to reduce soy-based feed reliance
SOURCES:
www.economist....
www.greenmatte...
www.theguardia...
www.wwf.org.uk...
COMPANIES REFERENCE
(No affiliation)
betterorigin.c...
entocycle.com/
www.fly2feed.com/
www.betabugs.uk/
inspro-uk.com/

[@fouroakfarm]

I dont believe it was discussed but an important point to note is that earthworms are distinct from these compost worms (aka red worms, tiger worms, etc). They like to keep to surface layers where organic matter is breaking down while the earthworms can exist in mineral soil

[@parccarreg]

Correct. We're raising epigeic worms (which are still earthworms) and are the surface dwellers. They have been one of the worst hit in terms of population decline. Being close to the surface they are the most exposed to pesticides, tillage, fertilisers, and the weather.

[@estebancorral5151]

@@parccarregduck weed (lema minor) and azolla are also prolific grower and are eaten by ducks. You are missing out on great opportunities since they all feed on duck feces.

[@HOUSEfulsoul]

Can you share the species name?

[@spoolsandbobbins]

@@parccarregplease share specific species? Thank you!

[@audreybarnes6527]

If you have soil, you have these worms. They are indemic. Its about initiating their preferred/perfect environment.

[@Freedombytheyard]

This is the magic that comes from the human mind interacting with nature through observation and intention. You guys are fun and inspirational to watch.

[@Miguel-Arias]

Almost a symbiotic relationship

[@world-karma9127]

​@Miguel-Arias you could say they're fun g..... sorry

[@arcobalenonellorto8994]

I have a composter made of pallet in my chicken coop, so in the winter it will produce heat and when it decompose the chickens can eat the worms; at the end I will have a dark soil for my plants.

[@spoolsandbobbins]

Does it attract rodents? If so, how do you deal with them?

[@arcobalenonellorto8994]

@spoolsandbobbins No, it doesn't

[@dodopson3211]

​@@spoolsandbobbins even if it did; chickens gobble up mice too.

[@world-karma9127]

​@@dodopson3211 chickens eat mice? I never knew that

[@timetree4155]

As a duck dad who loves making comoost and feeding them worms from my pile by hand this is very exciting

[@moiragoldsmith7052]

Excellent! I have kept tiger worms in my compost bin for over 40 years now. I love them like they are family to me....😂, they do amazing work and make rich compost.

[@Hamishtarah]

These worms are real treats for the duck. Brilliant idea you had here! My Latin teacher used to say to us the best pupils are the ones who "intelligently lazy". You had this brilliant idea that saves you some work and valuable time and is beneficial for the ducks. A mood enhancing video, if I may say so. Cheers 🙂

[@TheRealDogfart]

I compost yard waste & trimming and food waste at our home in southern California. I don't have a huge amount of yard space so I use composting tumblers. I also farm mealworm in my garage and raised chickens at one time. I'm always amazed at the sudden influx of earthworm and soldier flies in my compost. My dilemma has always been how to separate the bugs from the compost that I use to spread in our garden and planters. Bugs are a great tool for improving soil quality, and for some, a fun hobby.

[@Nphen]

Great to see your ducks (and your worm farm) thriving. I think it's an ingenious use of space. Even if there's nothing new going on with the G pigs, seeing the progress of their different colonies would be nice.

[@parccarreg]

Thanks, More videos coming!

[@BaliFoodTreePlanter]

@@parccarreg WARNING: If you fail at Earthworms, you get Soldier flies. You might not want to break a system that isn't broken. Flies are an irreversible plague.

[@DebbieBlue-dt1zx]

I’m new to your channel and feel excited, your innovative and a breath of fresh air, you remind me a little of the alternative energy place out in Wales. Will very much enjoy watching your progress, PS love you Guinea-pigs.

[@parccarreg]

Lots of cool projects in West Wales!

[@Alvaro4034]

What an outstanding set up!

[@yeoo5106]

You can sell your worms for up to £20 a kilo to people that go fishing, match anglers buy 1 or 2 kilos a week and the fishing shops might buy your worms to. You can also grow your own maggots and feed them to your ducks, maggots farms are really easy to start all you need is a dead animal, if you look up fishing maggot farms you'll find more information, also red worms from horse poo is £40 a kilo an you could sell maggots for £3.50 a pint

[@arizonawormfarm]

Wow, Josh - this is outstanding! We are watching you from Phoenix with amazement!

[@parccarreg]

Thanks Zach! ❤️🪱

[@skaliev6032]

Your channel is amazing. Always videos with new ideas! Love it

[@parccarreg]

Glad you like it! Thanks for the feedback :)

[@MistressOP]

honestly, selling compost worms might be more profitable than the eggs.

[@PlayerTenji95]

I’d be first in line to buy!

[@eveadame1059]

Both would be profitable

[@jmbkpo]

With a stable ecosystem they can produce both things with a little more effort and much more profit i believe

[@parccarreg]

We have sold some. Currently we are not selling them thought. There is a lot of labour involved in harvesting them. We might do in the future, but equipment is required

[@MistressOP]

@@parccarreg buy really super cheap white bread. the kind of white bread they tell you not to buy anymore. Then you wet the bread put it on top of the compost and give it awhile the worms will be under the bread. If you dip the bread in used coffee grounds it works even better.

[@beebop9808]

I've got about 60 chickens myself. They are hit and miss at best when it comes to eating worms and I haven't a clue why that is? But the worms are plentiful on my property and I encourage their growth all around and under the birds runs. I have gotten into BSF however and the birds never refuse the larva. But I have been limited to the warn season raising them outside but they are easily cared for and harvest about 2 liters every day. As well as releasing thousands that boosts the native populations. I have the means to move them indoors this year and looking forward to getting them going again. I was cut short last season when some of my small young birds cracked the code to my bin outside and raided it, wiping out the population as the temps began to fall causing the heat being generated by the larva to drop and crash the colony. Never trust a chicken not to snoop around where they shouldn't! 😂

[@TheRealDogfart]

Try farming mealworms.

[@beebop9808]

@@TheRealDogfart Did that before. They're ok but the BSF are far easier without all the hassles of meal worms. And egg to harvest is only a couple of weeks. They're truly eating machines, Natures fastest and best recyclers eating everything but cellulose. I even use coffee grounds in my coops, clean them out and the BSF munch away on it to become chicken food again. Win win....

[@MyTing775]

Are you doing this in uk? I thought bsf needed heat ?

[@beebop9808]

No I'm in the states. Ga specifically. Yes they do need heat in winter if you're in a cold winter climate. Wild bugs will be active until temps get down to 65-70 degrees F. 75-80 is optimal. They generate incredible heat in the colony if you're maintaining a lot of them. Hot enough that you will likely recoil in a burn reflex if you reach into them. So you can use that to your advantage if keeping them outdoors to extend the season a little. They can be kept indoors but the odor is awful but I wouldn't recommend keeping them in living spaces. If you have a lot of them you may need to provide cooling indoors. They are a great organic heaters but also heavy humidifiers. But they don't die off in cold weather. Provided they can get under ground a bit they go dormant over winter. They are native around the globe where the cold seasons aren't terribly harsh.

[@keywestalert6329]

I will do the method you have done to grow worms and ultinately feed my potted plants. Thank you for such an easy method.

[@johnnewton3837]

As always fascinating always, fascinating . Looking forward to watching your progress. 😊

[@josephmerante951]

Very snazzy animation with the channel name and the different animals! Looked great

[@samphilpott7384]

Great video

[@MrTwostring]

You mentioned vermicompost. True story, years ago my wife and I told our daughter that she finally reached the age where we could tell her. Her mother and I were vermaids. Half human half earthworm. And if she chose to, she could join the magical Kingdom "under the dirt".. she declined and has been living as an ordinary human ever since.

[@mlw8998]

You are brilliant!! Wonderful and informative video

[@parccarreg]

🙏 Thanks :)

[@kw4093-v3p]

Ducks love grubs too, would love seeing you breed other types of bugs too!

[@ShantePorter]

This is a really good idea! Do you even have to feed the ducks anymore? Or are the bugs they eat enough?

[@j2art]

For the duck area do you only add the wood chips once? Or do you add more chips every few rotations? Can wood shavings be too small to work with this method? Thank you for posting this type of content.

[@jmbkpo]

From what i understood the wood chips are a leftover of a "failed" project

[@j2art]

@@jmbkpo thanks. I must have missed it.

[@parccarreg]

We haven't used fresh woodchip for about 10 months. But we might start mixing small amounts in to bump us the carbon ratio. You can use wood shavings just make sure it's untreated wood - natural shavings, woodchips or sawdust is best. We used to spread woodchip on a daily basis. So we started off with a combination of duck poop and woodchips. Then we composted it all (we had a lot sitting in the house) using worms - instead of mucking out and turning piles. With all this compost sitting in our duck house, we stopped using woodchips and just bedded the ducks straight on top of the compost. Initially we spread fresh compost on a daily basis. Now we just turn the top layer and use the worms to clean the material.

[@j2art]

@@parccarreg thank you very much for the information. Right now I am working with 18 ducks. (silver appleyard ducks). I have been adding wood chips daily but wanted to explore other options. I think your method sounds best. Thank you again.

[@Hanaconda_Aquaponics]

If you find any efficient ways to harvest earthworms I would love to hear about them. I have an aquaponics setup where earthworms are the most accessible food source (at least early on) for the predatory fish that I am raising, but harvesting them from my worm farm is labour intensive and the small area I have to produce them is depleted if I harvest them daily, so I have had to resort to feeding them frozen deadbait which defeats the purpose of the system and is also labour intensive to defrost and cut up whilst the perch are small.

[@YaSunny0409]

In the fall, I always cover my garden with grass clippings and leaves. In the spring, the garden soil is always full with earthworms.

[@Tetiana-wo5es]

Це геніально.! Супер, що вам прийшла на думку така ідея і ви її реалізували

[@parccarreg]

Thank you!

[@kelliott7864]

Our climate is similar to yours. We have BSF in the summer and worms in the cooler months. We just keep a bag of dormant BSF in the garage and release them in the spring.

[@parccarreg]

Great idea!

[@yukiterumi1]

Do you have to keep the soil wet in any way for the worms? Are the worms able to dig away from the compost and go into the dirt outside?

[@TolaAugustaJufany]

Happy ducks sounds!

[@Raye938]

My lab works with BSFL, worms and mealworms. BSFL grow especially well and sometimes it's hard to keep them contained. If we had ducks in the lab I'm sure they would have a constant supply of food whenever the larva decide to do a prison break.

[@sharp1977]

Bloody hell Its a G Pig and duck BBQ now. When can I book a table?

[@LeeFarmm]

An excellent job, my friend!

[@speadskater]

How did you start the initial culture of worms?

[@666bruv]

Nice to see an update

[@allwaysbetter552]

Do you feed the worms directly? Or they just live on what they find that the ducks drop and excrete? Especially when you move the ducks to the other side? Do you think it would work for chickens?

[@parccarreg]

Yes, they live off the duck manure and a small amount of spilled feed. You can initially use worm chow or poultry feed to help kick start the worm population. You need a high density of worms. I'm not sure about chickens. You would need to irrigate the bedding to ensure that the worms have enough moisture. The chicken poop is also hotter than duck poop. I might experiment with chickens in the future.

[@humbertocastro8088]

Great video and info

[@parccarreg]

Thank you!

[@fabriglas]

Ducks go mad for worms, as kid when digging struggled to not hit ducks as they were in the space where we were digging ! I miss the ducks and chill no stress days! This is duck heaven!

[@kimnenninger7226]

This is clever...thank you for saying.

[@MistressOP]

I hope someday you guys get a mini feed mill so you can try out different feed options. You know if you add biochar in small amounts to the ducks feed. It can impact both the pasture and the wormfarm.

[@mojavebohemian814]

Thank you

[@HenryTheOunce]

How clever; I love this!

[@Primordia23]

Awesome work

[@buckstarchaser2376]

In Canada, they claim that earthworms are killing their native forests. Here in the US, there are many commercial forests that are falling to bugs. It would seem that adding fowl back to the woods, where they designed to operate, would be a pretty useful strategy for preserving forest soil. Since chickens keep the ground duff stirred and eat up the fast-growing annual plants, there's much less standing tinder once it dies back in the dry season, and what isn't eaten tends to get trampled and mixed into the dirt, which becomes fire retardant dust once it dries out. Put free-roaming goats back in those hills too, and you'll save billions in upkeep, without even factoring the fire reduction.

[@parccarreg]

Absolutely. Let's allow animals to do the good work they've evolved to do!

[@Norbingel]

I'm quite amazed that the worm population manages to survive despite the ducks constantly hunting for them. You say you move the ducks to the other side. If you didn't do you think they would wipe the worms out?

[@parccarreg]

This was surprising to us too! The worms live deep and multiply fast

[@chloegirka863]

About black soldier flies, you might find what the folks at the "Expérience Biosphère" have been doing. They set up a living toilet in their appartment, which is basically a woodchip toilet with black soldier grubs that feed off their dejections and woodchips (plus kitchen scraps). Then they feed them to chickens and crickets. But they're not handling the complete life cycle this time around. They did in the Mexican biosphere (which was obviously warmer).

[@atlant_dark_export]

Ого больше всех наверное уточки счастливые, столько червей это хорошо. Лайк подписка

[@LukeK9]

Did you initially introduce worms or just create the right conditions for them to do well?

[@parccarreg]

We created the conditions and they came! Haven't bought in any worms

[@darknerd117]

Is there anything keeping them in the duck house or is it mostly just an environment they like

[@jaymeez]

This is Great!!

[@giavo4538]

can you do a presentation on how you raise up that many worms, please?

[@themasterofkh]

Hello! I have 7 ducks that live in my front yard, do i need to have thr area covered for the worms to grow? I would love to start growing worms for my duckies to eat them

[@samuraioodon]

Hi what’s your opinion on jumping worms?

[@richardvargo2740]

I've seen (on youtube) a DIY self harvesting black soldier fly farm to feed chickens. Maybe that's something you're looking for?

[@keithshumaker6402]

Great job God Bless

[@dnawormcastings]

Great video 🇳🇿🪱

[@dunesurfermt5004]

Great story.

[@Ky74700]

Regarding black soldier fly, there are many videos on free greenhouse heating using compost and water heat sinks, that may be a solution

[@Eddievargas1]

Are your ducks non flying type or wings cut?

[@jasonhas7456]

When i clicked on the video i thought it said. Why We’re Raising HALF-A-MILLION WORMS For 50 Bucks. Bucks being slang for money in the U.S.

[@geoffreyparkinson3495]

Do you cut/trim your Duck's flight feathers to keep them flying away??

[@parccarreg]

Nope, they are domesticated ducks which can't fly 🦆🦆

[@aqua_riumplant]

This is so freaking cool :D

[@glen.simpson]

what about hemp seed? Shat grows like mad, and you could just grow out pollinated swag for piles of seeds

[@2pacgg291]

How do you keep the worms in the same place and not stray away or dig deep into the ground?

[@TheSupertitan53]

Why would they stray from a very plentiful food source? They’re thriving

[@RandomsFandom]

I had a really good population of black soldier flies in my quail brooder.

[@thpebook880]

What's kind of the worms?

[@parccarreg]

red wigglers

[@bouchecaldwell330]

I raised worms for fishing personally and you cannot run out of food this way because you food loves worms.

[@tabari6598]

this is good

[@balloney2175]

Donnie should promote projects like this instead of buying Greenland which can never happen.

[@ticktock2383]

Wait and see. Donnie has a genius IQ. Do you?

[@barbaravanerp4598]

Red wrigglers or earth worms? Awesome

[@parccarreg]

Both :)

[@parccarreg]

As in Red Wiggler (they are technically earthworms but don't live in the soil but on the top layers)

[@anthony7440]

some good duck soup. nice lol

[@flatsville9343]

Please give us the average summer high temp & average winter low temp for your area.

[@PlayerTenji95]

Genius!

[@fletcherwork6533]

This could be on a rolling basis with a next stage following it

[@francisherring3126]

Can you do this with chicken's?

[@BaliFoodTreePlanter]

If you fail at Earthworms, you get Soldier flies. You might not want to break a system that isn't broken..

[@vandyniyomkham5032]

ducks are cute but taste really good

[@Yermanvillalrey]

interesante 🤔

[@Rogerwilco-w5o]

Worms reproduce linearly not exponentially.

[@parccarreg]

They can indeed be exponential in the right conditions. In the right conditions, your worm population could double every 30-60 days. A mature red wiggler worm can produce 2-3 cocoons per week, with an average of 4-6 worms per cocoon. Baby worms hatch from the cocoons in about 30 days and reach sexual maturity in about 90 days.

[@koltoncrane3099]

I would save you worms for more compost or sell your worms. Raise black soldier fly larvae for bird feed as they grow quick and you can grow a lot of weight fast compared to compost worms

[@MrIcetiger93]

Wouldn't hen and roost be more efficient for that ?

[@1969longshanks]

Make a movable pen for them

[@parccarreg]

Great idea 🤣

[@johnsonofthunder1026]

Great to see people using the natural processes created by Jah God to be more productive and nurturing the land ,the animals etc at the same time . This is how it is meant to be done ,utilising the symbiotic nature of everything and doing it with love of all creation .

[@mdsqureshi4130]

U :mashroom is edible chinese: every thing u r showing is edible 😂😂😂😅😅

[@trilogen]

TLDW: Shady area, spread compost & manure, strong tarp over it = tons of worms

[@snitox]

Wait, the worms eat poop and the duck eat worms. Isnt that a closed system? 😂

[@JeffBilkins]

Is it safe for the ducks to eat from their own manure compost?

[@parccarreg]

Great question. We'll definitely do another video about this. The worms kill off pathogens when they process the manure. What is left is a clean and safe compost which also comes with beneficial microbes. The worm make a very healthy environment for the ducks. In regards to the ducks eating the worms. Regulations will not like the fact - but to us it's clear the ducks are healthier than ever

[@JeffBilkins]

@@parccarreg The vibrant composting environment would clean a lot, it is just the nagging feeling the loop is so tight. We'll find out together I suppose but they look healthy.

[@DJK4Love]

They have lived that way before humans interfered. I dont see how its a problem. They havent gone extinct due to anything that feeds on manure...

[@allmc3120]

Ducks also love shellfish apart from worms.

[@michaelfoort2592]

Why would you look for protein sources when you have worms. Slab heating would totally stabilize things in cold months

[@spoolsandbobbins]

Do you have to keep your ducks hungry in order to get your ducks to eat the worms?

[@parccarreg]

Nope, they prefer worms to their store bought feed!

[@devinsullivan7233]

Ducks prefer hard bodied insects and crustaceans

[@davetinoco]

Earthworms have declined 30% = The soil is becoming toxic

[@lehuubaothuan8559]

Chill guy's video

[@SardonianSmile]

I see golden eggs here

[@scotlandinvestor7779]

Local fisherman would bu worms during trout and salmon season🪱

[@MistressOP]

Have you sent there fresh poop to get tested for infection loads. I would think it has to be pretty small. I wish that your country had a SARE program like the USA and got grants. I bet you could get a lot grant money running various tests. As the UK is no longer in the EU duck reering is honestly more effective for small and meduim farms than chickens. I really wish the xmas goose and the easter duck was really brought back to people tables. fungus is more important in certain parts o fthe USA it's to the point that certain worms are actually invasie. We have very few native worm populations. At the same time I always think of compost worms as the best good.

[@parccarreg]

Yes we have tested the compost and it was clear of pathogens (salmonella and e coli). I would like to do further testing and plan to make a video about this

[@dreamertales]

when one of your pet, eats the other pets

[@Salted_Fysh]

As it's not really the topic of the video you don't touch on this, but since this has been a topic of demonization and intentional misinformation or misdirection in the past and present, it's important to note that Soy is not inherently a bad protein source. For *human* consumption, just like any other legume, it's a wonderful and land-efficient way to provide important nutrients. Soy is, in that regard, one of the best crops we could possibly grow. The global problems relating to ecological issues like deforestation are in the *incredible* inefficiency of converting soy-based (or any other for that matter) feed to for-human-consumption meat, dairy and egg products (with meat, as usual, being by far the worst). Less than 10% of soy grown world-wide is used as a direct food source. Even products used in processed food or other products, such as soy oil used in cosmetics etc., are simply a side-product from the feed industry. So don't hesitate to buy soy products for your own consumption in the supermarket. Those are a good choice. If you want to make an impact, choose to cut out or reduce your indirect consumption of soy. That is, animal products. Doesn't mean you don't have to eat them at all. Just means you should be aware of it when making purchasing decisions.

[@petegreenway8953]

doesnt grow in the UK so is an imported monocrop, not the best.

[@doremi920]

Plus it’s mostly genetically modified strains (over 80% of global production is the RoundUp Ready Monsanto strain) and glyphosate is inevitably used as well.. 🤮

[@gyrojinn]

When you buy soy products, it's almost impossible to buy crops that weren't GMO modified to deal with glyphosates, which kill worms and soil microbes. Corporate Agriculture sadly kills soil.

[@Salted_Fysh]

@@petegreenway8953 it does and is grown in Europe so just source it from there.

[@Salted_Fysh]

@@gyrojinn GM crops are generally considered to be better for the environment than their unmodified counterparts because they can be made hardier, more land efficient and nutritious without having to spray as much pesticide or employ as much artificial fertilizer. Corporate agriculture only kills soil when regulation is focused around scare-mongering rather than improvement, making it impossible for smaller companies and research groups to wrangle the bureaucratic red tape that is thrown in their way. All that does is ensure monopoly by big companies with big legal departments. Plenty of soy growers who don't use glyphosate to spray their crops. Just because the strain has been modified doesn't mean the chemical is used.

[@faceless1123]

Imagine your one of the worms witha. Semblance of consciousness. 😂 they would feel pure terror daily. The ducks heaven is the worms hell. Good video tho

[@eliasniewerth]

okay but hooooww??