Best for Songbirds - Live or Dried Mealworms- Surprising Answers
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- čas přidán 23. 08. 2023
- This video breaks down what is best for you and your backyard songbirds when it comes to live or dried mealworms. We look at budget, nutrition, preference, handling, seasonality and so much more.
Some of the answers may surprise you. And to make this video educational and truly informative, I investigated research papers and even performed my own experiments to really determine what is better for your songbirds.
MEALWORM SUPPLIER FROM THIS VIDEO
A great online supplier of live and dried mealworms that many bluebird hosts trust is Rainbow Mealworms. www.rainbowmealworms.com
VIDEO ABOUT EASILY SEPARATING LIVE MEALWORMS FROM BRAN
• Fast & Easy Mealworm S...
LINK TO FIRST ROUND OF MEALWORM PREFERENC EXPERIMENTS
nesthollow.com/live-mealworms...
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*As of right now, this video is NOT sponsored and links are currently NOT affiliate links.
References:
Blem, C. R., & Blem, L. B. (2006). Variation in mass of female Prothonotary Warblers during nesting. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, 118(1), 3-12.www.jstor.org/stable/20455821
Dubois, S., & Fraser, D. (2013). A framework to evaluate wildlife feeding in research, wildlife management, tourism and recreation. Animals, 3(4), 978-994.
Freed, L. A. (1981). Loss of mass in breeding wrens: stress or adaptation?. Ecology, 62(5), 1179-1186.
Graveland, J., & Van Gijzen, T. (1994). Arthropods and seeds are not sufficient as calcium sources for shell formation and skeletal growth in passerines. Ardea, 55(1-2), 299-314.
Johnson, L. S., & Barclay, R. M. (1996). Effects of supplemental calcium on the reproductive output of a small passerine bird, the House Wren (Troglodytes aedon). Canadian Journal of Zoology, 74(2), 278-282. www.researchgate.net/profile/…
Kröncke, N., Grebenteuch, S., Keil, C., Demtröder, S., Kroh, L., Thünemann, A. F., ... & Haase, H. (2019). Effect of different drying methods on nutrient quality of the yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor L.). Insects, 10(4), 84.
Mariod, A. A. (2020). Nutrient composition of mealworm (Tenebrio molitor). African Edible Insects as Alternative Source of Food, Oil, Protein and Bioactive Components, 275-280.
Wahome, C. (2022, May 26). Eating mealworms: How it can benefit your body. WebMD. www.webmd.com/diet/health-ben....
Zhao, X., Vázquez-Gutiérrez, J. L., Johansson, D. P., Landberg, R., & Langton, M. (2016). Yellow mealworm protein for food purposes-extraction and functional properties. PloS one, 11(2), e0147791.
Check out the Hosting Bluebirds Guide and Coloring Book! shorturl.at/bdwK7
Katharine spent a year working on the illustrations (most based on her own photography) and the information inside this book. It's a deeply informational coloring book, excellent for adults and kids (note the content warnings in case - nature gets brutal). It's available on Amazon, and if you scroll the page, you'll find all the topics it covers including predators, types of housing, types of feeders, live vs. dry mealworms, identifying house sparrows, examples of native sparrows, native competition and so so so much more.
Check it out here: shorturl.at/bdwK7
Great video! My wife and I are really excited that some bluebirds appear to be moving in to the house I put up about 10 days ago. We want them to stick around so I’m getting some live mealworms when I run out today to hopefully welcome them to the yard.
When I was in college I had a Chinese Water Dragon (lizard) who ate tons of mealworms, so I am very use to handling them even when they are warmed up and active, but I completely understand not wanting to handle them! He actually was eating the giant mealworms once he got big enough- my girlfriend at the time was not a fan of them being in the fridge 😆
This is so exciting! Congratulations on the bluebirds. You will love watching them.
Great video! I would have never guest dried mealworms had near as much nutrition as live! I feed live worms nesting through fledging. I put wax worms out also! Thanks for the video!
Thank you so much. I was surprised about the nutrition too. There are so many studies on mealworm nutrition though because not only is it a poultry food source, it's a human food source in some countries - heck there's a small niche for that in the US apparently. Studies even look into how to add more nutritional value to mealworms by supplementing mealworm food, and some studies I saw evaluated different processing techniques and nutrition. It was quite a rabbit hole.
Just the research I was looking for. The Blue birds arrive early in the spring here some years with plenty of heavy winter weather that can last for days or weeks. The best I can do is dry meal worms. The lack of moisture in the worm and the actual food value was a concern. Thank you for the help.
Fantastic. I'll admit, I bore myself watching that video, but I'm glad it was helpful.
Very detailed research and video presentation. I just started putting dried meal worms out to see what birds would consume them in the feeders. I like the method of testing you did. I am new subscriber!
Thank you so much for the support! This is an excellent time to start feeding birds mealworms, especially as the weather gets colder. Your yard will become quote the Hotspot I'm sure 😀
I love your videos! I live in Southern California by the immediate coast and we don’t have bluebirds here, but we do have Hooded Orioles! My hooded orioles only eat live mealworms and won’t give dried mealworms a second glance. Not sure how good they taste to the birds but my shy and timid orioles stop by several times during the day for their mealworms. I hardly ever see them by the grape jelly or the sugar water. It’s all about the mealworms for them. And they show up very early and late at night too to fill their tummies.
That's really interesting! I've always seen jelly and oranges, but it would be cool to see if orioles here would like mealworms too.
Hooded Orioles are soo beautiful and so striking. What an amazing treat to host them!
Thanks for that tip too.
I feed them Live worms during nesting season and dry at the end of the season. I really only feed them to keep them around. They do not have a problem finding bugs in the summer IMO.
Absolutely right about them not needing food during the nesting season. Bugs are plentiful. The times I typically supplement is if one of the parents died. In a single parent situation, this can help them keep up. Also in extreme heat to help them conserve energy. In the winter, I'll have more food available because it's harder to come by, especially when weather is below freezing.
Thanks for this information. My question is where is the best location to place the dish of live mealworms? We are excited to watch our first pair of Western Bluebirds in our back yard. We have learned so much so many thanks!
Oh wow western bluebirds! Congratulations! We went out west last year hoping to see Mountain and Westerns. But in our short time there, we were not so lucky.
Great question about placement. I would try to keep it at least 30 - 50 feet from the bluebird box. Some even suggest 100 feet from nesting birds. The distance lessens the attraction of other birds to the nest box that may harass the nesting blues. I heard someone once say "no one wants to live right next door to a McDonald's " because of all that traffic.
However, in a situation where one of the parent birds has died, you can place it a little cloer (15 feet, maybe 10) closer so that the single parent bird has an easier time keeping up with the nest.
During extreme heat, I also will put some out on a platform nearer the nest (smaller portions) to help them conserve energy. But I only put live mealworms out in the early morning or evening when it's not so hot it would cook the worms.
I hope that helps. Keep asking any more specifics though :)
@@nesthollow5159 Very good. I was concerned about attracting annoying or predatory birds so that makes a lot of sense.
There is no egg laid yet but both parents are around. It seems nest building has slowed down though. I am new to this so I find your channel very helpful. Thank you so much.
I am on my second order of mealworms and I put them in substrate with moist carrots and then put them in the refrigerator I take them out at least every 2 or 3 days and then I put them in the feeders I have them in three feeders but much to my surprise the birds do not seem to be eating them. I thought birds absolutely loved live mealworms especially since they are expensive I'm surprised that the birds have either not discovered them or don't seem interested in them.
That's very interesting that they aren't getting eaten. There could be a number of factors:
1. The types of feeders you have - sometimes you have to "train them" to use the feeders if they're a type of covered feluck. For instance, a gabled covered feeder with a hole on each side - remove one of the side panels if it let's you so birds have an easier time. Then as they get used to it, put the panel back on.
2. Are squirrels getting to them first?
3. Does your yard maybe have a good variety of bugs? Sometimes they won't bother with the mealworms if there's a bigger buffet out there.
4. Could you be missing it? I don't watch my mealworm feeders often, and I'd never know birds were visiting unless I had a camera in there.
Those are the only things I can think of. Good luck.
@@nesthollow5159 I bought Mark's favorite mealworm feeder it has a dome on top and you can adjust it up and down. When I received it I never adjusted it and it was much too low so the birds just couldn't get in there to get to the mealworms. I feel like an idiot last night I raised it to the maximum just to see if they would come and this morning when I checked they ate every single one. Hahahaha I feel like such an idiot.
It was my fault I did not raise the hood on the mealworm feeder so the birds just couldn't get in there. Duh. Lol
Thank you very much for the information. I was wondering if the dried meal worms could be sat in a little water to increase hydration?
So sorry about only now just discovering this question. You can soak dried mealworms. And it can help but it's so much worse than working with live mealworms. You basically end up with a mealworm tea that stinks pretty bad. And it doesn't store long and can end up stinking. And because it's wet, it's harder to handle.
But you can soak in hot water for half an hour and then drain the water. Or soak in warm water over night (smells) and drain the excess.
I believe babies get water through live insects.
Yep. All of their hydration comes from insects, larva and other arthropods. And then you'll find some occasional nests full of cherry pits that the babies spat out... so berries/fruits would be another source of hydration and food. But yea, primarily live insects and larva for sure.
Will soaking dried mealworms through nesting season be okay or are soaked ones no good either? I have been soaking dried mealworms in lukewarm water for 30 minutes before putting them out 🙏
I think there is some debate on that just because it's hard to tell how much water is too much or if it's not enough. Usually, I see people only do this in emergencies when it's too hot to put live worms out and maybe there is a single parent situation, so it helps them conserve their energy. Live mealworms are really the best option. I think as long as it's maybe just once or twice a week, max, and only enough for that day, soaked mealworms could be ok. But I really dont actually know. I tend to stay on the more cautious side and do what the best-practices are. But that's a personal choice. A lot of people have no trouble soaking.
Hi again, I just learned I can buy all kind of worms at a nearby Petco. Are there any that are not good for bluebirds? The scuba Jay has discovered these mealworms so I'm not sur they will work. And if you ever take a trip West again, please get in touch and maybe you could stop by. Many thanks again. Gayle
That should read "scrub" jays.
I would stick with mealworms. Some people get black soldiers fly larva and have 0 luck with bluebirds eating them. If petco has live mealworms, those are just fine. They may be more expensive though. But if not, go for it.
As to the scrub Jay- I mean they gotta eat too. But I get it. The Gilbertson feeder would exclude them due to size since they're bigger.
If you're interested - I just put out an educational bluebird coloring book. It has info on different types of feeders and info about mealworms, and so much more. On the left side is a page of info pertaining to a topic and on the right is the picture to color.
The coloring book was part of why I wanted to go west to see mountain and western bluebirds so I could get a picture of them as a study for the illustrations. Instead, I had to just draw some of my eastern bluebirds as "western" and "mountain" bluebirds by changing some of the line art, lol.
I do hope to get out west again sometime. But it might be quite a while. Sooo many places to see. You will have to enjoy your western blues all the more for my sake :)
The coloring book is Amazon if you wanted to take a look.
Keep your questions coming :)
www.amazon.com/Hosting-Bluebirds-Guide-Coloring-Book/dp/B0CZ5PGVVJ/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=1YHO94WMANZEK&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9
Thank you so much. I will take a look.