HOW MUCH TIME DOES IT REALLY TAKE? // MEALWORM FARM
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- čas přidán 23. 11. 2022
- One of the questions we get asked a lot if how much effort does it take us to maintain our mealworm farm. This video tells you all about it. How much time it takes to maintain on an ongoing basis and what the associated costs are so you can decide if it is really worth it.
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You could put the sifters together sifting from large to small which would save you time.
Love and appreciation from Karachi, Pakistan.
You have been having a very productive year on your 1/2 acre homestead.
I appreciate seeing the process of raising and harvesting but it seems like no one gives an idea of what the approximate yield is. This would be helpful in figuring out what size farm you would need.
So how often are you able to feed to your chicken and on the days that you do, are you able to estimate what percentage of their daily food ration is the mealworms? For instance, harvesting once every week providing X ounces to 12 birds which replaces approximately 10% of that day's feed.
Also, you said the frass is only getting removed every 6 months. About how much is produced in that 6 months period? 1/4 of 5 gallon bucket? 1/2 of 5 gallon bucket? 2" of bucket?
Thanks, Betty. To be honest, we don't track it that closely, but this sounds like a great idea for a new video. We will put it on the list.
Mealworms, are they not one of the new super foods that Bill and his crony's what humans to eat as a beef replacement? lol Those birds look mighty happy getting a tasty snack!
I'll stick to feeding the worms to the birds so I can eat THEM instead 🤣
Yes they want us to eat mealworms😢
Lol eat ze bugs! Nah they are my foods food
The Bugs are not for human consumption as they contain some chemicals that we can not deal with and we get cancers. The birds have no problem dealing with this. Hope this helps to clarify.
Bill's out there wanting to reduce world population at any cost 😂😂😂
Yes, put extra mealworms in freezer and space out their snacks.
What if you shook out the contents in reverse?
Get all the mealworms, beetles and etc out… then sift to the frass? Seems like it wouldn’t clog as much and would save time in sifting … maybe keep from rattling around the Beatles so much?
It’s an interesting concept. I’m considering getting chickens this year!
Thanks for the video.
Also, did doubling up in the screen in the repair cause everything to clog in the top drawer since the fine mesh probably isn’t lined up?
Aaaand (😬), do you have some idea how much you’ve grown in a years time (volume or weight?) or
The happy chickens need a new venue. Do you rotate them to other places in your garden/land space? I'm curious so I'm going to search through more of your good videos. Thanks for sharing this step-by-step work on your mealworms. I definitely appreciate the mirth and giggles you show in working with your chickens, pig, and even the mealworms. Looking forward to more.
Good info.
Do you feel that you have more bins because of time rather than processing time? I have a red wrigger wormery. I have just brought it into our workshop, to shelter it from the rain, etc for winter. This reminds me that i really should filter out the castings and put the worms into just one crate over winter.
A not so happy personal/ family year and with the heatwave has meant that i did not spend as much time as i could have on separating the castings in the crates. This is a year 4 wormery 3- tiered crate system. I usually go down to a 2 - tier during winter as it's their hibernation period, compared to breeding season.
Those riddles sound expensive. We were lucky and saw some (about) quarter inch riddles on sale for 80p in B&Q about two late autumns ago, so bought two, here in London.
Lockdowns, restrictions and wars have made a massive impact on manufacturing and natural resources, so a lot of stuff now is even more expensive.
That being said how much is mesh and an empty metal drum or metal sheeting?
I know you are on an island but is shipping expensive? I know things on the isle of wight are more expensive but postal costs are the same. What part of the US are you near to for geo reference?
I started a meal worm farm for my chickens... lizard people are big on gut loading their feeder insects. Long story short they basically mix chicken feed 1:9, 1 cup layer food to 9 cups bran
Btw: Have you considered buying any guinea fowls? :)
Where did you buy your mealworms from? I am worried about getting superworms that are sterile...
Do you sell bottles for us to start a bin? If not, where do we buy them?
👍👍💛 what do you guy's do for them in the winter time ?
They are indoors in our basement, so warm enough for them to survive. Their life cycle definitely slows down though over the slower months
Have you tried not using a screen , but the actual drawer with an inserted screen so when the females lay eggs it’s into a substrate and not get stuck on the bottom?
I don't have chickens, but I do have a bearded dragon that eats these on occasion. I might just put one of these together. Save big money on buying them, and the waste would be perfect for my compost.
Awesome. Yes, the compost is definitely an added bonus. We mix it into starter soil when we are planting seedlings.
How much less chicken feed do you use now that you supplement with mealworms?
Will that bucket sift system separate beetles, pupae, worms and eggs if used as a whole stack on a bucket catching eggs and frass in the bucket itself?
Excellent question. I'd love to know the answer to that as well
@@aliciaspears7847 the 1/36 wont separate frass and eggs so I have decided to wait till the frass writhes with newborn worms then sift that....the ratio of Frass to wheat/etc will be irrelevant for less than industrial production at that point.
@@dennisking4589 thanks !
Do you worry about throwing eggs away that may be mixed in with the fras?
Generally known. We try and use the mealworms before they grow into Beetles. Theoretically, there should be no beetles in the bottom box, so there would be no eggs.
I was wondering how your self sorting system is working? I started a small farm, but with closed stacking containers. They are just for feeding my wild birds, so keeping it small. I've gotten a lot of negative comments about using the mesh, so I'm wondering how it's working for you guys.
Hey Sue. It's working out well for us. We do have to do the odd repair on the mesh here and there, but we love that the eggs just fall through.
Do you know the reason that people didn't like the mesh?
@LovinofftheLand they mention production, but that doesn't apply to me. I'm not trying to make a business. Many just say I won't like it 🤷♀️
I have no desire to try and catch 200+ beetles and move them! It's bad enough to scoop up twenty from my pupae container and move them to the beetle bin!😬
I just swapped out my first lower bin this past Sunday. Hopefully, I will be seeing some babies soon. I did use a plastic canvas mesh instead of a metal screen. I hear now that they can chew through the plastic. Guess I'll find out. They do knock a lot of what bran to the lower container, but hopefully, that means lots of eggs, too! Thank you for your quick response and for your videos!
@@sueritchie7985 the chewing through plastic thing is 100% true, i had a temperature probe in my container while trying it out, and they ate a good bit of the plastic cable, so much that the wire was actually exposed in some areas, so if i were to use a mesh i would definitely use a metal mesh and not a plastic one to avoid having to repair it all the time
@provo-go7717 Thank you for the information! I have a metal screen ready and waiting. When they chew thru this canvas bottom, I'll replace it with the metal screen. So far, so good. Hopefully, I'll see it before they chew too much. 🙂
I think people are asking about the mesh type as in square's per inch or centimetres as they like me would use a stainless steel one rather than the nylon flyscreen. Ive just watched another video using a flyscreen and paused it, counted the square's on the screen attached to a 1"1/2 (38mm)timber frame and it Wass 26. Divide 26 into 38 which gives 1.46mm square mesh. This info will be needed when we come to order our stainless steel mesh online. Videos like this has made me so exited to build my own but with a controlled heated incubator type for the winter season to keep producing. Only want mine to feed the birds in my garden all year round. Well done guys. Great vids.
Where do you put them come winter? Thank you!
We have them in a basement. They can survive pretty cold temperatures, but their reproduction cycle will slow waaayyy down if it's cold. The warmer you keep them the fast they will keep breeding and grow
What do you do about pantry moths? No matter what I do and I have the same set up as you. Pantry moths always take over I end up saving some meal worms with farming beetles and start over again
I know you weren't asking me, but I hope I can help. We had an infestation of pantry moths and weevils a year ago. Doing my research on preventing it from EVER happening again, I learned that these grain pests are already in the food when you buy it. At least the eggs. They hatch out and eat your food.
To stop this, one easy solution is to freeze all grains as soon as you get home with them. Everybody has different recommendations, but I usually do it for 5 to 7 days.
Take out of freezer and defrost for 24 hours before using for anything. You want to allow any condensation to evaporate prior to storage.
Hope this helps !
@@aliciaspears7847 thanks but I always freeze mine for at least two weeks. I don’t know where they are coming from I only have them when raising mealworms. They’re not in the house. They must be living outside
@@shantelbryan3660 ah OK. That sucks
Much faster. make a hand powered Trommel.
I have a few. and it takes 1.5 to 3 turns per a 2 gallon bucket. To classify material.
One of trommels is double screen. making for two different size rock.
It works to classify material from 1/20 of a inch to over 3 inches.
My biggest has a 1 inch screen. my smallest is 1/20 of a inch.
But have seen trommels for 6 inch.
You can make up to 3 inch with a plastic 5 gallon bucket.
I advice over 1 inch using metal, like a 55 gallon drum.
If someone wants a link to how to make these reply and I will add. From one of the Tubers I watch.
They also work to make your own gravels.
I worked in rock quarries for years.
the worms can store in the frig just like at the pet store
What's another use for frass?
Other than great compost, I'm not sure
Have you tried it on toast? Bill and Klaus love it.
@@thetruth45678😅
take a shot every time he says umm
Aahhmm
Get some scissors for opening bags
What's the betting you're using brand what what is it
It's just feed bran that we get from our local fees store. Comes in 20kg bags
@@LovinofftheLand I just got my bug box’s in today to start.
100% Silicone would work better than the glue gun I'm thinking. Sticks to about anything better than heated glue.
👌 Promo sm!
You got questions being asked down there but I see no answers from you.
Hey, TakeTheRide. Sorry, we definitely try and keep up, but between all our social media channels and full-time jobs on top of everything, I know we definitely don't get back to everyone. I couldn't find a question of yours, but send us a direct message on FB and we'll be happy to answer as best we can
@@LovinofftheLand it was in regards to how much do you get out of a bin on a monthly basis to be able to feed your chickens. Quantity of worms per bin on a monthly basis. That's what someone was asking. I had wondered that as well.
seems like mealworms will be more of a treat than a staple food source as you only harvest them every 3-4 months.
Omfg! Is the mealworms for human? God **mn people who raise worms for human!
Meal worms and crickets. More protein than cows
@@colleenforrest7936 please, tell us more. Sounds interesting.
@@Reciprocity_Soils they actually have something called Chitin in them that humans can't digest which can cause inflamatory issues and allergies along with spinal cancer.... don't buy into the hype about the protein and impact on the environment. There's a reason the FDA has been limiting the amount of bugs allowed in food for safety reasons up until 5 min ago. Better to feed them to the chickens.
So each one will feed 10 chickens per day. Once you have the system.
So you need 36 per chicken per year.
Which sounds like a lot. But more math needs to be done.
a potatoes last one week so that 52 potatoes per chicken
10 lbs of grain per year per chicken.
So thats 52 potatoes and 10 lbs of grain per year per chicken.
A chicken gives eggs 6 months a year at one egg per 1.5 days
So that 24 eggs per chicken per year.
or 72 eggs per chicken and one chicken dinner.
And all this is a revolving sysyem. With a investment of the cabinets and the 1st beetles. plus the first potatoe.
Meaning with labor this cost about $360 per chicken. For an endless supply of chicken feed, chickens and eggs.
Oh I have the grain. I just have to harvest it by hand and it has thorns. I can harvest about 50 to 200lbs per day
Chickens don't like the grain. I tried last year to feed them it. it was a slow starve.
So 500lbs will last me a year for 50 chickens.
I'm sure with the ideal. I can make bigger meal worms colonies.
So the drawers are about 1 foot square.
That means 36 ft sq per chicken.
Now drawers 10ft by 2 is 200 sq ft.
So a 10x10 building can have 600 sq ft of drawers. roughly enough for 18 chickens. So three building for 50 chicken. ( extra for hatching and young hens)
This sounds good.
Its a good 3 year plan to always have chickens and eggs.
And those cabinets can be 3 high meaning only one building is needed..
$1080 for drawers. frame 210, siding 180, roof 200, screws $30, ... $1700 plus screen
Once a month you clean a colony. dying most and putting beetles from lower drawer into top.
plus you get good growing media.
With 9 colonies it never ends
Wait if the center you do back to back you can do 12 colonies. That about $110 more dollars.
Nope did this wrong. 12 colonies this size will feed 6.5 chickens per year.
Need 9 to feed 50 chickens
off subject thats 2250 gallons of water capture. Chicken will use half that.
So a 16k is investment will give me 1100 gallons of water 1200 eggs and 20 chickens, per year, forever.
Now in today's money thats $900 per year profit.
or flip it to 30 days of feed for a hog.
ok.... not feasible too many building and chickens needed for a sow and piglets.
Not bad thought one day per month. for chicken operation.