One of the best ways of getting results is to do something yourself. It is satisfying, and you understand it better, which will help you if you ever need to reboot the process or take corrective or preventive measures. This is the same principle that should help you think about how to start a mealworm farm. Mealworms are an important part of any farm, especially if you are keeping fowl. Breeding your own will save you a lot of time and spare your finances in the process.

Mealworms are ideal for your fowl as a rich source of protein. Other than fowl, you can also feed them to fish, reptiles, and other domesticated birds. Some people also raise mealworms as a source of food. In fact, meal worms are often recommended to those who are just getting into eating critters, as a good start, before upgrading to other animals like crickets.

How to Start a Mealworm Farm

Today you can easily find a starter kit in stores, which you can use to create your meal worm farm from scratch. Some basics that apply to other worm farms will also apply here.

For example, a plastic container or tub is ideal, since the worms cannot eat into it and burrow their way out into the wild. You also need to think about proper ventilation. Ensure you provide just enough holes to allow air into the breeder, but not big enough for the worms to crawl out.

Typically, mealworms prefer high humidity and temperatures to thrive. For this purpose, you can get a small humidifier, and a heat lamp, which can help you raise the temperature in your mealworm farm to around 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Since mealworms are not flyers or jumpers, it is very easy to contain them. All you need to do is make sure the humidity and temperature are right.

Find the right bedding for your meal worms. Good bedding is important, because other than acting as the surface upon which the mealworms will live, they will also breed in it, and at times eat it too. One of the best substrates is dry oats. Setting a layer of 3 inches thick will help. At the same time, you also need to keep monitoring the bedding from time to time.

The reason for this is to prevent molding. You need something that can absorb the excess moisture which might be present in the breeding area. Mixing dry rice will work just fine. Even though rice will absorb the excess moisture, try to change the substrate from time to time.

As soon as you have the mealworm farm ready, you can then procure some mealworms and add them into the breeding area. How soon can you expect mealworms to start laying eggs? For adult meal worms, it should take no more than two weeks for them to start laying eggs. With this in mind, therefore, if you have everything done correctly, you can have a continuous supply of mealworms for your farm animals.

There are different mealworm farms out there. Bearing this in mind, if you plan to procure meal worms that you will use for culinary purposes, make sure you get them from a farm that specifically produces them for human consumption. On the other hand, if you are make your own mealworm farm for other purposes like chicken and pet feed, any pet store or bait shop can supply the mealworms you need to start your farm.

How to start a mealworm farm

How to Start a Mealworm Farm: Growing Mealworms

One of the other things you must consider when making your own meal worm farm is what to feed them. While mealworms will thrive on oat substrate, they can also feed on healthy scraps from your table, like scraps of carrots, apples, and potatoes. You can slice these into tiny pieces.

These foods are highly recommended because they take away the risk of moisturization. The moisture content in these foods is sufficient to support the moisture requirements for the mealworms. Therefore, you will not need an additional water supply.

Your ultimate concern will be how soon the mealworms can be ready for harvesting. If you do everything right, you should look forward to progress within a month. The first mealworms into the breeder will become darker in color after a month. One week later, these mealworms will have completed their transformation into black beetles.

The beetles lay eggs, which eventually hatch into meal worms in one or two weeks, and the cycle continues. As soon as the fresh mealworms are hatched, they are ready for harvesting. You can remove them from the breeding ground by hand, though this is an extremely involving procedure. Alternatively, you can use a sifter to shake away the hatched meal worms from the rest of the components, especially oats and beetle poop.

how to make a mealworm farm: Importance of Mealworms

When you think of how to start a mealworm farm, you probably have considered so many things, and resorted to preparing your own farm. Mealworms might not look so appealing, but from the perspective of a chicken farmer, they are some of the most important things in the world.

The taste and experience of a hearty home-cooked meal are almost similar to what chicken experiences from dried mealworms. Chicken love mealworms. Mealworms are loaded with nutrients that keep them healthy and happy, hence the following reasons why you really need to take your mealworm farming seriously.

You Don’t Need Too Much to start a mealworm farm

One of the best things about using meal worms when feeding your farm animals is that you do not need to delete the entire population. A few handfuls of mealworms can feed so many chickens, for example, at the same time. To be precise, a handful is enough for up to ten chickens. Other than feeding them, this is also sufficient protein intake for a meal.

Adult chickens that have started laying eggs need around 16% protein in their diet. The younger chicken might not need that much because it is already loaded in their feeds.

Feeding them mealworms only supplements and boosts their protein intake. You have to be careful when feeding them mealworms because if they have access, they can eat the entire mealworm population. Just allow them enough mealworms for a normal meal.

Protein Diet

All animals need protein for proper growth and development. Chicken, especially, needs protein, considering that their eggs are one of our best sources of protein.

If you live in a region that experiences extreme winters, the chicken needs the protein to keep them warm through the winter. Mealworms are the perfect solution for proteins, given that roughly 50% of their bodies are full of protein.

Molting Season for Chicken

The molting season presents chicken farmers with several problems during the autumn and spring seasons. During this period, you must find a way to increase the protein intake for your chicken. One of the best options you have is using mealworms.

Mealworms are one of the best and most affordable sources of protein, which allows your fowl the best chance of growing back feathers as fast as possible.

It is also a good thing to remember that during the molting season, chickens are usually susceptible to a lot of infections and diseases, considering that their immunity is lower. Boosting their diet with protein from mealworms will help you keep them safe, healthy, and stronger through this difficult period.

Happy Chicken

One thing that most chicken farmers are aware of is that chickens love food, and are always highly responsive to food. Chickens will gladly munch away at their feeds at any given time of the day, as long as they are active and can see the food, they will go for it.

Mealworms offer variety in your meal plans for your chicken. They will love this change and will be healthier and happier.

The general assumption of insects in most places you visit is that they are a nuisance. People squirm at the sight or thought of insects. It gets even worse when dealing with insects like worms. A lot of people cannot even begin to think about keeping insects in their homes, leave alone the prospect of eating some of them.

A third of the global population considers insects edible, with mealworms being some of the most commonly sought after. They are quite nutritious, not just for pets, but also for humans.

What we see and refer to as mealworms are no more than the larvae stage of darkling beetles. They are found in so many parts of the world, making it easier to use them on farms across the globe.

Darkling beetles are common in most farms, because of their attraction towards dark, warm, and damp places. You will find them under decaying plant material and logs on your farm. Darkling beetles and mealworms are part of the same metamorphic cycle, so they will almost always be found in the same place together.

They are also an important part of the ecosystem, given that they act as a source of food for other insects, reptiles, rodents, spiders, and birds. Preparing and star a mealworm farm is a good idea since you will end up with a constant supply of mealworms for whichever reason you need them.

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What Do Chickens Eat?

Take note that each chicken and bird have different diets. Birds can refer to geese, turkey, and other kinds of poultry. Generally, poultry would prefer to feed on growing grasses, such as buckwheat, clover, and bluegrass. They would prefer to eat weeds with broad leaves and would also feed on seeds.

Chickens will also love to eat insects, earthworms, mealworms, (read the related article for How to Care for Mealworms) and all kinds of slugs. But they also want to be messy and would love to have a bit of sand or coarse dirt as they feast on their meals. In fact, they would keep these in their gizzards to assist in grinding the wild foods they would feed on. Sometimes, the rooster will hunt a mouse in order to feed laying hens.

A backyard chicken will typically eat food scraps coming from the household. This can include beans, garlic, raw potatoes, beans, citrus, and onions. When feed laying hens with food scraps, try to avoid eggs. The taste of the egg will appear funky to them. Also, avoid raw potatoes because this is poisonous to the chickens.

You need to understand that chickens are curious creatures and would try to eat anything that looks attractive to them. They are not smart enough to know that Styrofoam is not edible. They might even eat pine shavings, thinking that these are food! So when setting up your own poultry, you need to make sure that the chicken doesn’t end up eating something they are not supposed to.

Chickens on Pasture

Hens raised on pasture produce eggs with deep orange yolks. When gathered fresh, the eggs have viscous whites that are bouncy and the yolks are fatty. If you plan on raising chickens on pasture, you cannot expect them to grow as fast as those that were confined and bed through the broiler. Also, chickens on pasture have denser meat as a result of regular walking. Tender meats also mean they have higher Omega 3, unlike those chickens that were grain-fed and sedentary.

If it’s not possible to leave your chicken to pasture in your farm or yard, try to give them access to a chicken. This is basically a fenced area in a farm or yard where the chicken can happily pasture around and feed on insects. Just leave the floor bare with dirt, so they can happily peck through it. Remember that when you leave your chickens to pasture around, you should have a fence or a guardian dog to protect them from any predator lurking around your farm.

What to Feed Laying Hens

When starting poultry, you should know what to feed your hens. Proper feeding is important to ensure maximum egg production, proper growth, and longer life.

1. Greens

Chickens love to feed on greens, such as weeds, leaves, grasses, and plants. For laying hens, you can feed them with tender grass clippings, fresh greens, vegetables, and table scraps. When feeding table scraps, make sure you don’t include onions or garlic because the strong flavor could affect their eggs. If you’re going to raise your hen in the free-range system, avoid using fertilizers, chemicals, or pesticides. Don’t overfeed your hens. Limit their greens to a certain amount that they can eat within 20 – 30 min. As much as possible, always feed them with fresh greens.

2. Chicken Feed

You’ll find several kinds of formulated feeds being sold in the market, which you can directly feed to your chicken.  Choose something according to the type of hen that you are raising and their age. There are feeds suitable for small chicks, growing chicks, and mature chickens. You can feed any of these commercially made chicken feeds to your laying feeds.

Commercially made feeds contain just the right amount of nutrients to keep your hens healthy. They are loaded with proteins, minerals, vitamins, and carbohydrates that are suitable for laying hens. It’s recommended to feed laying hens with 15 – 18% of protein. Make sure that you include this much protein in your hen’s diet as they start to lay eggs or at the start of the 20 weeks. These formula feeds will not only provide the nutritional needs of your laying hen, but they will also serve as their treats. When buying commercial chicken feeds, make sure to choose those that are freshly formulated.

1. Vitamins

In order for your hens to be healthy, supplement their feeds with more vitamins and calcium, whether they are eating commercially made feeds or free-range. Vitamins ensure proper growth for your hens and better egg production as well. On the other hand, calcium helps to keep the shells of their eggs stronger.  You may also feed them with ground oyster shells. Place these in a separate feeder for the hens to feed on. Feeding them with ground oyster shells is the best way to supplement them with enough calcium.

2. Scratch Mix

Chickens naturally enjoy scratching the soil in search of bugs, grits, insects, and greens that they can feed on. Provide your hens with a scratch mix that includes an assortment of seeds and grains, such as corn, oats, wheat, or barley. Spread the scratch mix all over the ground for your hens to feast on. Try to limit the scratch mix to feed your hens. It should just be enough for them to finish eating in around 20 min. Aside from the scratch mix, scatter granite grits as well where your hens can peck. Laying hens would need this in order to help grind the grains and seeds.

3. Water

Aside from feeding your chicken with high-quality and nutritious chicken feeds, you must also make sure to provide your laying hens with a consistent source of water. Chickens drink 2 to 3 times the amount of the feeds that they eat in a day. Therefore, you need to make sure that you have enough fresh and clean water for your watering pot. Not having enough water could dehydrate and stress your hens. If your hens are stressed, they will stop laying eggs for several days or weeks! Therefore, always feed laying hens with a sufficient amount of freshwater.

When it comes to raising laying hens, it’s essential that you provide them with nutritious and high-quality foods. You should be able to provide a wide range of foods that has all the necessary nutrients to ensure that your laying hens stay healthy.

Other Supplements

Aside from feed laying hens with commercial chicken feeds, it’s a good idea to supplement these feeds. For instance, you can add oyster shells in order to provide your hens with a sufficient amount of calcium. You may also supplement with grits to help your hens digest their food.

Emergency Feed

If you run out of feeds, you can cook hard-boiled eggs and chop them to pieces to feed your chickens. Keep in mind that chicken can go a day without eating and even longer without issues. But what’s really important is you let them drink enough water, so they will stay hydrated.

Make Your Own Chicken Feed

Remember that you can always make your own chicken feed. In fact, there are poultry raisers who will grow their own seeds, grains, and other plants to feed their chickens. But if you don’t have the time for this, you might as well just opt for commercial chicken feeds. You’ll have plenty of choices for commercial feeds to feed laying hens. Refer to the manufacturer’s instructions for tips on how to feed your chicken.

How to Maintain a Healthy Coop

Remember that the overall quality of the coop will be a big factor in the overall egg production of your chicken. This will also have an impact on the feed consumption of your hen. Take note that unsanitary coops could breed disease and bacteria that could contaminate the food and make your chicken sick. This will also result in lower egg production.

Here’s what you can do to prevent these problems:

• Deep clean the coop each month. Scrub it off with a scrub brush and spray with disinfecting spray.
• Check the coop for any rotting feed and droppings and make sure you remove them.
• Let the chickens roam freely for a couple of hours each day. Just make sure that they are safe from predators.
• Don’t overcrowd your coop by placing too many hens.

How to Feed Chickens

Switching Chicks to Grower Feeds

When the chicks are 6-8 weeks old, switch their meals to grower feed. This way, they would be able to grow and develop to egg layers fast. When they reach 20 weeks old, switch them to the type of chicken feeds that are suitable for egg laying. You can refer to the feedbag for information about this or ask help from your local chicken feed store for tips regarding feeding the chicks at a certain age.

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