If you are raising your own chicken in your backyard, one of the most economical feeding methods is to raise your own worms for them. Bee worm is arguably the most ideal food to feed domestic chickens, and it’s less stressful and inexpensive if you make it yourself.
Another good thing about home worm rearing for your chicks is that over 90% of the things you need to start working on in your establishment / household. Perhaps a few things you will need to start growing mealworms at home are how to grow mealworms and where to get your initial supply of mealworms to start.
The fact that you have to put in little or no effort for the worms to reproduce by the hundreds in a matter of weeks makes this a business in its own right.
In fact, if you have enough space in your connection and can create a favorable environment for the worms to grow, you not only grow worms for your chickens, but you will probably end up selling worms to poultry farmers as well. than fishermen and others. This is another way to generate income as an entrepreneur.
Now let’s take a look at the steps you should take if you want to grow mealworms at home for your chickens;
- How to start a poultry farm
7 easy steps to raising mealworms for your chickens
1. Get the right knowledge
If you want to raise domestic chickens at home for your chickens, the first thing you should do is equip yourself with the necessary knowledge on how to raise mealworms. Although the process of growing mealworms is simple, if you take the time to acquire the right knowledge, it will be much easier for you and you will end up not only growing mealworms for your chicken, but also sell mealworms to poultry owners. and even fishermen.
You can go online to read everything you can get your hands on about mealworms. The truth is, if you take the time to read about worms before growing them, you will learn about the most suitable litter for worms, the ideal temperature for worm breeding, the ideal containers for worm growth. , and how to collect mealworms, and more. …
2. Create space in your joint and arrange containers / boxes for mealworm growth.
Growing mealworms in the home can be an unwanted sight that you would like your visitors to see, so you should create a space somewhere in your establishment where you can comfortably grow your worms without worry.
Once you can create more and more space for your worms, you will need to set up containers / crates where you will be growing the worms. When choosing containers for your worms, be sure to choose a container that will allow easy air circulation. Therefore, if you want to use a plastic container with a lid, drill holes around the containers.
3.Prepare your containers / crates
The next thing you should do if you have the space and containers to grow mealworms is to prepare the containers to facilitate their growth. You will need a suitable litter / floor covering in a container if you want your mealworms to thrive unrestricted.
Newspapers, egg cartons, leaves and card stock can be used to floor containers; the mealy worm finds it convenient to hide under such materials. It is also ideal to use edible bedding materials; You can use materials such as cornmeal, wheat germ, oats and chicken feed, etc. Additionally, when preparing your containers for mealworm growth, you will also need a source of moisture. You can use watermelon, carrots, potatoes, oranges, etc. as a source of moisture.
4. Get some mealworms
Once you can get your containers ready to grow your own mealworms, the next thing you need to do is stock up on the mealworms. You can talk to people in your area to show you where to buy mealworms, and you can go online to find mealworm vendors.
You can try Amazon and eBay, you might find people making worms there. The bottom line is that you should buy fewer worms because under ideal conditions you shouldn’t have a problem with your worms multiplying by the hundreds within a few weeks of starting the worm growth process.
5. Know when and how to harvest mealworms
Another information you need to know if you want to keep houseworms at home for your chickens is when to collect mealworms and how to collect them. If you skip the harvest of worms, they will turn into a beetle and your goal of raising chicken worms will be defeated. If you have not made sure that the beetle is part of the process, otherwise, you need to collect the larvae as soon as possible.
If you want the beetles to be a part of the process, you will need another beetle placement box so that you can mate easily. It takes about two weeks for the eggs produced by the beetles to hatch and the process will start again. The great thing about bugs is that they don’t fly, so you don’t have to worry about keeping them in your crate.
The essence of growing your worms is to feed your chickens, so make sure you grow enough mealworms to be able to comfortably feed your chicken, and the chicken will also eat dead and dried mealworms which make your life easier. .
Here you have it; the next steps if you want to grow your worm at home for your chickens.
