Mealworms and Quail Manure

In the coming months I will be experimenting with mealworms on a quail manure bedding. Once my mealworm population has grown to where I can spare some, I will be throwing them into a spare 10 gallon fish tank along with quail manure bedding. I will also add a thick layer of woodchip mulch to the top to weaken any odor.

If the experiment proves to be successful, it could possibly eliminate/reduce the need for buying/sourcing bedding for the mealworms.

In the meantime I welcome any advice or speculations on the experiment. I have found very little, but somewhat promising, results across the internet.

Also, I welcome any alternative uses there may be to upcycle a 10 gallon fish tank.

Dylan, welcome to the forum!

Here are some threads you might find interesting:

https://permies.com/t/169700/Free-training-Mealworm-production-Permies

https://permies.com/t/123517/grow-mealworms-grain-feed

https://permies.com/wiki/168777/Share-scraps-vertebrate-animal-system#1375509

Update #1

Whe moving my quail coop to clean the droppings that escape the enclosure, I discovered that unbeknownst to me, I had already started the experiment. These droppings contained at least two of the three stages of the mealworm lifespan (Beetle and worm). Thanks to a recent failure of a past project, I had acquired a bin to begin a controlled experiment.

Side note: I had learned that red wigglers tend to expand their population when given bran/oats. So of course when I sifted my mealworms, I placed the old oats into the bin. It only took a few weeks for it to convert into a mealworm colony.