I bought 2 dozen mealworms a couple years ago at an exotic pet store with the hopes of raising mealworms as supplemental food for our small flock (about 6 chickens). I tried using the 3 drawer method - plastic set of 3 drawers with top drawer having a screened bottom. Beetles are housed in that one and eggs fall through screen into feedstock and begin developing. I thought I had failed because "nothing" happened after the beetles all died. But I never got around to cleaning out the drawer unit and several months later I discovered a treasure trove of mealworms had hatched, grown and reproduced! No veggies for moisture, just old flour that I had dumped in there at the start.
I have since modified my approach. I have 2 medium flat Sterilite containers under my buffet, sideboard, whatever you want to call it. They are about 4 inches tall and 20 inches long by 15 inches wide (approximately). I drilled holes in lids for air. Feedstock is wheat bran I get from feedstore (50 lbs/ $12.00). I started using bran i bought online ($2lbs / $18.00). Important step is to freeze your bran to eliminate weevils. I didn't do that and ended up with a lot of weevils in my house! Every couple weeks I put a portion of a carrot in each container for moisture. One container is primarily for the beetles and the other is for the worms to grow . After several months, I take the frass from the beetles and add it to the worm box. This transfers many eggs into the grow out container. Every 6 months or so, I freshen up both boxes with new bran and clean them out. When I discover beetles or pupa in grow out box, I just transfer them to the beetle box. I use a sifter from the dollar store to separate worms, beetles and frass. Space Coast Mealworms sells a very nice graded set of sifters that fit over a 5 gallon bucket, but the set is $72 or more and I'm trying to SAVE money, not spend it. The set up is easy, does not smell or take up much room. It can tolerate severe neglect (something i am quite good at
and produces a great crop of treats for my small flock. It could be scaled up for a larger flock. However, I still feed my flock with Dumor Layer Pellets that I purchase from Tractor Supply and I let them free range the property on the weekends. Hope this helps!
