4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[sandyhas3chucks]

hi, a while back we had a thread going about breeding the little darling wrigglies.

I am very successful at growing on to Beetles.

But am struggling with 1. how to know where the eggs are. 2 what to put ib the bottom of the box as I think I need something that eggs will drop through but not the bran?

Have I got thart right, then how long before eggs hatch?

some help would be appreciated. (i think they eat the eggs if not separated don't they?)

[Valkyrie]

I always put bran at the bottom - needs to be at least an inch deep. I tried with whole Weetabix too, but you can't see the little wrigglers in there, so it can be crumbled up small. As they are cannibals, I leave the beetles in the box - with climbing frame made out of an eggbox. After some time - depending on how many beetles one to three months - I swap the beetles into a clean box with new bran - the climbing frame is also added. That way you can discard all the dead bodies of the beetles and let the eggs hatch and grow. Careful, some beetles like to play possum.

I then pick out the largest of the worms and put them into a new tub for the first munching. That will allow the smaller worms to come on and any late hatchers - there always seems to be some left. With the larger ones, they soon dirty their box and eat all the bran, so I use a sieve to clear out the worms and edible bran which is put into another clean box - the poo resembles grains of sand and is really heavy - drops through very quickly. I do this over a tub lid because there are always tiddlers that drop through the mesh. I also have to wear a mask and swimming goggles because I have become very allergic to the dust that comes off either the poo or bran. With that in mind I am gradually decreasing my little beetle farm - I had a really bad asthma attack and I haven't had that for over 40 years!

The poo can be used in the garden - and any bits of bran also serve as a slug/snail repellent, so I always spread the waste around my beans in the veggie patch.

At the moment I have 4 large boxes of biscuits (biscuits consumed by humans) - so handy for a multitude of things - one has the beetles and the others are just hatchlings, medium sized and ready for the girls.

They also take up a fair amount of space, so are stacked up on the window ledge - in the warmer months they grow really quickly whereas the coolness of winter slows them down.

Every now and then I add potato peelings and carrot peelings. They love potato. Some people give them a little banana (mine didn't like them) or thinly sliced apple (not keen either). Whatever you do, don't put in too much potato if it is wet after peeling, it can cause mould in the bran and that is awful!

Good luck Sandy

[Chook n Boo Mum]

I can agree with the mouldy bran being revolting - mine seemed to go yuk from below not above though!

 

I lobbed the whole lot into the green cone - I had intended giving the beetles to the chooks, but they are still sitting on the shelf (in a sealed box I hasten to add!!!) May try again....

 

Sha x