Mealworms for Chickens

Mealworms for Chickens: Raising mealworms at home is easy, money-saving, and healthy for your chickens. Start a fun little mealworm farm for the flock!

If you've ever wondered if it is possible to feed your chickens without purchasing tons of feed per year, raising mealworms for chickens might be one way to source essential nutrients and protein for your flock. 

Keep reading, as Julie from Farmer Bob's Tiny Raptors guides us, from setting up a mealworm farm to harvesting the mealworms as nutritious snacks for your chickens.

Home Grown Mealworms
A Great Snack Alternative for Poultry

By Julie Wilhelmi
1/26/2025

The Adventure Begins!

My adventure into mealworm farming began after I purchased some black soldier fly larvae snacks on Amazon. When I received the package I noticed the fine print that said “Made In China.”

I then decided I needed to find a better alternative to supplying my flock with quality snacks that I could trust. What better way to do this than to grow your own.

Before I get into the nitty-gritty, let's review the life cycle of the Darkling Beetle. 

Stages of Life of the Darkling Beetle

The Larva Stage: The larva stage can last anywhere from 3 months to a year. Environmental factors determine the length of time.

The Pupa Stage: The pupa stage can last 2 to 4 weeks. The color of the beetle will be white or brown when it first emerges from the pupa. It will gradually change to black.

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The Adult Darkling Beetle: The beetles will swarm together to continue this life cycle. They lay their eggs in the substrate of the bin. These eggs can start hatching in 4-7 days.

Interestingly, adult darkling beetles cannot fly. The outside "wings" are fused together, and cannot spread for liftoff. The lifespan of adult darkling beetles varies from 3-15 years¹.

Get Started Raising Mealworms for Chickens!

You have options when you get started:

• There are kits online that you can purchase
• Or, you can DIY your setup

When I first got started I purchased a kit online. I soon discovered this kit was not big enough for how many worms I wanted to continue reproducing for my flock. I then used some small totes I had on hand to create the extra space I needed. You don’t need to worry about lids as the larvae and beetles will not be able to climb the plastic walls. The method I use will require 3 bins. YouTube has a great many videos to help you decide what setup will work best for you³.

Ideal growing conditions include a temperature range of 65 - 85 F. They like to be kept in the dark, if possible. Humidity around 50% is good, or a little bit higher, but variations have not affected my production in my little worm farm.

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Creating the Mealworm Farm

I use clear totes on shelves in a cabinet with doors. (See the photo at the top of this page.) This creates the dark environment preferred by both the beetles and the larvae. 

A rolling cart with slide-out trays or stackable bins (pictured) is another good option for setting up your mealworms for chickens farm, especially if it can be stored in a dark place such as a closet. I prefer using the clear bins so I can easily tell when it is time to sift and remove the frass (poop) from what is left of the substrate.

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Mealworms for Chickens: First Tote

You only need one tote to start. This one bin, the larva bin, will start out being your nursery bin where you will put the larvae when your order of mealworms arrives. Inside the tote, you will need a form of substrate, or bedding that is also food. I use wheat bran that I buy in bulk from Azure Standard. Oats is another option you can use. This is also food for the worms and beetles.

The larva bin requires enough substrate to feed the number of larvae you are going to add to the bin. I add about 2 inches minimum. The egg crate pictured will be eaten by the larvae and beetles. It also provides them a place to congregate and hide from the light.

Expert Tip: If you like, you can sprinkle a small amount of chick starter crumbles on the top of the wheat bran substrate. This is not essential, but it does provide a bit of extra nourishment that will end up benefiting the chickens when they eat the mealworms.

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The moisture source for beetles and larvae is the easy part. Well, it’s all easy, but here we go. Slice potatoes or add carrot sticks on top of the substrate. The larvae will have a tendency to carry these below the top of the substrate. They will eat and suck the water out of both.

Mealworms for Chickens: Sifters

Sifters are an important part of the process. I splurged and purchased the bucket sifters. The most important size is the 1/30th. This size will allow you to separate the frass from the wheat bran. The only thing left in the bucket after sifting is a fertilizer you can add directly to the garden or your compost. The 1/30th size does not come in the 5-size sifter pack. It has to be purchased separately. Boo! If you are on a budget the 3 smallest sizes would work just fine or even the 2 smallest.

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Time for Maintenance: Sift the Frass

Frass is the technical term for larvae droppings. In the photo above, the frass (poop, aka fertilizer for the garden) is at the bottom. Wheat bran is closer to the top and is darker and more chunky.

You will be starting off with larvae and those will take time to grow. As they grow the larvae will molt and the shed skin will collect at the top of the substrate. Larvae might molt 9-20 times before shifting gears and pupating¹. That's quite a few skins that should be removed from the bins from time to time.

The molted skins are easily removed by taking the bins outside and waving cardboard to blow it out. Windy days work great or even a fan. You can blow on it but it will fly in your face. Please be sure to send me videos if you choose this option. in the photo above, the static has the molted skin clinging to the walls of the bin.

Second Bin

Second bin: Eventually, those little larvae become big (or not) and decide it is time to turn into a pupa. I separate the pupae and put them in their own bin. I check this bin at least weekly for beetles.

The small pupa are rejects. They turn into very small beetles and are not good for much other than chicken snacks. It is just easier to feed them the rejected pupa because they will not crawl away. That little larva just wanted to grow up too fast.

Third Bin

Third bin: I create a bin just for my beetles. This bin has only about an inch of substrate. You can probably get by with less. Make sure to include the cardboard egg carton.

When you have collected enough beetles they will start their little swarming and mating action with one another. The females will lay their eggs and continue doing so until they die.

A female can lay about 500 eggs over her lifetime. The eggs are sticky and will get coated in the substrate. I usually move my beetles to a new bin every 1 to 2 months. The substrate then becomes a nursery of sorts. Then I watch and wait. I will also remove dead beetles as I see them. The chickens love those too.

Harvesting Mealworms for Chickens

I will separate the live mealworms when I am sifting the bins. I will keep some set aside to feed to the chickens and return others to the refreshed bin. Always return the unused substrate to the bin with the worms you are keeping. Keep some of the older larvae to maintain your beetle bin. If I have chicks, I will separate out some of the smaller larvae to save for them.

I will check the bins every 2-3 days to see if they need more potatoes or carrots added and the old ones removed. Potatoes are more prone to growing mold than carrots.

It is advisable to put a date on a piece of tape to attach to the beetle bin and the new nursery. You can continue to add the used beetle substrate to the nursery bin until you have a total of 2-3 inches of substrate. Be advised it may take a while before you have enough beetles to warrant creating that nursery bin.

Keep Chicken Snack Mealworms in the Refrigerator

When your mealworm farm begins to regularly produce and you have separated out the mealworms that will become snacks for the chickens, these can go into the refrigerator in an aerated container - a paper bag, for example, or a jar with holes poked in the lid. 

• They need the air to breathe, or they'll die.
• The chilly frig temperature slows them way down, but once you pull them out of the frig, they will become active once again.
  
  

Your Turn to Grow Mealworms for Chickens!

Well, that covers the basics. It really is easy to start growing mealworms. Go for it!

Your initial supply can be purchased online from a reputable source⁴. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Thank you so much Julie for helping the rest of us create a home grown mealworm farm so we too can pamper our chickens!

References:

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