Marvelous mealworms

Not worms but rather the larval stage of the darkling beetle, a sometimes grain pest and wonderful self-sufficient source of protein for backyard chickens especially during moults or the colder months when there are not too many insects about in the garden. I had fun raising these when I was younger for aviary birds and now I have a colony on the go for my laying girls. They don't take much work, there's no smell or mess if managed properly, and I think watching the life cycle go round is interesting.

The beetles start out very light (middle) then slowly darken over time. They mate and lay eggs which hatch into..

Mealworms. They start off almost invisible and grow to about an inch long, shedding their skin a few times along the way. The largest here are a good size to feed and just about ready to pupate.

The pupae are funny little aliens. They play dead most of the time but if you put them into your hand and warm them up they wiggle like little beans. Yes I am a big kid at heart. You can feed at any of these three stages but using the meal worms gives the advantage that you can gutload by feeding something highly nutritious to the worms before giving them out to the chickens. And how do they taste?

I'm not game to try but the feedback is good.

~