Breeding Maggots

[SamDavis]

A bit off topic, but during the past week I've visited a heap of finch collections (as part of the Red Siskin tour). Everyone breeds maggots differently and I mean everyone. Most are using calf replacement formula (as I do), some use dog biscuits and some use chick starter as the main protein source. There are numerous routines as well - some do daily changes, most every second day and some just feed straight from a single ongoing container in the fly box. In some cases the maggots fed out are very dry and in others very wet and plump. I must admit to shying away from feeding the plump wet looking ones. The wettest looking ones I saw were at Taronga Zoo. To my eyes they looked like a bacterial issue waiting to happen but apparently no known issues. Everyone seemed happy with the quantity produced and reliability of their system so who am I to argue - although my system still seems best to me - lol