Aussie Finch Forum

I agree starman, but the general idea of freeze dried mealworm powder is to add it to softfood in particular sprouted seed where the birds eat it unknowing it's there.

Aha, Craig ... I was thinking of those plastic (cellophane?) bag packaged dried worms, that are fed to pampered pets and (believe it or not), humans.

On the topic of live mealworm substitutes—

I was given a damaged packet of those Peckish-brand dried mealworms. None of the finches would so much as touch them. The quails ate a few, but only when I mixed them into prepared finch soft food which must have re-hydrated them just enough to be palatable.

arthur wrote: ↑12 Jan 2021, 20:35 Plenty in the literature about storing M's in the fridge (not freezer) for long periods, where they become dormant, and later on warming resume normal activity . .

If you have an abundance, you might as well experiment . .

And let us know your results . .

I have frozen some mealworms and left it in the freezer for about 3 weeks and have found that:

* no significant color change was noticed
* the worms kept their shape
* no sogginess
* relatively easy to defrost. Just leave then in the sun for 5 - 10 minutes
* the quails ate it so quickly, they didn't have time to notice that it was dead.
* Grass finches and Red headed parrot finches also had no problem with it.

I have now frozen the majority of the remaining worms for the lean years