Magots for food

[gomer]

how long do the larvae things take to hatch into flys.

[Pete Sara]

a week i think mate. even thou its cold out try putting a mix of bran and milk powder on top of your fly box if there are any wild ones they will find it . and pop it in the fly box if you see signs of maggots. i used to buy fly pupae some didnt hatch because they were over cooked , but if the lights are on and theres warmth u should see progress in a few days and also try putting an old towel over the front to keep some of the warmth in. i have a pair of willy wagtails who eat all the escapes from the fly box and now i have to keep the flywire covered now that they know where there coming from...pete

[gomer]

Have atleast 5 hatch today.was worried they might be dead,because the chop burner put them in the fridge, with my mealworms after collecting them.Away tommorrow,should i wait a few more days before putting in the breeding medium?So there are a few more flys.?

[Pete Sara]

put it in asap.i keep mine in the fridge for a while just slows the proccess down a bit.. if a few more hatch while you are away so dont waste it .. when u get back mix up the bran so the top doesnt go crusty with eggs ....pete

[Diane]

because the chop burner put them in the fridge

[gomer]

now i have a few hundred flies.and last night (SAT) put in one tub of medium.When do i put in a second one? Every how many days?And i assume i take out the first when it starts to crawl? And so on.

[Pete Sara]

this is what i do . i leave it in there for 2 days take it out replacing it with the next one . on top of the box which is reasonably warm i have a kitty litter tray with a fresh mix of milk and bran/ pollard it , then i add the mix i just got out to it, to fatten up the maggots. u can leave them in the original container, but they do stay small. over time you will master whats best for you. try to keep a 3rd of your maggots for the next group of flies or else u will be back to square one in no time. pete

[gomer]

ok i will put another one in tommorrow night.and take out the first one.

[Pete Sara]

you an leave them in there if you want that way you will see a bit better on how long they take to grow. it wont do any harm ..the first month will all be trial and error, plus with the crap weather we all been having it might just pay to keep them in there....pete

[E Orix]

Gomer
Where in Victoria do you live.
If you need some Maggots to get really going I can assist.
This time of the year I only run one box which keeps my breeding supply going as well.
Around Sept. I bring a second colony on mloine and October the third is started up.
You are far better off having one box with a massive amount of flies than 2 or 3 boxes with less flies.
The more flies the less likelyhood of any yeast build up. This is important for the way I feed out as I do not seperate the maggots from the medium but feed the lot out and the birds sort them out.Apart from sugar and water I put my medium in(Bran and Milk Powder or Whey powder) already mixed(damp but not slushy).After two days the blown medium is taken out and up ended into a large plastic bowl. New medium is put on the top and all is placed in a warm place. It is important to put the new medium on top as the maggots will rise to it. If placed on the bottom some will get missed and become a sour mess.The next day or so I simply scoop out the medium and Maggots and place it into feeding trays for the birds,untouched by my hands. The only concern for me would be people breeding them in a warm humid climate may need to watch out for yeast or other build ups.