price per kilo for mealworms

[Diane]

Anyone any idea what the price is for a kilo of mealworms? Just a rough idea because Ive just seen an advert on Gumtree for a kilo for $60 and Im not sure if that is cheap or expensive.

[murf]

At Ballarat someone had 1kg for $45. I think he also advertises in Aust. Avic.Soc. in the members notices.

[Diane]

Thanks murf. By the time freight is added on to the $45 ones and the worry and waiting for them might just be worth the extra buying local as they are not too far away according to the location.

[Greg41]

I'm paying $50 kilo from WA Finch Soc.


Cheers Greg

[gomer]

$45 a kilo here plus freight.

[finches247]

$25 a kilo here but i buy 4kgs a month $30 for 1 kilo

[Trilobite]

if your buying a kilo at a time I would suggest that you think about breeding them, 6-12 tubs from the $ shop for about $40 and a 25kg bag of bran is about $13 at the produce agency. just doenst stack up paying that much for mealies.

[djb78]

About $50 was the last price I paid for mealies.

[gomer]

if your buying a kilo at a time I would suggest that you think about breeding them, 6-12 tubs from the $ shop for about $40 and a 25kg bag of bran is about $13 at the produce agency. just doenst stack up paying that much for mealies.

How much a kilo do you think it costs doing it yourself roughly ? Also how much time to produce a kilo ? would be interesting to compare.

[Trilobite]

ok my tub set up (*12) cost me $5 each, so $60 approx 3 years ago,
mealworms free from a fellow finch member,
bran $13 for a 25 kg bag * 3 times per year so $40
Over the course of a year (no heat applied) I get approx +/- 2 kg per tub = 24kg for $100 - so approx $4/kg in first year of set up and then cheaper after that.
Yes acknowledge that time and effort arent costed in but I am at the produce agency anway to pick up chook and dog food, so chuck in teh bran. I use the free newspapers delivered to my nature strip to cover the cultures and the worms migrate into the layers for ease of picking out. I spend about 2 hours approx each 3 months to sort and replace spent bran with new and consolidate and start new cultures - it is a revolving system.
I can then reach into a tub and get a small takeaway dish with ease in about 1 min flat on my way to the avairy and chuck in any potato/carrot peelings from the previous night dinner.
Once you get a system running it is very minimal to keep going and like your birds you know the moods of the cultures so you can ramp up or down production as you see fit. Obviously winter time they slow down but so do your birds.

Oh and the lemon mite that gets in the culture at ceratin times of the year - dont worry about them they go in there own good time. Any any codling moth in the bran is soon disposed of by the meal worm/beetles.

KISS - keep it simple sailor.