Maggot size

[J_Robbo]

Hi all, I started breeding maggots about 2 months ago(with a big help from Wagga, thanks mate).Its all going good so far.Just wondering what size maggots everybody feeds their birds. Mine are always very small but container it chokers every batch.

[E Orix]

I just feed them as they become available.
If they start to dehydrate then they shrink but mine are still eaten if this happens.

[Spitfire]

Maggots staying small means that the maggots don't have enough protein to eat.
I add Game bird starter to the mix to help them gain some weight.

[Craig52]

Hi all, I started breeding maggots about 2 months ago(with a big help from Wagga, thanks mate).Its all going good so far.Just wondering what size maggots everybody feeds their birds. Mine are always very small but container it chokers every batch.

Hi Robbo,it sounds like you are feeding them straight out of the fly cage and that's fine but if you want to get them a bit larger,tip them into a tray(small kitty litter tray or the like).Add roughly the same amount of fresh medium on top of them and by next morning they will have eaten their way through that and have doubled in size.Do not use a source of heat as they produce their own heat,if the're too hot they might pupae.Hope that helps. Craig

[J_Robbo]

Thank's for the replys all.
I make about half a round chinese container a day of bran\milkpowder mix.
Leave that in for two days and then take it out and place it in a 2L container on top of the fly box,
Sieve and use when required.will try adding some mixture on top to fatten them up.

[Tricky]

Hi all
I have had this prob aswell . So I'm very interested in this topic .
So Craig if you feed them straight from fly box , they would still have the black line down them , is it alright to feed this way ? If that's alright it will make life easier as it quite humid when in Brisvagus at the moment & they are turning into pupae in 3 days .
Tricky

[Spitfire]

The Black Line is only poisonous if you are feeding MEAT.

[Craig52]

The Black Line is only poisonous if you are feeding MEAT.

G'day Tricky,Spitfire is right but in saying that you could say i do clean them out unintentionally. After the maggots have had a good feed in the kitty litter tray and the bran has turned brown i sieve them out and place them in fresh dry bran in a four litre icecream without the lid and keep them in the fridge.From this container i add maggots every few days and use the maggots daily to feed my birds,it becomes an ever lasting supply.If i have a major problem with the fly cage i have always got enough maggots in the fridge until i get it up and going again.The maggots go dormant but before they do they purge themselves,you set the fridge on the number one setting which is roughly 5-10 degrees which will keep your beer pretty cold too.
Feeding your maggots in a 4ltr icecream container on top of your fly cage will make them pupae very quickly with the excess heat,maggots produce their own heat so they don't need to be heated,especially in Summer. Craig