Aussie Finch Forum

Seems I spend nearly as much time using a sieve as I do observing the birds.

Anyone have any ideas on separating mealworms from the bran - would a winnower work?

Similar with the maggots - also was told that if you let the maggots pupate and then put them in water the pupae float and the residue sinks. Is it that simple?

Sounds like a test with a spoon of each in a bowl of water is required.
I seem to think I read somewhere about the pupae floating....will have to see if I can locate the article again

EDITED....found this on a reptile site, not the article I read but it says that the pupae float.
http://www.aussiereptilekeeper.com/modu ... c&start=15

I saw a DVD where by Gary Fitt places the bowl of Maggots in the fridge and they huddle together making easier to pickup the batch without the Bran.

Might work with Mealworms to a degree also.

I believe they do this to maintain body warmth.

Gary
You can put Mealworms through a winnower provided that they aren't to small.
We have 3 sieves made up from expanded metal, each are different sizes.The lot are dropped into the largest then next etc.
If you remove the Mealworm eggs then when they hatch they will all be a similar size and easily sorted.
As for seperating Maggots we do not bother as ours are not bred in anything rotten,I think you would need to be a little more careful if you lived in a place which experiences some high humidity such as QLD.you may have a yeast build up.In a dry climate I can't see a problem.
If you contact Mike he may be able to assist as he seperates his Maggots. I guess I am too lazy and seperating half a bucket full is a major task.

Throw a slice of bread on the bran for the mealwoms, when you need them just pickup the bread & wipe ém off, grab a hand full from underneath the bread, still have to sieve, but not as much. Putting mealworms in the fridge just slows them down they do not group up.

i cheat with the maggots and wait till they have balled up a bit in the fridge and them remove them , i just use an old canary wire basket to siv my mealies, may be gary you should ask allison for less bran.........but at the end of the day i have no where near the amount of birds that you do........pete

I visited a super-worm farm here in the Philippines yesterday and they seive everything but then again you can hire labor for ~AUD$9/day here so maybe it's not a problem. Superworms are a lot biger than mealies so perhaps it's not so much of a problem.

Try getting a piece of hessian and wet it, place it on top of the bran, leave for twenty minutes, the worms will come to the top and cling onto the hessian, then you grab them.

For sieving I use one of the fossickers mesh trays that are around 30mm diameter. Works well for me when I'm changing their bran. I also place two pieces of hessian on top of each other on the top of the colony, there are always sufficient worms (for my usage) in between the layers without the need to sieve.