Aussie Finch Forum

Has anyone used the mix that John Albert uses to breed maggots,I am going to give it a try,smells good when mixed up
1 part -Chick starter
1 part - Meat meal
1 part - Powdered milk
1 part - Pollard
1 part - water

I have tried it minus the meat meal.The mix I had I found it dried up to quick and was to dry for maggots to be successful.I dont know if the meat meal would keep it moist for a longer period.

I use a similar mix and adjust the water so it doesn't dry out or just ad more water to the mix later . the high protein chicken starter grows the maggots out better i find.

Can I ask why you would go to that much bother when Bran and Milk powder or Whey powder will do well.
I do not use Pollard as I think it is too fine and tends to compact down,Bran remains more loose,as for moisture,add enough water so when you grab a handful and squeeze it in your fist the moisture dribbles out.
No matter what system you use you must have as many flies as you can fit in your fly box. Lots of Flies equals lots of Maggots but just as important they will eat all the Bran/Milk powder mix before it goes off.
I do not think the so called gut feeding works.
That mix has too many items that can go off.
You are far better to give the Maggots a fine spray of HONEY and water and sprinkle your addatives over the outside of them.

I don't know to what extent maggots ingest the bran, but I know many mealworm breeders went away from using bran as a food/substrate for breeding mealworms in favour of mill-run or pollard due to the phytic acid content of bran which inhibits calcium absorption. I presume a similar effect to this could oocur with maggots living/feeding on a bran-based substrate so this may be a possible reason to replace bran with the pollard component at least. I guess this supports the gut-loading theory which I do believe has merit. You are what you eat & all that.

I agree with Eorix, too many things to go off if you dont have enough flies or are not systematic in handling your cultures.. I stick to the KISS principle, milk and bran or pollard ( I mix an match) you know variety. I tried the other recipies and found in Qld they tend to go really smelly in the middle of summer even with 1000s of flies in teh box, Ok in Winter however. Again it is about working out what is best for you and your birds and VARIETY for your birds.