Fried tarantula, maggot cheese, excretement - gag - coffee are definitely not my idea of food. And yet there are cultures in which the wierdest ingredients are enjoyed as a delicacy. The thought has me turning green and gagging over a toilet bowl. Worms and crickets seem to be a less horrendous "food". Here in South Africa mopane worms are considered a superior source of protein and have been favoured by some tribal people for generations.
One of the most commonly eaten worm across the world are mealworms. Those that - shall we say - enjoy them, report the flavour as nutty and creamy. We recently began a mealworm farm to test the theory - on our chickens. The results are rather disgusted chickens when we offer them food that is not a worm!
Investing in worms had a twofold purpose; we needed to supplement our chickens and also use them in a homeschooling capacity. The children love working with and learning about the little wriggling worms. When we began with our few mealworms we didn't know that they were actually - shudder - edible to humans. I was more horrified when my enthusiastic husband emptied half a bucket of my precious non-GMO rolled oats into the special drawers that he had assigned to the worms. He then gobbled up a couple bananas and carefully spread the banana peel on top of the bed of rolled oats.
Over the last few months we have learned a lot about these mealworms. They reproduce at an almost alarming rate. And they don't eat that much, I am relieved to know. Whenever we peep inside the drawers, the bed of oats seem abandoned except for perhaps a worm or two.
However, if you gently dig into the oats it comes alive and hundreds of worms burrow back into their bed. Instead of just oats we now feed them a blend of bran and oats. Ideally the oats should be ground. A mealworm prefers foods that are milled, so oatmeal or cornmeal. Other grains that have been ground (or a blend thereof) are also good. As well as the bran and oats the mealworms need moisture and variety. They love feeding on decaying plant matter but you cannot let the produce become moldy.
Because of their dry bed of meal it is essential to add moist decaying matter. Fruit or veggies are a favourite, even slivers of raw apple or potato. We still toss in banana skins every day and remove the shriveled old matter.
When changing their bed, it is important to save the bran and oatmeal long enough to allow the eggs and larvae to hatch and grow. I was rather shocked to learn that the way to slow down the reproduction is to put the worms in the fridge. Of course with a flock of always hungry chickens too many worms is not our problem.
We have some of the best fed animals in the farming community. Although their human pets can't complain as we benefit from their wholesome byproducts. We often marvel at the fact that we work like slaves but we eat like kings! I guess we could say the same for the little farm of mealworms....
