So, we practice organically but we are not certified organic. The debris is mostly very small pieces of plastic that sneak through our screening process
Is this all organic? Also regarding the mulch on your website, do you have specifics on the "debris" that may be in the mulch? BTW - Your team at the Work Farm is really helpful, and we enjoyed our tour. Thank you!
Will rats eat the larvae, I'm worried about attracting rats with the smell of the chick mash and the possibility of the rats chewing trough the screen on the fly habitat and them not only eating the chick mash but also eating the pupa and baby larvae
Hey Zack, I just received my firs colony of 500g of small larvae. I made them a container with cococoir (a liitle wet) as a base and put some oatmeal(wet) with spent coffee grounds and apple waste into the container. The temperature was around 21C. This morining when I woke up a lot of them were lying arountd the container and crawling up the walls. I heard they do this if it's too hot or too wet but that wasn't the case. Just wondering if you have a tip of what else I can do to prevent them of crawling up and out. Best regards Pawel
We do them about three times a year. The next on is in September. Details are here: app.squarespacescheduling.com/schedule/038c2ee8/?categories[]=Class
Re: the commercial farm.. 500 pounds a week ends up being 150 or so after drying them out, yes? And i see retail prices around $1/pound for dried BSFL. It seems like that is not enough income to justify the operation. Can you let me know just a little about the math that makes it work out?
500 dries to 220 pounds. We sell them direct to customers for $10 a pound. We sell live to customers for $10 a pound. The key is selling retail direct to customers.
Thank you so very much for your videos!! I’m trying to design a small commercial operation to support my pastured poultry farm. I’m outside of Portland, Oregon and have basically the opposite weather you experience 😹 Is that a shipping container you use for the commercial side? I want to figure out the right kind of building, insulation, HVAC, that I will need. Can you recommend a building type that might work? Thanks again so much. I’m just starting with the small bins but hoping to have enough to feed 1000+ birds someday and have no clue on what that looks like for BSFL production!!! Perhaps one ton a week.🤔
Hey Sarah - you should call the farm at 602-622-7663 and ask to speak with Tessa. She is our BSFL guru and help talk you through what you need. If it is affordable for you, a trip to our farm would probably also help you get kickstarted. The direct answer to your question: A set-up for 1000+ hens requires a small commercial set up. You need a breeding room and a grow out room. The breeding room needs natural or artificial light and you need to be able to keep temperatures between about 80 degrees and 95 degrees and 70% humidity. The grow out is a bit more forgiving. We produce 400 pounds of larvae a week in one shipping container (40x8x8). It has AC, heat, and a humidifier. And, while we have not done much experimentation with it - it appears the larvae will grow nicely on chicken manure as feedstock. You might have everything you need right in your operation. Although, if you are doing true pasture raising, the manure is probably helping feed the fields they are on.
@@zachbrooks1892 That is super nice of you. I don’t want to take advantage of your time, so I’ll stay small scale getting experience until your workshop! Very much appreciate your content and am so impressed with your business! And yes I’m as true pasture as you can get… even kept my birds on pasture all winter (hoping to avoid that this winter as it’s too much work😹). Another BSFL producer told me to use food scraps instead of manure (I do have a little manure from a few animals who live in the barn and paddocks)…. I’ve even read about people using humanure!!! I just want to have as easy of a system as possible that can be rodent-proofed!! Thanks again very much 🤩
Thanks for explaining all of the details. This is the most informative video on how to farm BSF yourself that I have seen on RU-vid. Especially, the how you set up the eggies and the where to get the cages from.
Is there a way to collect eggies and delay their hatching? Maybe collect the eggies that you want to delay and put them in a wine cooler at say 50°F. Then at a set interval bring out an eggie and let them hatch.
So you control their maturation level by controlling the amount of feed and timing of the feed? I’m looking for a way to have a on going consistent daily supply of BSF larva to feed my chickens. I have 20 egg layers. I don’t know how much larva I need to feed my chickens.
@@timothypropst238 For consistent daily supply, you need some of your larvae pupate (in the beginning, let 50% mature - then cut back when you start getting eggs). You need your own live flies to lay your own eggs to keep them hatching. I focus on breeding - not on controlling maturation. You need to get live flies to hatch.
Wow, this is so interesting. I just moved into a new home in Paradise Valley Az, I planted a few citrus trees and a Florida prince peach. I would love to add some worm castings and mulch to my trees and just wondering if you in fact sell to the public? Thankyou
I was told by someone at Arizona Worm farm (I highly suggest you buy from them. Satisfied customer here) that chick mash is chicken layer pellets that have been watered and made into a a mash.
thanks - you can use soil, but it needs to be "fluffy" - not hard pack. Any food waste will work for the hatching shower. I use chicken mash because it is really easy for the larvae and for us.
We rarely get below 30 degrees - so the wedges stay well above 50F and that is good for the worms. This works in freezing areas if you just load up on fresh green waste - the heating keeps the wedges warm enough
Appreciate y’all making this video, 26 years old I have a deep urge to raise awareness in soil health and using organic gardening practices to raise the nutrition in the stuff we eat to make all of us healthier. I’m here in phoenix too, we’ll have to collaborate one day when I have my own farm here with the same intentions / goals. 🔆💪🏼🎯🎯
A note to people about "the food waste being eaten" quickly Be aware that moist dense food waste will sink to the bottom and you may think all the food is gone, but it might just be at the bottom, covered and not seen.
Oops, I wasn't subscribed. I just got my BSF Larvae today and stocked up on coffee grounds, sawdust and building materials. I really really hope that this time I will have great success with breeding. As long as I get at least 10 batches of eggs, from my 5,000 larvae, I will break even. (500 eggs each x 10 batches = 5,000 eggs). I know from experience, that if the fly cage is too small, they will refuse to breed, no matter if everything else is perfect. I know the size of the fly cage is only 1 detail, but I believe it is the 1 thing that inexperienced people assume is the least important people like me think "because they are flies, they will breed if there is food and a place to lay eggs". I'm not saying you need a 10,000 square foot enclosure, but a 6 inch by 6 inch by 6 inch fly cage is too small and they won't breed. I've heard maybe 20 inch x 20 inch by 20 inch minimum works, and a 6 foot tall enclosure is best (if you have the space and money).
Almost perfect video. I'd recommend this as the best complete "getting started with BSF farming" video I've seen, that tells you enough to get you successful and then just troubleshoot any issues (as/if) needed with other information sources. This video contains some critical uncommon info that you would otherwise have to hunt for.
