Tell me what you think

[tfabry]

Hello this is the direction I would like to go. Give some opinions as to my proposed ideas please. We want to raise african nightcrawlers to fill a niche in our local fishing market. I started out 2 months ago with 3lbs of worms (2000-3000 with alot of babies). This weekend my kids and I flipped our bins to fluff them up. Boy was I surprised at the amount of worms we had. If I had to guess I would say we have approx 5000 worms. So we started another rubbermaid bin - now we have 3 - 18 gall. bins. I really should have started a 4th but I didnt have the necessary bedding here at the house. So next month we are 1 - going to flip the bins again and pick out the breaders (to be our breading stock) 2 put the babies and eggs in a seperate bin, 3 put the mid size ones in 2 more bins. And start out with fresh new bedding and the remnats of the original bedding. Ultimately I would like to be at 750k worms prior to selling any. I figure this would keep me in good standings and not ever run out. How long should it take for them to multiply to 750k - 1 mill? I figure approx 9-12 months or is this not realistic? For this many worms I would like to build a outside bin for the warm months (Wisconsin) and a inside bin system for winter. How big do they really need to be? Im thinking 4x8 plywood 1 foot high sides and make approx 3 bins inside and out. Or can I build a deep one like 4x4x4 deep and build those??? Also do any of you sell your worms for bait? If so how much do you sell them for - to bait shops and privately?? Where is a good / cheap supplier for bait cuts with lids??


Sorry for being so long -
Thanks - TODD

[tt]

on the bins I would make racks with bins 2 feet wide and 8 feet long with 4 to 6 inch sides. your african nightcrawlers i have had no experence with but as far as building 4*4 bins i did that and it is a lot of work to harvest . I have sinse changed to the bins above much easier. Also worms like shallow mind you im not sure on your africans. I know they can be hard to raise , they dont like any weather changes . Tend to travel do not ship well. They dont get really fat like the Euros more lenght then width. Im do not know thier reproduction rates. hope that helps

[chuckiebtoo]

I don't know your location, but Africans require some very cool temps, no variations to speak of, and basically, refrigeration.

Euro's, on the other hand, aren't as big...but they are great bait worms. They also require cooler temps, but not as cool.

Personally, I would be hesitant to undertake the raising of Africans because of my summer heat (Texas).

I would also make bin-space available as I needed it.

I have some outdoor raised beds, but the majority of my worms are in plastic totes. The portableness of them can't be beat.

Chuckiebtoo