Interesting find for insect frass users

DonBrennon

DonBrennon

Well-Known Member
greasemonkeymann said:
I stumbled upon this, looking for info on some bugs.
interesting to see the phosphorus and calcium content on these... Higher than most manures..
http://www.moonvalleyreptiles.com/crested-geckos/diet-nutrition/feeder-insects
anybody that wants to utilize chitin, could benefit from the the information there
also clearly gives much more information on chitin contents as well, the chart provided is some good shit.
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Good read, I particularly liked this bit

"Mealworms, superworms are not recommended as a staple for crested geckos because, being frugivores, they may not have the ability to digest high amounts of chitin that are present in these larvae."
 
DonBrennon

DonBrennon

Well-Known Member
Rrog said:
Great stuff!!! Exoskeletons are what we want
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I had a cup full of the dead darkling beetles which I'd been using for breeding and had come to the end of their lifecycle, they went into a soil I'm currently cooking for topdressing my no tills with. I didn't crush em up or anthing so I imagine they'll take a while to break down.
 
MustangStudFarm

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
DonBrennon said:
Great thread, only just found it

I can only get expensively imported crabshell meal, so I use frass to supply my chitin. It is fairly cheap over here, but I do have to go to the hydro store to get it and I really wanna break away from them completely.

..............so, I decided to try making my own, with the benefit of having mealworms to give to my mates chickens, in return for organic chicken shit for the compost pile.

It's 'experimental!' and was fairly cheap to set up, but I think it may be a long process before I harvest any frass. I bought 5 packs of baby mealworms for £10 to get my colony started. The base material is organic porridge oats which is also their main food source. For a water source I add a variety of fruit and veg waste, but have found they prefer banana skins, carrot ends and their absolute favourite, broccoli stumps. I've also experimented with adding various soil amendments and found they will eat pretty much anything I put in there, here's a list of what I have actually witnessed them eating - volcanic rock dust, oyster shell meal, seaweed, neem, calcified seaweed, gypsum, comfrey, alfalfa and cannabis leaf. I also tried putting freeze dried coconut powder and aloe vera in. They went into an absolute frenzy over the aloe vera, and you could see them gorging on it until they couldn't move, so I decided against using it again. Something really funky happened with the coconut, the meal worms that tried eating it were instantly killed, it drew the moisture out of them and turned to a nasty mush, not good.

1 week between photo's, they must've been thirsty
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Various shots of the amendments
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My first few pupa and beetles, born as eggs from the first worms I bought, in fresh oatmeal hoping they start breeding soon so I can start harvesting their eggs to add to the worm/frass producing drawer
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See if you can get chicken feathers from that organic farm! Several people on here said that they dont use feather meal because of arsenic, but that should not be a problem with your friend. I am starting to raise chickens, and there is a guy that is trying to start a chicken processing thing from his house and it is just down the street from me. So, I might see if he could source me some cheap feather meal and possibly start bringing him my chicken to process.

Black Soldier flies really turned the compost, much faster than the red wigglers. I also thought about using a catch pan under my bug zapper this year...
 
DonBrennon

DonBrennon

Well-Known Member
MustangStudFarm said:
See if you can get chicken feathers from that organic farm! Several people on here said that they dont use feather meal because of arsenic, but that should not be a problem with your friend. I am starting to raise chickens, and there is a guy that is trying to start a chicken processing thing from his house and it is just down the street from me. So, I might see if he could source me some cheap feather meal and possibly start bringing him my chicken to process.

Black Soldier flies really turned the compost, much faster than the red wigglers. I also thought about using a catch pan under my bug zapper this year...
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Just been on the pen making biochar, here's my mates chickens, I can get all the feathers, bedding and shite I like at the moment, lol, The guy we sublet the pen off died this year though and the lease is up for renewal in March, there's a slim possibily of us keeping it, but, we may lose the plot. I had all kinds of shit planned for it as well, I built a hugelkultur bed there last year and planted it up with legumes, I was gonna do another and build a big rabbit hutch, before the tragedy happened and we temporarily lost access.20160124_150030.jpg 20160124_150038.jpg
 
MustangStudFarm

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
My wife talked to the chicken processor, she said that the guy likes to do at least 50 at a time. He sounded like he would be happy if we showed up with shovels and buckets! I might have to learn how to make feather meal!
DonBrennon said:
Just been on the pen making biochar, here's my mates chickens, I can get all the feathers, bedding and shite I like at the moment, lol, The guy we sublet the pen off died this year though and the lease is up for renewal in March, there's a slim possibily of us keeping it, but, we may lose the plot. I had all kinds of shit planned for it as well, I built a hugelkultur bed there last year and planted it up with legumes, I was gonna do another and build a big rabbit hutch, before the tragedy happened and we temporarily lost access.View attachment 3592878 View attachment 3592880
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greasemonkeymann

greasemonkeymann

Well-Known Member
DonBrennon said:
Just been on the pen making biochar, here's my mates chickens, I can get all the feathers, bedding and shite I like at the moment, lol, The guy we sublet the pen off died this year though and the lease is up for renewal in March, there's a slim possibily of us keeping it, but, we may lose the plot. I had all kinds of shit planned for it as well, I built a hugelkultur bed there last year and planted it up with legumes, I was gonna do another and build a big rabbit hutch, before the tragedy happened and we temporarily lost access.View attachment 3592878 View attachment 3592880
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you guys are making me jealous! I love feather meal, it keep the plants an even green till the end, it SLOWLY breaks down, but it seems to slowly breakdown at about the rate that the plant can take up...
works nice, I've found that doghair is a good replacement, but it MUST be composted prior, or it'll be a yr or so before it does muc, but the compost accelerates all that
Feather meal is the shit...
 
MustangStudFarm

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
greasemonkeymann said:
you guys are making me jealous! I love feather meal, it keep the plants an even green till the end, it SLOWLY breaks down, but it seems to slowly breakdown at about the rate that the plant can take up...
works nice, I've found that doghair is a good replacement, but it MUST be composted prior, or it'll be a yr or so before it does muc, but the compost accelerates all that
Feather meal is the shit...
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It's that time of year and I am finding these all over the yard! I am going to get my basket and go hunting! I looked up "chitin" and wiki gave me a picture of this and it was a great idea!!!
upload_2016-8-3_21-1-22.jpeg
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
MustangStudFarm said:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/338403359473134363/

Cicada Moulting may seem like an odd ingredient for an allergy relief formula. But it's a great source of chitin and trace minerals that have properties similar to natural antihistamines. Chinese medicine has long used cicada shells to combat the itchiness and redness that come with seasonal allergens.




Ewwwww!!!
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Chinese medicine keeps coming up in connection with natural cures for carrots conditions and ailments.

Makes me wonder why we keep believing in Big Pharma.

Cicadas, lol who knew? I loved listening to them during long, lazy southern evenings...
 
greasemonkeymann

greasemonkeymann

Well-Known Member
MustangStudFarm said:
It's that time of year and I am finding these all over the yard! I am going to get my basket and go hunting! I looked up "chitin" and wiki gave me a picture of this and it was a great idea!!!
View attachment 3748800
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use that shit man!
I imagine it to be a better version of shrimp meal
course that's just based on those reptile feeder sites pertaining to nutritional value, so that's not exactly scientific, but either way, I liked it
not sure if it's for the compost pile though, i'd say it'd better suited for a soil mix, the compost procedure may lessen a lot of it's cool properties, but who knows
 
P

platt

Well-Known Member
Pattahabi said:
Plants can kill fungi/bugs using the chitinase enzyme, so why can’t you?
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eeek! [..]So why cant you[..] its operating at our DIY post war willing. You will always find a shopping cart below those words.
Fortunately those stores are experts in dissect & split raw materials to let us play god-like. Thats the way old farts can smell their co2 footprint from overseas.
 
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MustangStudFarm

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
platt said:
eeek! [..]So why cant you[..] its operating at our DIY post war willing. You will always find a shopping cart below those words.
Fortunately those stores are experts in dissect & split raw materials to let us play god-like. Thats the way old farts can smell their co2 footprint from overseas.
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Man, I really wish that Pattahabi was still around!!! I have not seen him in over a year or so now...
 
greasemonkeymann

greasemonkeymann

Well-Known Member
MustangStudFarm said:
It's that time of year and I am finding these all over the yard! I am going to get my basket and go hunting! I looked up "chitin" and wiki gave me a picture of this and it was a great idea!!!
View attachment 3748800
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my juvenile and perverted child-mind sees that picture as some sort of soldier fly porn..
I know, it's alright.
I don't NEED to grow up really..
DonTesla said:
Grumpy fighting Pat always had something informative to say

We miss @DonPetro too that humble worm farmin, Light building green thumb bredgren
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SO TRUE
I have his email address around here somewhere.
he is just off growing herb on his own, not worrying about what the new growers are doing..
Been tempted to take some time off myself, but instead I just find myself heckling others in the toke n talk...
but i'll be damned if that TnT area isn't the best for free comedy
 
greasemonkeymann

greasemonkeymann

Well-Known Member
platt said:
eeek! [..]So why cant you[..] its operating at our DIY post war willing. You will always find a shopping cart below those words.
Fortunately those stores are experts in dissect & split raw materials to let us play god-like. Thats the way old farts can smell their co2 footprint from overseas.
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I know it's through a translation my friend...
but I have NO clue as to what you are talking about...
WhatchootalkinboutPlatt?
shit... that joke probably makes no sense for you either huh...
 
P

platt

Well-Known Member
hahah ! first of all thx for your politeness! it has to be a pain in the ass reading me
Was talking about that DIY old fashioned wave born during interwar period (20th century).
Nowadays we find a ton eco/bio-webstores cheating our ego with phrases like why cant you do this... and at the same time they offer us nonsense and extremely unefficiently made goods or half completed processes [means oil+war+co2 footprint].
Dunno, being positive, i wanna think this certainly doesnt represent a big threat to the average grower.
 
P

platt

Well-Known Member
calliandra said:
Well thanks guys, now I feel like Draculas bug-eating sidekick when I see a dead anything on the windowsill and get this yum feeling as I throw it into a plant pot :rolleyes:
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hahhah gotta recognize i considered buying some livestock to let the mutualistic xenorhabdus engage brand new fresh emocoel ^ Thats what happen after seeing the terrarium box posted by DBrennon lol
 
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