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.
Thanks for explaining all of the details. This is the most informative video on how to farm BSF yourself that I have seen on UA-cam. Especially, the how you set up the eggies and the where to get the cages from.
Looking forward to sharing my research and beta testing with y'all in January. We are doing very similar things with small and mid scale decoupled systems. All of our market research and product/market fit is constrained to high density urban spaces and zoned residential space, so I realize we are playing in different arenas but best practices and principles of efficiently still apply. I think we have a lot to share with one another, particularly in terms of environmental controls, bedding and biofilters, and stacking farm enterprises to cut costs and decrease need for external energy inputs. Love what y'all are doing and I wish you all well with business--see you in January at the conference.
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.
Hey Zach! Thanks for the awesome class this morning. It was a pleasure meeting you and your staff. Will definitely be taking more classes from you. Great job! Eric
Thank you so much for all the information. The most important one for me wasn't even mentioned, just shown: the adhesive fly-traps to catch those flies that managed to escape. Quite useful when breeding indoors 😊
Fantastic Video. I have been struggling for some time now trying to keep a system working. Your insight and knowledge sharing is greatly appreciated. With your help I can now see how to make a success of my bsfl endeavour. Thanks Again!!
i am starting a small worm farm to supply only locally as well i started the BSF breeding! i love your videos and I have learned so much from you, I would love to fly from GA USA to come visit your farm when you ever have an open house for visitors to learn more and it would be great pleasure to meet you in person Zach! thanks again for these great videos!
If you are serious - we do have opportunities - we have a VIP tour that is a 90 minute tour of our farm, we also have training sessions and a worm farm business conference that we host in January. You can find details on our web page arizonawormfarm.com and wormbusinessconference.com
Very interesting. The other BSFL projects I've seen often say they prefer " wet batter" conditions, I guess you haven't found that to be true in the desert!
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.
This is so cool. I am doing this on a small-scale. But I do have problems with the lizards and frogs moving in. It sometimes gets really stinky. What am I doing wrong?
@@arizonawormfarm Thank you so much for the quick response. I have 4 chickens as a hobby, but the soldier fly. Hobby is a lot more addicting. Thanks for the video it has helped me a lot
Hi Zach! I was wondering if you can inform us on if BSFL can be raised on agro-industrial by products such as cotton seeds, canola meal, dried distillers grains, almond hulls, soy hulls, whey, fat supplements, soybean meal, corn gluten, wheat byproducts, rice bran, etc. the reason being is that these by products are widely available and provide the ability to buy these products by the ton. BSFL can live on almost anything but not many studies have been done on this particular question. I’d love to see some trials by your farm feeding widely available substrates and growth patterns that result from those substrates. I think it would be beneficial to your business as well to educate people how to grow these amazing creatures for supplementing their chickens, reptiles, pigs, etc. while also giving you the financial benefit of selling your BSF eggs so that people can go to you to buy the eggs every 3 weeks or so.
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.
Have you done research on poultry feeding- ie how much of their diet you can feed BSL, lbs/day? I'd like to match a BSFL setup to my backyard flock, with the idea of scaling up to a commercial pastured layer flock.
20% is the maximum. More than that and they sometimes die. We err on the side of caution and feed 3-5 pounds per day of live larvae to our flock of 50 hens.
Hello! This stuff is fascinating!! I was wondering what the measured amount of larva/bin, feed/bin, and frequency of feed was for you guys on the commercial scale. Thank you for such an awesome video and the time it took to make it
We feed three days a week, a set amount based on the size of the bin - so I can't give you a direct answer. If you are going commercial, you might consider coming to our training day www.wormbusinesconference.com
I feed every day and usually need to add water to the feed to keep the moisture level in the bins. My bins are open 24" long, 16" wide and 4" high. I get them for about $5 each.
@@SarahPerine We do. The next one is scheduled for September 18. Registration is here: app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule/038c2ee8/?appointmentTypeIds[]=63171601 $350 for the full day. Take advantage of our early bird special: $285 available until July 15th!
I am only getting one fly crawl out of my bin into a bucket a day and the pupae that are germinating in the bucket inside the butterfly cage have been there for 3 weeks now without turning into flies, Does anyone know what the culprit could be?
I would have to look at pictures of your set up to be sure, but my guess is temperature and wetness. They need warm, damp (on the dry side) to coax them to pupate. feel free to send pictures to azwormmedia@gmail.com and we will take a look
We do them about three times a year. The next on is in September. Details are here: app.squarespacescheduling.com/schedule/038c2ee8/?categories[]=Class
Hi, great video which I've watched a few times so far. Im looking to scale up my operation and would like to know how to build the bubbling humidifier please 🙏🏽
@@arizonawormfarm Thanks for the quick reply. I will look for panels that begin at the bottom and end at the top of that range. It's good to know that green is necessary because that's the opposite of efficient plant grow lights.
At our farm, we feed Monday, Wednesday and Friday a specific amount (based on the age of the larvae). the actual day is not important - but if you doing it commercially - the important thing is to do it on a set schedule
We have backyard chickens and have started a BSF colony in a rubbermaid bin with coffee grounds and some table scraps. The larvae are not crawling up the tubes. They are all over the lid or in the handle of the bin but not crawling out. Should we not be putting a lid on the bin? Also, it's hard to get them out to feed to the chickens because the coffee isn't sifting out as much and leaving just larvae behind. We must be doing something wrong but not sure what.
Zach thanks for the great content. I'm considering coming down for your training in Jan. I'm looking for a frame of reference for how large of a breeding space I'll need to sustain my system. Do you know approximately how many grams of eggs or # or larvae per day you're getting out of one of those larger enclosures? I'd appreciate that so much.
we have a 40 foot grow out shipping container and a 30 by 20 fly house. We are producing 500-700 pounds of larvae in that space. I am actually designing a systems right now that I think can gross $250,000 a year in a 3,000 sq feet warehouse (including all the processing area)
@@arizonawormfarmdid you buy a 20x30 prefab structure or did you buy your own? I want to build my own facility out of 40 ft containers on my land out here in the Desert.
@@atomp153 I built the 20x30 - the room where this video was shot - it is not prefab. We do grow out in 40ft containers. There is no reason not to do breeding in a container.
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
So what are the measurements for the feedings of how much on what days? It's ironic that you posted this video when i had just talked to my wife about flying out from Kansas City so i could attend this specific class.
For commercial purpose: we put one tablespoon of five day old larvae (about 2,500) in one gallon of food waste (ground food plus spent brewer's grain). We feed again at day 12 and day 17.
After the does have died in the love cage, do you clean the bed and what do you do with the dead flies? Are they put in the hot compost or are they given to the worms?
I have a bin of rotting food and larvae right outside of my chicken run. How about a net over the feeding bin and the attached bin where the pupating larvae empty into all containing the eggies/shower?
Commercially, we use a trommel screen. On an backyard level, they harvest themselves - they crawl out of the compost on the ramps when they get ready to pupate.
@@arizonawormfarm I’m really interested in how you transformed from farming them for feed to emulsion and other processing for some of the products your making now. You have made it seem so easy! Lol ❤
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.
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 🤩
Was it a bad idea to buy live bsf from amazon? When they came for my farm they were not moving the only way I can get them to move for maybe a second when I shake them in my hand. Please help and respond.
@@arizonawormfarm I am in Ohio and there are a few pre pupae and maybe a few pupae but most of them are still white and, what does it mean if a few turn into pupae when they are still small.
@@finmortem2122 That is called a butterfly habitat - we get ours from Amazon www.amazon.com/36-Enclosure-Protection-Vegetables-24/dp/B09SHG657W/ref=sr_1_11_sspa?crid=1LYC4BVIFT9VL&keywords=butterfly+containers&qid=1692967639&sr=8-11-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9tdGY&psc=1
Great video guys. This was very informative. Can you make another one that goes into detail about the grass? I saw a video where one person said you can't add it to plants right away coz they will burn the crops, which I guess that they need time to turn into cold meanure? But then I saw your video on the No-Till channel, and you mentioned that if you add the grass to new plants, this will make the new plants think there are insects in the ground which will make them go into defense mode thus growing more resilient and stronger? 1. I want to know if this works well even after turning the hot meanure into cold meanure or if it loses the ability to do that? 2. If not, How does one go about this process? 3. how much frass does one mix with the organic meanure?
You can add any amount of Frass anytime - it won't burn. If someone burned plants it was because they did not screen the Frass and included lots of larvae urine (if your frass smells like ammonia, then you need to rinse it). The reaction in plants is triggered by the Chitin in the frass and in insect bodies, it works the same hot or cold. We recommend 2% frass, 5% worm castings, and the rest good compost. You can replace the compost with organic manure after it has composted - but we recommend adding some Carbon (mulch or cardboard or something that was a tree). Also - just FYI, frass and worm castings do not make good growing media - so if you want to grow stuff, you really do need either native soil or compost,
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
@@aminechaabi8880 We can make that happen - but we are a long way from Morocco - you can probably find someone in Africa or Europe doing more that is a lot closer. We grow 400 pounds a week - that is small by commercial standards.
![[Enter the Insects: How the black soldier fly can help turn the global protein crisis around]](/img/n.gif)
The best video I have seen on black soldier flies. Thank you so much....
agreed
same, immediately
shady on "attractant" from other
sources seems to be fluid from
grubs themselves, frass . .
Best comprehensive BSF video out there. Everything is clear and to the point.
agreed!
Hands down the most informative BSF video on UA-cam! Thank you!!!!!
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).
What do you do with the dead black soldier fly
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.
I would love to come and look at your commercial setup. Im looking to do this to feed my quail and fish for my aquaponics.
you are welcome anytime We have a free self-tour available
Thanks for explaining all of the details. This is the most informative video on how to farm BSF yourself that I have seen on UA-cam. Especially, the how you set up the eggies and the where to get the cages from.
Looking forward to sharing my research and beta testing with y'all in January. We are doing very similar things with small and mid scale decoupled systems. All of our market research and product/market fit is constrained to high density urban spaces and zoned residential space, so I realize we are playing in different arenas but best practices and principles of efficiently still apply. I think we have a lot to share with one another, particularly in terms of environmental controls, bedding and biofilters, and stacking farm enterprises to cut costs and decrease need for external energy inputs.
Love what y'all are doing and I wish you all well with business--see you in January at the conference.
Look forward to talking!
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.
It actually just refers to any number of crushed grains/veggies that are fed to chickens.
Hey Zach!
Thanks for the awesome class this morning. It was a pleasure meeting you and your staff. Will definitely be taking more classes from you. Great job!
Eric
Thank you so much for all the information. The most important one for me wasn't even mentioned, just shown: the adhesive fly-traps to catch those flies that managed to escape. Quite useful when breeding indoors 😊
Awesome video, I have been trying to figure out the flow from bin to butterfly net on my own and this video clarified A LOT for me. Thank you SO MUCH!
I’m always amazed buy how much they eat. My chickens fight over them. My chickens are always by my bins
Fantastic Video. I have been struggling for some time now trying to keep a system working. Your insight and knowledge sharing is greatly appreciated. With your help I can now see how to make a success of my bsfl endeavour. Thanks Again!!
yes please make a video on the feeding and controlled growth. Thanks!
I am in Houston, TX and have been wanting to visit your farm. I would love to be able to take some courses.
Zach, you are a fabulous teacher. thank you
They are addictive to raise, in a good way.
I agree!
@@mauritiusmunsperger5541 I just received 5,000 BSF larvae today. Time for me to get things going.
Great explanation.
Appreciate your kindness.
Greetings from India 🙏
Would love to learn more about the batch processing in detail.
Definitely interested in more information on the commercial aspect. Thanks posting this.
What a detailed BSF teaching class. Thanks.
i am starting a small worm farm to supply only locally as well i started the BSF breeding! i love your videos and I have learned so much from you, I would love to fly from GA USA to come visit your farm when you ever have an open house for visitors to learn more and it would be great pleasure to meet you in person Zach! thanks again for these great videos!
If you are serious - we do have opportunities - we have a VIP tour that is a 90 minute tour of our farm, we also have training sessions and a worm farm business conference that we host in January. You can find details on our web page arizonawormfarm.com and wormbusinessconference.com
@arizonawormfarm thanks! When is the 90 mnt VIP visit available? I would love to come attend!
@@frankceasar317 September 28. Details are here: app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=23178578&appointmentType=25566775
Very interesting. The other BSFL projects I've seen often say they prefer " wet batter" conditions, I guess you haven't found that to be true in the desert!
Amazing video, thanks for sharing the results of your hard work!
This was the best I have seen and I have watched oodles of them. thsnks
Top, very well explained; thank you for sharing this video
happy new year from france
Excellent video. Best explanation of the 10+ i browsed. Many thanks 🙏
Brilliant content
Thanx for a very simply fide discussion,,,
Excellent video I am going to purchase from you. Thank you
Thank you Zach, This is very helpful!
Great video mate. Straight to the point.
Thanks for the kind and amazing explanation ❤
Excellent information. Thank you!
Very well presented thank you for your service
Very informative.
What do you do with the dead flies
Top notch video. i live in AZ, Ill be making a visit
💚👍great info!!
Great job.Well done !
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.
This is so cool. I am doing this on a small-scale. But I do have problems with the lizards and frogs moving in. It sometimes gets really stinky. What am I doing wrong?
you probably need to add a drying agent (something like grain or spent coffee grounds)...look for food waste that is dry and will absorb some water
@@arizonawormfarm Thank you so much for the quick response. I have 4 chickens as a hobby, but the soldier fly. Hobby is a lot more addicting. Thanks for the video it has helped me a lot
Amazing and informative video!!! How do you deal with unwanted pests like mites and gnats?
Hi Zach! I was wondering if you can inform us on if BSFL can be raised on agro-industrial by products such as cotton seeds, canola meal, dried distillers grains, almond hulls, soy hulls, whey, fat supplements, soybean meal, corn gluten, wheat byproducts, rice bran, etc. the reason being is that these by products are widely available and provide the ability to buy these products by the ton. BSFL can live on almost anything but not many studies have been done on this particular question. I’d love to see some trials by your farm feeding widely available substrates and growth patterns that result from those substrates. I think it would be beneficial to your business as well to educate people how to grow these amazing creatures for supplementing their chickens, reptiles, pigs, etc. while also giving you the financial benefit of selling your BSF eggs so that people can go to you to buy the eggs every 3 weeks or so.
They can be for portions all the way to the majority of the diet is depending on which one of them it is
Very useful ❤❤❤
Great video! Two questions… Are you able to use soil for Browns? And, do you have any alternatives to chicken mash that may work? Loved all the info!
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.
Love your bsf info. How do you know what quantity you are putting in the next bin at day 5 I believe you said?
Trial and error until we get it right. For 8,000 larvae we add 1 gallon of half ground food waste and half spent brewers grain
@@arizonawormfarmCan you estimate the number of larvae per pound?
Have you done research on poultry feeding- ie how much of their diet you can feed BSL, lbs/day? I'd like to match a BSFL setup to my backyard flock, with the idea of scaling up to a commercial pastured layer flock.
20% is the maximum. More than that and they sometimes die. We err on the side of caution and feed 3-5 pounds per day of live larvae to our flock of 50 hens.
I wonder if it’s dependent in the nutrition they get from the pasture- if they need more grain in winter and less during warm months on pasture.
Do y’all have any written literature on this and where to buy the commercial equipment?
Excellent instructional video, thank you!
thank you so much for the valuable information.
Can you classify the pupae and select only the largest to reproduce, or does that classify away all the males?
Evocon system links do not work, do you have a provider for the nets and lights ?
Hello! This stuff is fascinating!! I was wondering what the measured amount of larva/bin, feed/bin, and frequency of feed was for you guys on the commercial scale. Thank you for such an awesome video and the time it took to make it
We feed three days a week, a set amount based on the size of the bin - so I can't give you a direct answer. If you are going commercial, you might consider coming to our training day www.wormbusinesconference.com
I feed every day and usually need to add water to the feed to keep the moisture level in the bins. My bins are open 24" long, 16" wide and 4" high. I get them for about $5 each.
@@arizonawormfarmdo you still have this training?
@@SarahPerine We do. The next one is scheduled for September 18. Registration is here: app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule/038c2ee8/?appointmentTypeIds[]=63171601 $350 for the full day. Take advantage of our early bird special: $285 available until July 15th!
@@zachbrooks1892 I would love to attend. Thank you so much!
I am only getting one fly crawl out of my bin into a bucket a day and the pupae that are germinating in the bucket inside the butterfly cage have been there for 3 weeks now without turning into flies, Does anyone know what the culprit could be?
I would have to look at pictures of your set up to be sure, but my guess is temperature and wetness. They need warm, damp (on the dry side) to coax them to pupate.
feel free to send pictures to azwormmedia@gmail.com and we will take a look
I see people commenting about a seminar at you location, when will you be able to have such an event?
We do them about three times a year. The next on is in September. Details are here: app.squarespacescheduling.com/schedule/038c2ee8/?categories[]=Class
Love this video! Wondering if it would be ok to mix cinnamon in the larvae food to help keep mold away?
Hi, great video which I've watched a few times so far. Im looking to scale up my operation and would like to know how to build the bubbling humidifier please 🙏🏽
we used a pond fogger from amazon in a 17 gallon tote
Where can I buy those rectangular blue bins, color doesn’t matter
Thanks
Do you know the Kelvin values of the Blue/Green you recommended? Is UV also needed? Thank you for this video. It's the most comprehensive I've seen.
I don't know the values - I bought one specific for BSFL and it worked...my research stopped after that!
@@arizonawormfarm Thanks for the quick reply. I will look for panels that begin at the bottom and end at the top of that range. It's good to know that green is necessary because that's the opposite of efficient plant grow lights.
can you plz share what "specific day" you feed them to get them on the same day?
At our farm, we feed Monday, Wednesday and Friday a specific amount (based on the age of the larvae). the actual day is not important - but if you doing it commercially - the important thing is to do it on a set schedule
Can you go into details of what is the filler you have the lauva in
We have backyard chickens and have started a BSF colony in a rubbermaid bin with coffee grounds and some table scraps. The larvae are not crawling up the tubes. They are all over the lid or in the handle of the bin but not crawling out. Should we not be putting a lid on the bin? Also, it's hard to get them out to feed to the chickens because the coffee isn't sifting out as much and leaving just larvae behind. We must be doing something wrong but not sure what.
text some pictures of your set-up to 602-622-7663 and we will try to make some suggestions
Zach thanks for the great content. I'm considering coming down for your training in Jan. I'm looking for a frame of reference for how large of a breeding space I'll need to sustain my system. Do you know approximately how many grams of eggs or # or larvae per day you're getting out of one of those larger enclosures? I'd appreciate that so much.
we have a 40 foot grow out shipping container and a 30 by 20 fly house. We are producing 500-700 pounds of larvae in that space. I am actually designing a systems right now that I think can gross $250,000 a year in a 3,000 sq feet warehouse (including all the processing area)
The big net produces enough larvae for 100 pounds a week
@@arizonawormfarmdid you buy a 20x30 prefab structure or did you buy your own? I want to build my own facility out of 40 ft containers on my land out here in the Desert.
@@atomp153 I built the 20x30 - the room where this video was shot - it is not prefab. We do grow out in 40ft containers. There is no reason not to do breeding in a container.
Do you insulate the container?
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
Where do you get black soldier flies from
Great job. Thank you!
So what are the measurements for the feedings of how much on what days? It's ironic that you posted this video when i had just talked to my wife about flying out from Kansas City so i could attend this specific class.
For commercial purpose: we put one tablespoon of five day old larvae (about 2,500) in one gallon of food waste (ground food plus spent brewer's grain). We feed again at day 12 and day 17.
We are doing this class live later this month. It is better in person (but not worth a flight from KC unless you want to see a commercial setup).
After the does have died in the love cage, do you clean the bed and what do you do with the dead flies? Are they put in the hot compost or are they given to the worms?
@@oscarperales2033 we use a shop vac to clean them out, then we put them in the hot compost
I have a bin of rotting food and larvae right outside of my chicken run. How about a net over the feeding bin and the attached bin where the pupating larvae empty into all containing the eggies/shower?
How do you separate the larvae from the compost?
Commercially, we use a trommel screen. On an backyard level, they harvest themselves - they crawl out of the compost on the ramps when they get ready to pupate.
@@arizonawormfarm I’m really interested in how you transformed from farming them for feed to emulsion and other processing for some of the products your making now. You have made it seem so easy! Lol ❤
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.
That will delay some - but you will have a lower hatch rate. If you do this, expect 20-30% loss.
@@arizonawormfarm thanks for the quick response.
@@arizonawormfarm is there a way to time the eggs hatching? Maybe keep them in a dark place until you want them to 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.
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.
Should I use a bedding material for the larvae? If so what do you recommend? Or just put them in a container with food only?
we use spent brewers grain as a bedding/drying agent. you can use coco coir if the food waste is too wet
How much biomass does a single cycle take in compost material per bin?
couple of pounds. We add about 10 pounds every three days for 3 pounds of larvae
Please! what type of LED light should I use?
Thank you!
you need full spectrum light. I get mine here:www.evoconsys.com/blog/black-soldier-fly-breeding-led
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 🤩
You don’t mention the calcium level though too
Was it a bad idea to buy live bsf from amazon? When they came for my farm they were not moving the only way I can get them to move for maybe a second when I shake them in my hand. Please help and respond.
What color are they? Where are you located?
@@arizonawormfarm I am in Ohio and there are a few pre pupae and maybe a few pupae but most of them are still white and, what does it mean if a few turn into pupae when they are still small.
What is that rectangular shaped net called ?
JM-EVO Black Soldier Fly Breeding Cage. We get them here: www.evoconsys.com/marketplace.html
I mean the small one on 13:50 , thats perfect for small scale but i've never seen those in here .
@@finmortem2122 That is called a butterfly habitat - we get ours from Amazon www.amazon.com/36-Enclosure-Protection-Vegetables-24/dp/B09SHG657W/ref=sr_1_11_sspa?crid=1LYC4BVIFT9VL&keywords=butterfly+containers&qid=1692967639&sr=8-11-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9tdGY&psc=1
Great video guys. This was very informative. Can you make another one that goes into detail about the grass?
I saw a video where one person said you can't add it to plants right away coz they will burn the crops, which I guess that they need time to turn into cold meanure?
But then I saw your video on the No-Till channel, and you mentioned that if you add the grass to new plants, this will make the new plants think there are insects in the ground which will make them go into defense mode thus growing more resilient and stronger?
1. I want to know if this works well even after turning the hot meanure into cold meanure or if it loses the ability to do that?
2. If not, How does one go about this process?
3. how much frass does one mix with the organic meanure?
You can add any amount of Frass anytime - it won't burn. If someone burned plants it was because they did not screen the Frass and included lots of larvae urine (if your frass smells like ammonia, then you need to rinse it). The reaction in plants is triggered by the Chitin in the frass and in insect bodies, it works the same hot or cold. We recommend 2% frass, 5% worm castings, and the rest good compost. You can replace the compost with organic manure after it has composted - but we recommend adding some Carbon (mulch or cardboard or something that was a tree). Also - just FYI, frass and worm castings do not make good growing media - so if you want to grow stuff, you really do need either native soil or compost,
@@arizonawormfarm thanks a lot for your reply. this is great information.
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
Yes, they will. We use physical barriers (walls and doors) to keep them out.
@@zachbrooks1892 Thanks you for the quick answer
Hello how can I contact you pls.
Will they also consume manure?
What is your bsfl juice? Is it just blended larva or are there other components? It's really helping my plants grow.
It is emulsified BSFL and frass, plus some micronutrients taken through a hydrolysate process. I am glad to hear it is working!
hi please share a video how the frass separated from larvae
@@arizonawormfarmplease share the website to buy love cage
@@saravanabhavan2726 www.evoconsys.com/marketplace.html
Have questions? Let us know here.
He Zack
My name is amine I'm from Morocco and I have a small farm BSF.
Please can I have a training course in your farms.
Thanks
@@aminechaabi8880 What are you looking for?
@@arizonawormfarm I want to get more skills in this job and take a training in your farm maybe one week
Thanks
@@aminechaabi8880 We can make that happen - but we are a long way from Morocco - you can probably find someone in Africa or Europe doing more that is a lot closer. We grow 400 pounds a week - that is small by commercial standards.
@@arizonawormfarm yes Europe is closer but for me and my country is better if I have training in usa and specially in your farms.
Thanks
Would they eat dog waste?
yes, but we don't give much to them.
I’m finding that I get much more manure than 1 Tsp. 😳
Sadly I live in a climate that is too cold for them.
What is chick mash?
It's a type of chicken feed that helps the chickens grow faster in the new born stage...most likely a baby food
You can also use rice bran or wheat bran instead of chick mash