Maggot is a major source of protein and other natural nutrients that animals need to perform their daily activities.

Maggot farming has become a rising aspect of farming because of its immerse benefit to livestock and crop farmers all over the world. Some decades ago, if someone had told you that those maggots can be raised to make money, I wouldn’t believe that myself.

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Most livestock farmers like fish and poultry now purchase a large number of maggots either dry or fresh and add them to their livestock feed or feed them directly to the animals. 

But here we are, Maggot is turning broke people to millionaire farmers. Don’t let the sight fool you, millions are staring at you in the form of nature’s amazing maggots. They are your usual housefly larva, easy to feed and manage with less input.

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Maggots farming processes

Maggots farming

Law material collection

Collect Your Raw Materials dropping is the most popular rawmaterial for maggot production. You can get poultry dropping from poultry farmers within your location for a small fee.

Introduction of flys

Introduce the dropping and fly attractant into the substract tank after collection. Rotten fruits and food is also a good alternative to poultry dropping and they are excellent attractant.

How to Start Producing Maggot

Select Location Select a location with vegetations liketrees and leaves so that they can help to absorb the odour from your pen. Check for termites and other predators that can feed on your maggot and installed protective measures.

Maggot farming currently not too competitive like sago worm because most people are not aware that its possible to farm Maggots and make money from it, talk more about making millions. The truth is that it is possible if you do it correctly.

This is the right time to venture into this business and build a sustainable brand. You must have become a household name before people start flooding the business.

Now that your heart tells you to start, let’s talk about all you need to start.

Construct Your Housing

Construct housing to suit your space and scale of production. You can construct a small open house with a roof. The floor of the pen house should be floored with concrete.

You can start by using plastic drums as substrate drum and collecting drum.

Construct drainage around the pen house to prevent termites, lizard and rats from accessing your pen and causing damage.

How maggots are produced

Production Process Here is how the magic happens!

1. Adult female flies lay up to 2500 eggs under controlled condition.

2. They lay their eggs on the substrate (Poultry Dropping)

3. The eggs hatch after 8 to 12 hours.

4. The larval stage lasts about 5 days

while the pupal stage for 4 to 5 days.

5. The housefly has 6 days cycle under

controlled conditions.

6. Water the substrate daily to increase

production. 

7. Maggot is ready to harvest within 4-

5days.

Storage

You can store your harvested maggot by washing and parboiling the maggots to remove and kill pathogens. Dry them using either the sun or the oven. After drying, put them in airtight containers and store in a dry place.

Uses of Maggot

Below are the uses of Maggot;

1. Maggot is an alternative to feed fish

2. It is use to feed various poultry like chicken, turkey and duck

3. Maggot also serves as an excellent replacement for fishmeal in feed

production.

4. It is a potential solution to waste

management on the farm because the waste is the raw material to produce maggots.

5. Maggot provides fertilizer for crop production.

Maggots Harvesting

 You can harvest maggot with three different methods;

1. The flotation method where the manure is mixed with water and the larvae and pupae float out to be collected with a sieve.

2. The screening method where the manure is spread in a thin layer on a sieve (3 mm) placed over a basin under sunlight: the larvae try to escape the light by passing through the screen and fall into the basin.

3. The self-collect method is where the larva is trapped by collecting tanks when the larva is trying to escape.

HOW TO PRODUCE ODORLESS MAGGOTS

Odourless maggots farming

Get any substrate that are non smelly like Rice bran, wheat offal, pkc, maize shaft from akamu, cassava shaft .

These materials serves as bedding and substrate for the flies to lay their egg

1st step

Get any plastic open container. Size should be according to quantity of maggots you want to make

2nd step

Mix some quantity of water with sugar or molasses allow the mixture to stay for 24hours covering it in a cool dry place and

Step 3

Mix this water mixture with any substrate you have chosen till it forms a mesh don’t water logg the substrate…

And leave the plastic containing the substrate in an isolated place so no much disturbance

Step 4

After 3 days you will notice lots of flies around the plastic containing the substrate, but before then make sure daily you wet the mixture by sprinkling water to make the content so it remain in a mesh form

Note once the content is dry.. Flies will only eat from the substrate and not lay eggs..

This will cause the system to produce very little or no maggots

Step 5

After 5 days you will notice lots of white clutches of materials at different part inside the mesh mixture

These are flies eggs. So at begging of day 6 .close up the open part of the plastic with a mosquito net so that nothing goes in OR out of the system.. But sprinkling of water daily is important

Step 6

Remember that the plastic should be kept in a cool place some level of shade like under a plantain or banana trees or any trees that form some level of shade.. To avoid direct sunlight heating up the system, could crash it

Step 7

Maggots will float up and the substrate will sink down you can use a sieve to separate the maggots from the water

Step 8

Harvesting can start from day 7 till day 12 depending on the size of fish or animal you want to feed them with

You can harvest by getting salt in warm water in a bucket,Usually maggot will stay under the layers of the substrate, So use a Parker to get out the first layer..

Then get the maggots with the substrate and pour them in a different container, containing warm water and salt

From day 6, you will start to notice lots of maggot formation though small in nature. To make them big you can sprinkle little bakers yeast ,it grows them faster. Though if you don’t have the maggots will feed on the substrate

Step 9

Maggots can be fed live to animals like fish, poultry etc Or they can be sun dried , grounded and mix with your feed formula remplacing costly soya there by reducing cost of your feed and steal having high quality feed at less cost Live maggots are about 38 percent crude protein and dry maggots are 40 to 45 percent cost depending on which substrate you use

HOW TO PRODUCE ODURLESS MAGGOTS FOR LIVESTOCK FEEDING

Firstly,

A plastic container with opening is needed, if you wish to get so much maggots, then get a bigger container

Secondly Pour in any of the following (non smelling) materials … rice ban, wheat offal, pkc, maize, chaff from akamu, cassava chaff, these materials will serve as bedding for the flies to lay their eggs, the container with the materials inside is to be kept in a place devoid of distractions

Thirdly, Maggots is a wonderful supplement for feeding of animals like fish, poultry, e.t.c, it’s a good source of protein and drastically reduces one’s cost of production.

Then Get some quantity of sugar mixed with Water and Allow the mixture to for 24 hours, cover the mixture and keep in a cool dry place

Add Corn chaff (akamu chaff) mixed with sugar already developing maggots

VERY IMPORTANT … REMEMBER THAT THE CONTAINER MUST BE KEPT IN A COOL DRY PLACE, this can be done by keeping it under a shade like under a plantain or banana tree, having so much heat on the container can disrupt the whole process

Furthermore, After keeping the container in an isolated place, mix the sugar mixture with the material earlier choosed, ensure that you don’t add excess water to the material to avoid being waterlogged

NOTE, By day 6, maggots of very small size will form, to make them look big, sprinkle little baker’s yeast on them it helps them grow much bigger in size

Next, ensure you sprinkle water daily on the material to ensure it is in a mesh form, don’t allow it to be dry or you will end up having little or no flies, then you will notice lots of flies around the plastic container expecially after 3 days

From day 5, lots of white substances will be seen at different part inside the mesh mixture, those substances are eggs of the flies, when you notice this, close up the part of the container that is open with a mosquito net to avoid any other thing going in or out of the container, at this point remember that you should continue to sprinkle water

Process of Harvesting odourless maggots

 Depending on the size of animal you wish to feed, you can start harvesting from day 7 – 12, maggots usually stay under the mixture material, so to harvest them, get a different container containing salt warm water, use a Parker to remove the first layer of the mixture material, then pour the remaining into the container containing the salt warm water, the maggots will float and you make your harvest

Lastly, You can feed your animals with the live maggots or you sun dry them, grind them and mix in your feed as an alternative to soya bean especially now that soyabeans is becoming expensive, maggots will help give you a more quality feed at reduced cost