What are the methods and key technical points for raising earthworms with rabbit manure?

As market demand for earthworms keeps rising, more and more people are raising earthworms. So how do you raise earthworms? Can animal manure be used to raise earthworms? Below, the editor introduces the techniques for raising earthworms with manure!

How do you raise earthworms with rabbit manure?

1. Material preparation (using cow manure as an example)

After mixing cow manure (about 70%) with a certain proportion of straw powder, mushroom residue, peanut shell powder, or rice husk and sawdust, add Nongfukang Type 1 fertilizer fermentation agent at 0.1% of the weight of the material to be fermented (that is, 1 kg ferments 1 ton of material), and mix evenly.

Dilute the fermentation agent with fresh rice bran (note: “rice bran” is not “unhulled rice bran”; rice bran is good in both nutrition and air permeability, while stale rice bran or unhulled rice bran is poorer in nutrition and unfavorable in both cases). Add 5-10 kg of rice bran per 1 kg of Nongfukang fermentation aid, which helps mix the fermentation agent and material evenly.

2. Moisture adjustment                                             

After the material is prepared, adjust its moisture. When adjusting moisture, add a little first, and as it gets close to the requirement (60%-65%), add more slowly to prevent excessive humidity. If the moisture exceeds the standard, add dry material to adjust it. To judge 60%-65% moisture in the material: squeeze the material tightly in your hand; if you see a water mark but no dripping, and it breaks apart when dropped to the ground, that is enough (65% moisture does not look too wet, so please judge correctly).

3. Build a pile and turn it.

After adjusting the moisture, build a pile. The pile height and volume must not be too low or too small. Requirements: pile height 1.5-2 m, width 2 m, and length can be freely adjusted according to the amount of fermentation material, but must not be less than 2 m. Nongfukang fertilizer fermentation agent is aerobic fermentation, so oxygen supply measures should be increased, and it is best to mix evenly, turn frequently, and ventilate. Otherwise it will lead to anaerobic fermentation and produce a foul odor, affecting the result.

4. Complete fermentation.

Generally, when the temperature reaches above 65°C during the first 1-2 days of fermentation, turn the pile once, then continue fermenting. When the temperature reaches 65°C again, turn it a second time. Fermentation can usually be completed within a week. The material turns dark brown and the temperature begins to drop to normal temperature, indicating fermentation is complete.

5. Adjust pH

After fermentation is complete, test the pH value. Earthworm feed generally requires a suitable pH of 6-7.5, so the pH of earthworm feed should be properly adjusted to bring it close to neutral, so it suits earthworm growth.

6. Feeding

Use the top-adding method and the side-feeding method. The top-adding method means spreading feed over the original feed that the earthworms have already eaten, done once every 10-15 days; the side-feeding method means taking out part of the feed already eaten and then adding new feed on one side, and adding to the other side next time.

How to raise earthworms with animal manure

Choose a place with high, dry terrain, good drainage, warmth and ventilation, no pollution, and no disturbance. Make unfermented cow manure, horse manure, or pig manure into beds 15-20 cm high and 1-1.5 m wide, with unlimited length. Put in the worm seed, cover with rice straw to block light and retain moisture, and you can raise them. Its advantages are convenient operation, omitting a whole series of pile-fermentation work, keeping nutrients in the bait from being lost, increasing the earthworm growth rate, and making it easy to promote and apply in rural areas. This method also has disadvantages: once the bait heats up, the earthworms die without a trace; in summer, after continuous rainy days and heavy rain, the bed is not ventilated and there is escape behavior. The way to avoid this is to make sure each breeding bed has new bait. Earthworms cannot tolerate high temperatures above 35°C, nor low temperatures below 0°C, so in summer a shade shed should be built above the breeding pit, and in winter a simple plastic shed should be built above the breeding pit to raise the pit temperature and protect the earthworms through the winter safely. In addition, protection work should be done well to prevent harm from rats, frogs, snakes, and so on. Make the bait into lumps to create good conditions for the earthworms from below upward. The key to this method is to keep the bait moisture content at 60-70%, not too dry or too wet, otherwise the bait will heat up and cause death.

Earthworm feeding and management

Ventilation: Add feed in a timely manner. When adding feed, place it in a plum-blossom pattern, and leave 6-8 cm gaps, so you can stay safe during thunderstorms.

Moisture retention: The worm bed should be sprinkled with water frequently to keep it moist. Keep the moisture content of the worm bed base material at 30-50% (when you pinch the worm cast and water drips between your fingers, the moisture is about 40%). In summer, water once every afternoon; in cool periods, water once every 3-5 days; in low-temperature periods, water once every 10-20 days.

Reproduction: At an average temperature of 20°C, sexually mature earthworms can lay eggs 7 days after mating, young earthworms hatch after 19 days, and they can reproduce after growing for 38 days. The whole growth period is about 60 days. Therefore, frequently add bait that earthworms like best, such as cow manure, to encourage them to eat more, grow faster, lay more eggs, and improve the hatching rate and survival rate.

Collection: Collect mature earthworms in a timely manner, maintain a reasonable density of earthworms, and build a good foundation for reproduction.

Prevent natural enemies: To prevent harm from earthworm natural enemies, you can put a dense net around the worm bed. And outside the net, place a pack of ant medicine “sealed on three sides and open on one side” every 70 cm, so the medicine smell slowly spreads out.

Investment cost and profit of raising earthworms

Cost:

1. Use 100 cubic meters of bait (cow manure, pig manure, chicken manure, or mushroom-growing leftovers are all acceptable), at 20 yuan per cubic meter, totaling 2000 yuan.

2. Self-bred worm seed 100 kg, calculated at a cost of 20 yuan per kg, totaling 2000 yuan.

3. Land occupation fee 1 mu, at 600 yuan per mu, totaling 600 yuan, and water and electricity tools totaling 500 yuan.

4. Raising one mu of earthworms requires an investment of 5100 yuan.

Profit:

1. Earthworms generally yield 2-3 tons of fresh earthworms per mu per year, with highs reaching 5 tons. Calculated at the lowest 2 tons, the current market price is above 10000 yuan per ton, and calculated at the lowest 10000 yuan per ton, the income can be 20000 yuan.

2. Worm cast 40 tons, at 150 yuan per ton, totaling 6000 yuan.

3. In total, raising one mu of earthworms can bring an income of 26000 yuan.

4. Profit 26000 yuan - 5100 yuan = 20900 yuan. If workers are hired for large-scale breeding, workers' wages must also be paid.

The editor has introduced so much about earthworm breeding techniques. The investment cost of raising earthworms does not need to be very high. On the contrary, earthworms have strong vitality and are not easy to die from disease, and their use value is high and wide-ranging, so the relative profit is also considerable! Those who want to start a business or engage in breeding can try raising earthworms.