A Detailed Explanation of the Breeding Methods and Key Technical Points for Red Worms

Red worms are relatively small, generally with a body length of 50-70 mm and a diameter of 3-6 mm, and can reach 90-150 mm. Their body color is purplish red and changes in shade with feed, water, and light. They have the advantages of a thick body cavity, abundant flesh, a long lifespan, strong adaptability, ease of rearing, and high nutritional value, making them suitable for artificial breeding. Let us take a look at the breeding methods for red worms below!

Breeding Site for Red Worms

For red worms, a site close to a water source and convenient for handling livestock manure should generally be chosen, such as vacant land beside a village, among woods, at the foot of a hill, or open space beside a reservoir or fish pond. The worm bed is 2 m wide, with no limit on length. For large-scale breeding, the worm bed is 5 m wide, with a 70 cm wide walkway left in the middle, and the two rows of worm beds on either side of the walkway are each 2 m wide, with drainage ditches properly dug.

Feed Management for Red Worms

1. Feed preparation: For worm feed, livestock and poultry manure can be mixed with melons, fruits, vegetable trimmings, leaves, and the like in a shallow manure pit, and after 5-10 days it can be fed to the worms.

2. Feed feeding: When feeding the worms, pile the added feed into a plum blossom shape, with 5-8 cm between feed piles, and a pH value of 6-8 is suitable.

3. Feeding amount: The food intake of worms equals their own body weight. Generally, producing 1 ton of fresh worms requires about 70-80 tons of livestock manure and organic waste.

Breeding Methods for Red Worms

1. Moisture retention and ventilation: The moisture content of the worm bed should preferably be 30-50%. During high-temperature periods, water should be sprinkled every day; during cool periods, once every 2-5 days; during low-temperature periods, once every 10-15 days. While keeping the worm bed moist, good ventilation should also be ensured.

2. Temperature regulation: The suitable growth temperature for worms is 18-25°C, and the hatching of their eggs is also closely related to temperature. Therefore, when artificially breeding worms, temperature regulation work during cold and hot periods must be done well so that the worms can grow and reproduce in all four seasons.

3. Preventing natural enemies: The natural enemies of worms include frogs, rats, toads, mole crickets, ants, and the like. Small-mesh fish netting can be placed around the worm breeding site for prevention. In addition, methods such as catching them can also be used to prevent natural enemies.

4. Removing worm castings: Remove worm castings when the daily average temperature is around 20°C, twice a year. First shovel out the worms and manure material from about the top 20 cm of the worm bed and place them to the side, then shovel out the worm castings from the bottom layer and carry them away, and then move the worms and manure material placed to the side back onto the original worm bed.

5. Collection and processing

① Collection: After the feed on the worm bed has basically been eaten up, when there are many adult worms, two-thirds can be taken out to maintain a reasonable density. Place the collected worms indoors or in a shed for temporary rearing, with 5-6 kg per sq m, and add long-stored livestock manure and moistened concentrated feed.

② Processing: In the peak season for worms, choose a sunny day and mix clean fresh worms with dry feed such as cornmeal, then spread them evenly to dry on a cement yard. When the dried worms have no clumps and break when pinched by hand, the powder can be sifted out and the worms put into plastic film bags for sale.