Basic Cricket Husbandry
Have you ever taken care of a cat or a dog? Have you ever been to a zoo? Have you ever been to a farm?
In order for an animal to be healthy and reproduce, it needs to have the most optimal environmental condition. This is achieved through proper diet, clean enclosure, appropriate temperature, moisture and good day-to-day practice.
Compared to large animals like typical livestock, cricket husbandry is easy, not time-consuming and requires less resources to invest in their welfare.
Feeding and maintaining the enclosures are the main hands on tasks you need to fulfill. First thing you need to keep in mind is the proper diet. Always assure variability in offered fruits and vegetables – insects can consume local foods, however never forget to check if what you are going to give them is not harmful. Do not forget to adjust the daily intake to the number of crickets you have or to the body mass you are aiming to achieve. You can add different supplements or vitamins to boost their growth and control the contents ratio in the final product.
Another thing to keep in mind is appropriate cleanliness of their enclosure. Bad hygiene leads to development of bacteria and different diseases, which you do not want neither in your food, nor in your farm. Always sanitize the space, wear gloves during daily tasks and avoid touching different enclosures without washing your hands in between – in case of an outbreak of bacteria or any sort of infection, you do not want to spread it to your whole colony. Do not forget – always check if your sanitizing products are safe to use with animals.
Other factors of the environment of your cricket farm, do not need your physical intervention. Temperature can be monitored with thermometers and controlled even through your phone, while moisture can be either hands-on or hands-off. If you are familiar with taking care of one(too many) plants, you might enjoy the occasional spray over the enclosures to maintain the optimal humidity. However, if you do not have time or energy for that (or you have way too many crickets) you can always install automatic showers.
Once you have established a routine, everything becomes super easy – like a game!
