I just built and added about 2,000 worms to an OSCR jr. It was approx $15 to make and about $32 for 2,000 worms from Uncle Jim's Worm Farm. I got the 10 gallon Rubbermaid containers at Lowes (Walmart and ACE do NOT carry them) However, the guys at Ace gave me some left over screening for free. The instructions are a little vauge but if you have any questions, feel free to ask. :)
If you cut and past the following link below it shows a couple of pages on how to maintain and build and OSCR Jr.

http://www.klickitatcounty.org/solidwaste/default.asp?fCategoryIDSelected=965105457

Sorry I can't add the actual Link GW keeps giving me error messages when I put it in the Link box.

I'm thinking more along the lines of about 100 worms. ( super small. ) to give as gift (with instructions to increase.) and something more along the lines of one gallon of storage... Have you or anyone else tried to make one out of a Gallon jug?? ( I know we are talking teaspoons of food or none at all at this point) but do you think it would work? Or should I just try it, and be willing to lose 50 to 100 worms?
SRD

Rubbermaid makes a 3 gallon bin that makes a great bin for under $3.00.
Milk jugs would work but they are not opaque and would need to be improvised, so the worms could work in the dark.

I've got a bin inside right now made out of a gallon ice cream bucket with holes drilled in the lid. I started it with about 300-500 egg capsules. They are now mostly hatched, with worms of various sizes. I may have to expand before spring. I think that you could use an ice cream bucket and a hundred worms for your gift idea. I'd only put a couple inches of bedding to start with though. That would leave room for food, more bedding and turning.

I have used a discarded 5 gallon bucket (available from restaurants, bakeries, other food establishments). You could also use 5 gallon buckets that had dry wall, etc., but the ones that had food items in them previously don't need to be decontaminated. I fill the bucket about two thirds full of my beding with worms. I just dig out the material from a bed. This puts about 1000-1500 worms in the bucket, provides a safe bedding for the worms while the new owners learn about feeding, and makes for an active bin right away. The new owners can add appreciable food to the bucket without problem; if the top gets too hot from too much food, then the worms just stay at the bottom, eating food that was in the bedding I packed in. I put one hole in the side at the bottom of the bucket and tell people that if any liquid at all comes out, there is too much liquid going in. This provides an easy way to avoid flooding of the bin, and also helps the learning curve. Worms make a fun gift to give.
Renais

you could probably do something like that with a plastic coffee can but the person getting the gift would need to expand pretty quick. (The gift in this case would be more in the worms and the instructions you give them for making their larger bin.) Then once they have set up their larger bin, the plastic coffee can could become their kitchen scrap container.

Another option for a really small bin would be one o those shoe box size bins but again, they would need to upgrade quickly.

I'm thinking three gallons might be the smallest I'd try to keep worms in for any extended period of time. The 3-5 gallon bucket idea is probably the best IMO.

Here is a link that might be useful: My worm bin

Thanks all! I think I'm going to try the 5 gallon bucket Idea. , as I can get tons of plastic, food grade anti-freeze buckets for free.

Thanks again for the replies!

Be sure to get absolutely all the antifreeze out of the containers since it is very toxic to most animals. Plantnfool

Yes, along with being basically nontoxic antifreeze ( the stuff used in home (potable) hot water heating systems ). The buckets have lived through several rounds as tile cement mixing buckets and a lot of rinses clean. I wouldn't trust using them if I wouldn't drink water out of them myself!

Thanks!

hi there vermiman:

quick question about your egg-capsule mini bin: i was thinking of doing something similar as i pulled eggs out of finished VC. did u just start it up with regular bedding as if it were a normal bin? how long before you started seeing babies? do u basically feed like a tablespoon at a time? did u place the cocoons near the food?

thanks for answering!
yay to worming!

oooh tee hee hee. i couldn't wait for a reply.

i just sifted through some VC (my method: scoop some finished vc out of bin into tupperware, bring to apt, dump in small plastic tub, swish around until all the eggs and juvies i see are picked out, let sit to dry a little...maybe tedious, but i don't have the time or space to do a massive bin dump anyway).

got a LOT of eggs, at least a hundred, and a few babies and the non-composted materials (some leaves, small paper etc). dumped into empty folders coffee tub with damp shredded paper. poked holes in top with cork screw. added 1 TB of foodstock.

let's hope these wormies hatch and take over SOON! YEAH! woo!

do i need any more advice for this nursery?
THANKS ALL YAY WORMS

shesoldier,

The egg capsules were of different ages. There was one egg hatching while I was harvesting it. The redder the egg the closer it is to hatching. I use rabbit manure to feed them.

Ok, I have some questions. for Vermiman & shesoldier...
How much VC did you have to sift through to get about 100 egg capsules?
How long have you had the bin (working) before you took them out of it??
Also, how long until you see babies? How long before you think an ice cream size bucket would need to be expanded into something larger?

So many questions, Sorry. Just very interested! ( I've never tried anything that small before.) Also haven't really tried to look for eggs. When I have saw them, in the new material they have been tossed.

Maybe a worm egg hunt will begin... :-)

shawnrd,

I harvested the egg capsules out of a rubbermade type bin that was ready to be split. The bin was (working) for about three months. The bedding was pure rabbit manure. Since the egg capsules came from a working worm bin the eggs were all of different ages. So the population of juveniles increased each day. As for the last question I have already split them into two ice cream buckets.

hi shawnrd,

you know the large plastic containers that soup come in at a chinese restaurant? i filled half of that with VC and got 100 eggs. would that be just like, a pint or so of VC? my worms are getting busy!

my bin was started in august, had a bad overfeeding situation, was revamped in early november with an additional pound of worms. (i left more than half of the original VC, pulled it to one side, started a fresh side.) i think they're responsible for the eggmaking, because all of these eggs were spread along the top area of the bin. many are still yellowish, so i presume pretty young. according to the book "Worms Eat My Garbage," it takes "at least three weeks development in the cocoon before one to several baby worms hatch." depending on conditions i think it can take a lot longer.

don't toss them eggies! like whitney sang long ago, i believe the children are the future!

as for how long before the minibin gets too big, i'll keep u posted. my plastic coffee tub originally held 2 lbs of coffee. i like to think of it as my "nursery" experiment. once they are of a decent size i'll just dump it into the main bin anyway.

vermiman: what did the hatching look like???

shesoldier,

When the baby worms were coming out of the egg capsule, it looked like hair coming out. I was very cool.