Correct Methods and Technical Points for Raising Frogs in Winter

The hibernation period of frogs is from November each year to March of the following year, with a hibernation cycle of about 100 days. Depending on the different sites of various farmers, the following ways for frogs to overwinter are provided for reference for beginners in frog farming.  

1. Overwintering under straw cover. At the beginning of hibernation, some aquatic plants, such as water peanut, should be placed in the pond, accounting for about 60% of the water surface of the frog pond, or 30 cm of rice straw should be spread in the pond, which can prevent frost and ensure that the frogs overwinter.  

2. Overwintering in a haystack. Pile a haystack on the sunny and leeward side of the frog pond, or first spread 50-60 cm of loose soil, pile straw on top, keep it moist, and then cover it with a layer of plastic film. When the temperature drops, the frogs will burrow into the haystack to hibernate on their own.  

3. Overwintering in a greenhouse. At a height of 30 cm above the water surface of the frog pond, build an arched or inverted-V frame with wood, bamboo or steel bars, cover and seal it with plastic film, and preferably cover it with a layer of netting rope to prevent the wind from breaking the film, so that the pond temperature is not lower than 10°C and the frogs can safely overwinter. When the temperature rises, the film should be properly opened for ventilation and air exchange to prevent the frogs from dying of stuffiness and oxygen deprivation.  

4. Overwintering in caves. To accommodate the burrowing and hiding habits of frogs, the pond soil around the frog pond can be loosened in advance, and several caves with a diameter of 10 cm and a depth of 1 m can be dug at the water level line in a sunny and leeward place, keeping them moist for the frogs to enter and hibernate.  

5. Overwintering by diving. The frog pond should maintain a water depth of 1-1.5 m, and about 10 cm of silt should be left at the bottom of the pond so that the frogs can dive into the mud to overwinter. Overwintering in hot springs. Where conditions permit, using hot spring water to keep frogs safe through the winter is the most ideal. Generally, an overwintering pond can be built nearby at the hot spring outlet, preferably 60-150 sq m with a water depth of 1-1.5 m, with bamboo fences or plastic nets around it as anti-escape facilities, and anti-escape grilles at the water inlet and outlet.  

6. Overwintering in tile pots. Use two tile pots of the same size, put some moist soil in the lower one, place the frogs inside, cover with the other one, then dig a 50-60 cm pit, bury the two covered pots in it, and they can safely overwinter.  

7. Overwintering in vats and jars. First put some soil in the vat or jar, add a little water so that the soil in the higher part is moist and there is a small amount of accumulated water in the lower part, cover with aquatic plants on top, and cover the surroundings and top of the vat or jar with insulation materials such as straw curtains. When using plastic film for insulation, pay attention to ventilation. You can also fill a plastic bucket with boiling water and place it in the vat or jar to raise the temperature. The effect of overwintering by this method is very good, but it can only solve the overwintering of a small number of frogs.

Frog farming cycle  

It is reported that it takes about more than one month from egg to frog, and 2 months to reach adulthood, which is related to environmental factors such as temperature. The lifespan of frogs in nature is generally about 5 years, while artificially farmed ones can live about 13 years. However, the lifespan of various frogs differs; generally speaking, the larger the body size, the longer the lifespan. Bullfrogs can live 16 years.

Key points for raising frogs  

1. Construction of the frog pond  

The size of the frog pond can be flexibly determined according to actual conditions. The perimeter of the frog pond should be enclosed with brick walls, with a wall height of more than 1.5 m, to prevent frogs from escaping or snakes from entering to prey on the frogs. It is best to build the frog pond near the residence for ease of management. A water inlet and a water outlet should be set at the two ends of the frog pond respectively, and sealed with iron rods and fine-mesh nylon net to prevent escape. Aquatic plants and small shrubs should be planted around the inside of the frog pond to facilitate the perching of adult frogs.  

2. Care of breeding frogs  

Before the severe cold of winter arrives each year, the pond water should be drained, but it should often be kept in a moist state, creating favorable conditions for breeding frogs to burrow into mud holes to hibernate.  

3. Breeding larvae (tadpoles)  

After the Awakening of Insects solar term each spring, an appropriate amount of live water should be let into the frog pond to allow the female frogs to breed tadpoles. After tadpoles are bred, the breeding frogs should be isolated to prevent them from swallowing the tadpoles.  

4. Feeding and management of tadpoles  

1. Feed live feed. Since small tadpoles feed on small animals, some water fleas, mosquito larvae or the tadpoles of other small frogs should often be put in for them to eat. These small animals can generally be caught in paddy fields, ponds, stagnant ditches and other waters.  

2. Provide sufficient bait. Since small tadpoles will prey on the small and kill each other when food is lacking, sufficient bait should be provided so that the small tadpoles always have bait to eat.  

5. Feeding and management of young frogs and adult frogs  

1. Graded rearing. Because frogs are fierce by nature and the phenomenon of the strong preying on the weak, such as large frogs eating small frogs, is very common, in order to eliminate this phenomenon, they should be reared in grades, with frogs of the same size kept together, and sufficient bait should be provided so that they can all eat their fill and will not prey on each other.  

2. Sources of bait. Frogs have a very miscellaneous diet; earthworms, insects, small fish, small shrimp, small crabs, small snails, small mussels and so on are all their delicacies. In order to ensure the source of bait, you can contact the vendors near nearby towns and markets who sell water-bowl chickens and ducks, give them a small deposit as appropriate, and ask them to collect the chicken and duck crops and small intestines and lungs discarded every day and provide them to you, then chop them up as bait. You can also boil some tea-seed cake water and pour it into fertile soil near banana roots, tree roots or garbage piles, and before long many earthworms will come out one after another for people to catch as bait.  

3. Bait placement. Since frogs like to catch food in water and do not like to catch food on land, the bait should be put on the surface of the pond water to make it convenient for the frogs to catch food.  

4. Points for attention. The bottom of the frog pond should have fertile soil several tens of cm thick as a base; the water in the frog pond should not be too deep, with 30-40 cm being preferable; fresh water should often be poured in, and the stale pond water should be drained out; and strict precautions should be taken against water polluted by pesticides, chemical fertilizers or industrial wastewater flowing into the frog pond.

Feed formulas for frogs  

1. Artificial compound bait formulas for tadpoles  

Formula 1: fish meal 60%, rice bran 30%, wheat bran 10%.  

Formula 2: small miscellaneous fish meal 50%, peanut cake 25%, feed yeast powder 2%, wheat bran 10%, wheat flour 13%.  

Formula 3: blood meal 20%, peanut cake 40%, wheat bran 12%, wheat flour 10%, soybean cake 15%, inorganic salts 2%, vitamin additive 1%.  

Formula 4: meat meal 20%, cabbage leaves 10%, soybean cake powder 10%, rice bran 50%, snail shell powder 2%, earthworm powder 8%.  

Formula 5: silkworm pupa powder 30%, fish meal 20%, barley flour 50%, an appropriate amount of vitamins.  

Formula 6: blue-green algae or Oscillatoria 65%, egg yolk 35%, thyroxine 3/4 tablet.  

Formula 7: fish meal 15%, pig liver 25%, rice bran 43%, spinach 10%, bone glue 7%.  

2. Artificial compound bait formulas for young frogs and adult frogs  

Formula 1: fish meal 50%, peanut cake 30%, wheat bran 20%.  

Formula 2: fish meal 60%--70%, wheat bran 20%-25%, dry yeast, skimmed milk powder, liver powder, blood meal, minerals and vitamins in small amounts.  

Formula 3: soybean cake 40%, rapeseed cake 5%, fish meal 10%, blood meal 5%, wheat bran 30%, alfalfa powder 10%.

We all know that many animals have the habit of hibernating in winter. In winter, the resistance of many animals declines, and because the winter temperature is relatively cold, they also eat relatively less, so they need more careful care in winter.