Key Technical Points for Winter Freshwater Shrimp Farming in Rice Paddies

Farming shrimp in rice paddies during winter is a mode of winter farming that makes use of the idle winter season after the rice harvest. The key technical points are introduced as follows:
I. Stock at the right time. After the freshwater shrimp harvest, immediately select some rice paddies with relatively deep shrimp ditches and good conditions, dig out excess mud from the shrimp ditches, repair and reinforce the field ridges, and fill with fresh river water. If rapeseed or wheat is also to be planted for a season in the rice paddy, keeping the water level in the shrimp ditch at 1.2 m is sufficient; if rapeseed or wheat is not planted, the entire rice paddy can be used for farming freshwater shrimp. For each mu of shrimp ditch water surface, 20,000 to 25,000 shrimp fry can be stocked, with a size of 2 cm to 4 cm. Mid-December is the best time for stocking.
II. Provide sufficient feed. Freshwater shrimp can feed and grow throughout the winter. In feeding, it is necessary to “grasp both ends and carry the middle.” That is, make the most of the 15 to 20 days after stocking the shrimp fry, mainly feeding concentrated feed, with a daily feed amount of 5% of the body weight of the shrimp in the field; in January to February, it is enough to feed a moderate amount of feed at noon on warm, sunny days; from March, the feeding intensity of freshwater shrimp gradually increases, with a daily feed amount of 3% to 5%; in April it increases to 6%; May is the stage when freshwater shrimp lay eggs and carry young, and also the season when freshwater shrimp grow fastest, so the daily feed amount can be increased to 8%, fed 3 to 4 times a day. Strive to make the freshwater shrimp reach a size of more than 5 cm by late May.
III. Strengthen management. While doing a good job of feeding, it is also necessary to do a good job of rearing management. In the cold weather of January to February, strengthen patrol inspections of the field; if ice is found on the water surface, break the ice in time to increase oxygen, and strictly prevent freshwater shrimp from suffocating to death due to ice on the water surface. From March to May, strengthen water quality management, and determine the number of water changes and the amount of water changed according to the water quality concentration. When adding water, choose around 11 a.m. on a warm, sunny day, and do it when the outside river water temperature is close to the shrimp ditch water temperature, to avoid excessive temperature differences, and at the same time keep the shrimp ditch water temperature and water level stable.
IV. Harvest at the right time. Usually, drain the pond to catch shrimp in late May. At this time, most female shrimp with a size of more than 5 cm have already carried eggs. Some can be caught and selected to be kept as parent stock for breeding shrimp fry, and the rest can be sold.