How to Increase Bullfrog Yield? Detailed Explanation of Key Farming Techniques
How to Increase Bullfrog Yield?
(Agricultural Wealth Network) How to Increase Bullfrog Yield?
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The rearing of market frogs refers to the process of raising metamorphosed juvenile frogs into market frogs. It is the last stage of the entire bullfrog farming process and also the most critical production procedure that determines the success or failure of production. At present, market frog farming can be divided into two methods: intensive farming and extensive farming. Extensive farming means enclosing a relatively spacious area with escape-prevention facilities, where juvenile bullfrogs are placed in this natural environment to feed on natural bait and grow naturally, and are harvested and sold once they reach market size. Intensive farming, on the other hand, requires digging smaller artificial ponds, using artificial feeding, and carrying out high-density fully artificial farming. This farming method achieves high yield and survival rate and is the farming method commonly adopted at present. The following focuses on introducing this farming method.
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I. Construction of the Rearing Site
1. Frog-rearing pond: For market frog rearing ponds, earthen ponds are generally dug. To save farmland and costs, ponds can be made by slightly renovating and converting pond embankments, lotus ponds and small water-collecting pools. The location should be chosen on flat terrain with abundant water sources, with an area of 100 sq m to 300 sq m, a pond depth of 0.8 m to 1 m, capable of storing 30 cm to 40 cm of water. The earthen pond must be enclosed with netting around the perimeter to prevent frogs from escaping. For high-yield intensive farming, specially built concrete ponds can also be used, with an area of 15 sq m to 30 sq m. The pond depth is 1 m, and the stored water depends on the size of the frogs. It is made by pouring concrete, with the pond bottom and walls smoothed with cement. The slope of the pond bottom should be steep to ensure that one end has deeper water, which is the main habitat for the frogs, and one end has shallower water, often exposing the pond bottom, so that the frogs can come here to feed and rest. The pond bottom should also slope toward the drainage outlet to ensure the pond water can be drained completely. To prevent frogs from escaping, the top of the pond walls around the perimeter should be poured or built with a 10 cm inward-facing lip. Concrete ponds have high yields. At present, in China each sq m can produce 15 kg of frogs, suitable for intensive high-yield frog farming.
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2. Microenvironment of the frog-rearing pond: To ensure bullfrogs can grow and develop well, a good ecological environment should be created for them. Some aquatic plants such as lotus, arrowhead and sweet flag can be planted in the frog pond, which is suitable for bullfrogs to inhabit. On the land and slopes in the frog pond, flowers, grass and shrubs should be planted to facilitate bullfrogs resting here and to attract insects as frog bait. To prevent the impact of high summer temperatures on bullfrogs, a shade shed covering half the pond should be built on the south bank of the frog pond in spring, and some climbing plants such as pumpkin, loofah and grape should be planted to climb onto the shade shed, allowing bullfrogs to come here to rest during the hot season. Through such arrangements, the ecological environment of the entire frog-rearing pond becomes more suitable for the life and growth of bullfrogs.
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3. Cleaning and disinfection of the frog-rearing pond: Newly built concrete ponds should be filled with water and soaked for 15 days before use for dealkalization. When stocking juvenile frogs, the old water should be drained and replaced with fresh water before stocking. For earthen ponds, if newly dug, they should also be filled with water and soaked for 5 to 7 days before use to remove excess heavy metal salts. Concrete ponds should also be disinfected before stocking by brushing the pond bottom and walls with a bleaching powder solution at a concentration of 1 mg per liter or a quicklime solution at a concentration of 20 mg per liter. For earthen ponds, 90 g to 110 g of quicklime per sq m or 7.5 g to 15 g of bleaching powder should be dissolved in water and sprinkled for disinfection.
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II. Stocking of Juvenile Frogs, Bait and Rearing Management
The stocking density of juvenile frogs should be determined by various factors such as frog size, bait conditions and rearing management level. Earthen ponds generally stock newly metamorphosed juvenile frogs (4 g to 5 g): 100 to 120 per sq m. Concrete ponds can increase the stocking density by 1 to 2 times.
1. Artificial bait for frogs: In high-density intensive farming, natural bait alone can no longer meet the needs, so artificial bait must be fed. At present, the artificial bait used in frog farming mainly includes insects attracted by light; live bait such as artificially cultured earthworms and fly maggots; and artificially produced compound pellet bait. Artificial compound pellet bait can be formulated into different specifications of particle size according to the different developmental stages and sizes of frogs. The feed conversion ratio and cost are relatively low. In addition, some drugs can be appropriately added during formulation, which can also play a role in disease prevention and treatment. Experiments have shown that as long as starting from newly metamorphosed juvenile frogs, live bait such as earthworms and small fish and shrimp are fed together with static bait such as pellet bait, so that the static bait is activated by the live bait, juvenile frogs can eat static bait with very good results. This solves the key problem for intensive bullfrog farming.
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2. Rearing management: Under artificial intensive farming conditions, bullfrogs eat a lot and produce a lot of feces, which easily pollutes and deteriorates the water quality, thereby causing diseases. This phenomenon is more prominent when rearing in concrete ponds. Therefore, concrete ponds should be scrubbed frequently, the pond water should be replaced regularly, and from mid-April to mid-to-late October, disinfection should be carried out every 15 days with quicklime at a concentration of 20 mg per liter or bleaching powder at a concentration of 1 mg per liter. When the water temperature rises above 32 degrees C, bullfrogs will show decreased appetite, and if it continues to rise to 35 degrees C, death will occur. At this time, in addition to using climbing plants for shade, fresh water at a lower temperature from external rivers should be added when necessary. All measures should be taken to keep the pond water temperature below 32 degrees C to ensure the normal life and growth of the frogs.
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Due to the high density of frogs, after a period of rearing, juvenile frogs will show uneven individual sizes because of uneven bait feeding and differences in physical strength among individuals. Bullfrogs have the bad habit of larger ones eating smaller ones, so they should be promptly divided into ponds according to size to increase the survival rate of the frogs. When the size reaches 25 g to 50 g, adjust to 60 to 80 per sq m; when the size reaches 100 g, adjust to 30 to 40 per sq m; when the size reaches 150 g, adjust to 20 to 30 per sq m.
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Bullfrogs are good at climbing and jumping, so escape-prevention facilities should be checked frequently, and any damage should be repaired promptly. Regular observation should be made for natural enemies such as snakes and rats. Once found, they should be caught and killed promptly to ensure the safe growth of the frogs.
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The rearing of market frogs refers to the process of raising metamorphosed juvenile frogs into market frogs. It is the last stage of the entire bullfrog farming process and also the most critical production procedure that determines the success or failure of production. At present, market frog farming can be divided into two methods: intensive farming and extensive farming. Extensive farming means enclosing a relatively spacious area with escape-prevention facilities, where juvenile bullfrogs are placed in this natural environment to feed on natural bait and grow naturally, and are harvested and sold once they reach market size. Intensive farming, on the other hand, requires digging smaller artificial ponds, using artificial feeding, and carrying out high-density fully artificial farming. This farming method achieves high yield and survival rate and is the farming method commonly adopted at present. The following focuses on introducing this farming method.
--------------------------------------
I. Construction of the Rearing Site
1. Frog-rearing pond: For market frog rearing ponds, earthen ponds are generally dug. To save farmland and costs, ponds can be made by slightly renovating and converting pond embankments, lotus ponds and small water-collecting pools. The location should be chosen on flat terrain with abundant water sources, with an area of 100 sq m to 300 sq m, a pond depth of 0.8 m to 1 m, capable of storing 30 cm to 40 cm of water. The earthen pond must be enclosed with netting around the perimeter to prevent frogs from escaping. For high-yield intensive farming, specially built concrete ponds can also be used, with an area of 15 sq m to 30 sq m. The pond depth is 1 m, and the stored water depends on the size of the frogs. It is made by pouring concrete, with the pond bottom and walls smoothed with cement. The slope of the pond bottom should be steep to ensure that one end has deeper water, which is the main habitat for the frogs, and one end has shallower water, often exposing the pond bottom, so that the frogs can come here to feed and rest. The pond bottom should also slope toward the drainage outlet to ensure the pond water can be drained completely. To prevent frogs from escaping, the top of the pond walls around the perimeter should be poured or built with a 10 cm inward-facing lip. Concrete ponds have high yields. At present, in China each sq m can produce 15 kg of frogs, suitable for intensive high-yield frog farming.
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2. Microenvironment of the frog-rearing pond: To ensure bullfrogs can grow and develop well, a good ecological environment should be created for them. Some aquatic plants such as lotus, arrowhead and sweet flag can be planted in the frog pond, which is suitable for bullfrogs to inhabit. On the land and slopes in the frog pond, flowers, grass and shrubs should be planted to facilitate bullfrogs resting here and to attract insects as frog bait. To prevent the impact of high summer temperatures on bullfrogs, a shade shed covering half the pond should be built on the south bank of the frog pond in spring, and some climbing plants such as pumpkin, loofah and grape should be planted to climb onto the shade shed, allowing bullfrogs to come here to rest during the hot season. Through such arrangements, the ecological environment of the entire frog-rearing pond becomes more suitable for the life and growth of bullfrogs.
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3. Cleaning and disinfection of the frog-rearing pond: Newly built concrete ponds should be filled with water and soaked for 15 days before use for dealkalization. When stocking juvenile frogs, the old water should be drained and replaced with fresh water before stocking. For earthen ponds, if newly dug, they should also be filled with water and soaked for 5 to 7 days before use to remove excess heavy metal salts. Concrete ponds should also be disinfected before stocking by brushing the pond bottom and walls with a bleaching powder solution at a concentration of 1 mg per liter or a quicklime solution at a concentration of 20 mg per liter. For earthen ponds, 90 g to 110 g of quicklime per sq m or 7.5 g to 15 g of bleaching powder should be dissolved in water and sprinkled for disinfection.
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II. Stocking of Juvenile Frogs, Bait and Rearing Management
The stocking density of juvenile frogs should be determined by various factors such as frog size, bait conditions and rearing management level. Earthen ponds generally stock newly metamorphosed juvenile frogs (4 g to 5 g): 100 to 120 per sq m. Concrete ponds can increase the stocking density by 1 to 2 times.
1. Artificial bait for frogs: In high-density intensive farming, natural bait alone can no longer meet the needs, so artificial bait must be fed. At present, the artificial bait used in frog farming mainly includes insects attracted by light; live bait such as artificially cultured earthworms and fly maggots; and artificially produced compound pellet bait. Artificial compound pellet bait can be formulated into different specifications of particle size according to the different developmental stages and sizes of frogs. The feed conversion ratio and cost are relatively low. In addition, some drugs can be appropriately added during formulation, which can also play a role in disease prevention and treatment. Experiments have shown that as long as starting from newly metamorphosed juvenile frogs, live bait such as earthworms and small fish and shrimp are fed together with static bait such as pellet bait, so that the static bait is activated by the live bait, juvenile frogs can eat static bait with very good results. This solves the key problem for intensive bullfrog farming.
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2. Rearing management: Under artificial intensive farming conditions, bullfrogs eat a lot and produce a lot of feces, which easily pollutes and deteriorates the water quality, thereby causing diseases. This phenomenon is more prominent when rearing in concrete ponds. Therefore, concrete ponds should be scrubbed frequently, the pond water should be replaced regularly, and from mid-April to mid-to-late October, disinfection should be carried out every 15 days with quicklime at a concentration of 20 mg per liter or bleaching powder at a concentration of 1 mg per liter. When the water temperature rises above 32 degrees C, bullfrogs will show decreased appetite, and if it continues to rise to 35 degrees C, death will occur. At this time, in addition to using climbing plants for shade, fresh water at a lower temperature from external rivers should be added when necessary. All measures should be taken to keep the pond water temperature below 32 degrees C to ensure the normal life and growth of the frogs.
--------------------------------------
Due to the high density of frogs, after a period of rearing, juvenile frogs will show uneven individual sizes because of uneven bait feeding and differences in physical strength among individuals. Bullfrogs have the bad habit of larger ones eating smaller ones, so they should be promptly divided into ponds according to size to increase the survival rate of the frogs. When the size reaches 25 g to 50 g, adjust to 60 to 80 per sq m; when the size reaches 100 g, adjust to 30 to 40 per sq m; when the size reaches 150 g, adjust to 20 to 30 per sq m.
--------------------------------------
Bullfrogs are good at climbing and jumping, so escape-prevention facilities should be checked frequently, and any damage should be repaired promptly. Regular observation should be made for natural enemies such as snakes and rats. Once found, they should be caught and killed promptly to ensure the safe growth of the frogs.