Anyone Have Hands On Experience With Frog Farming ?

[joeuk1]

Two of my wifes cousins have asked her if she wants to invest in a 1/3rd share of a frog farm they are going to set up , nothing to do with me wife has her own money and she can spend and invest where she sees fit .

Basicly the two cousins have 4 fish ponds about a metre deep that they breed and rear fish that they then sell in the market they seem to do ok with the fish and they now want to set up a frog farm .

I did not know that frog farms existed in isaan until the wife mentioned it but have now seen them being sold in the local market near where we live .

By reading this site i see you guys are involved in many parts of farming anyone know anything about setting up cost of producing frogs and upside / downside risk rewards ?

JB

[fruity]

Two of my wifes cousins have asked her if she wants to invest in a 1/3rd share of a frog farm they are going to set up , nothing to do with me wife has her own money and she can spend and invest where she sees fit .

Basicly the two cousins have 4 fish ponds about a metre deep that they breed and rear fish that they then sell in the market they seem to do ok with the fish and they now want to set up a frog farm .

I did not know that frog farms existed in isaan until the wife mentioned it but have now seen them being sold in the local market near where we live .

By reading this site i see you guys are involved in many parts of farming anyone know anything about setting up cost of producing frogs and upside / downside risk rewards ?

JB

Hi Joe,

We set up at the beginning of this year, after visiting a few farms & gathering information. All I can say is, so far, so good:)

We have only reared in concrete tanks we constructed, approx 3 by 4 metres each, however, I intend utilising a couple of our pools for next years season.

Firstly; I have never seen anything with such a fast growth rate. My initial thoughts have been confirmed thus far, i.e. Frogs eat less are therefore much cheaper to rear than Pladuk, they are fed on the same food, eat much less of it, grow amazingly fast & most importantly sell for much more money.

Makro even sells frogs....lol....135 baht/kilo.

I really don't think your wife can lose, if her relatives do things properly, they will do well.

We purchased eight breeding pairs, all our original stock came from these; a female lays many thousands of eggs, a good percentage of which will hatch into tadpoles/grow quickly into frogs. In some parts of Thailand where frog farms are scarce, I've heard prices upto 300 baht/kilo retail mentioned. There is seemingly a very healthy market for these frogs. We have wholesaled all we have sold so far to one guy @ 80 baht/kilo. I am rearing on & will sort later many more breeding pairs for next year.

[slapout]

Fruity; what is the size of your mature frogsm do you have photos? Are you selling live or do you butcher. Good to hear they can be fed commercial feed.

[fruity]

Fruity; what is the size of your mature frogsm do you have photos? Are you selling live or do you butcher. Good to hear they can be fed commercial feed.

Hi Slapout, I'll take some photo's today. An average adult female weighs over half a kilo, some much heavier, the males are smaller. We sell live, average 4 frogs to the kilo at 4 months old. Very easy to take care of, little to no work, the food being that sold for feeding catfish.

[slapout]

Fruity; back in that other world, I captured Bull Frogs and moved them to central holding ponds. They would not eat fish food, only live or moving critters. I had enough watewr area that they did okay, but had a tendency to migrate. By migrate I mean heading across contry with the closest water being 1 mile away. It took about one year for them to get to good leg size. Two year was much better. I used to go down at night with spot light and check on the frogs setting on the pond banks, had about 5 acres of ponds and could count hundreds of eyes by light. Look forward to pictures and any reply.

[fruity]

Fruity; back in that other world, I captured Bull Frogs and moved them to central holding ponds. They would not eat fish food, only live or moving critters. I had enough watewr area that they did okay, but had a tendency to migrate. By migrate I mean heading across contry with the closest water being 1 mile away. It took about one year for them to get to good leg size. Two year was much better. I used to go down at night with spot light and check on the frogs setting on the pond banks, had about 5 acres of ponds and could count hundreds of eyes by light. Look forward to pictures and any reply.

Hi Slapout, Pics tomorrow, raining all afternoon & I forgot to take pics! When we have cleaned the tanks, we have accidentally 'thrown out' young frogs before:) These froglets have existed on whatever critters they can eat, I have re-captured a few & they are very considerably smaller than their fed siblings, so could imagine these guys living in the wild taking a couple of years to reach full size.

[safe66]

Two of my wifes cousins have asked her if she wants to invest in a 1/3rd share of a frog farm they are going to set up , nothing to do with me wife has her own money and she can spend and invest where she sees fit .

Basicly the two cousins have 4 fish ponds about a metre deep that they breed and rear fish that they then sell in the market they seem to do ok with the fish and they now want to set up a frog farm .

I did not know that frog farms existed in isaan until the wife mentioned it but have now seen them being sold in the local market near where we live .

By reading this site i see you guys are involved in many parts of farming anyone know anything about setting up cost of producing frogs and upside / downside risk rewards ?

JB

Hi Joe,

We set up at the beginning of this year, after visiting a few farms & gathering information. All I can say is, so far, so good:)

We have only reared in concrete tanks we constructed, approx 3 by 4 metres each, however, I intend utilising a couple of our pools for next years season.

Firstly; I have never seen anything with such a fast growth rate. My initial thoughts have been confirmed thus far, i.e. Frogs eat less are therefore much cheaper to rear than Pladuk, they are fed on the same food, eat much less of it, grow amazingly fast & most importantly sell for much more money.

Makro even sells frogs....lol....135 baht/kilo.

I really don't think your wife can lose, if her relatives do things properly, they will do well.

We purchased eight breeding pairs, all our original stock came from these; a female lays many thousands of eggs, a good percentage of which will hatch into tadpoles/grow quickly into frogs. In some parts of Thailand where frog farms are scarce, I've heard prices upto 300 baht/kilo retail mentioned. There is seemingly a very healthy market for these frogs. We have wholesaled all we have sold so far to one guy @ 80 baht/kilo. I am rearing on & will sort later many more breeding pairs for next year.

how many frogs per pond thanks

[chunhock]

Hi,

I'm interested as well to try out the frog farming... any idea how can i start? Can i come and visit?

[fruity]

Hi,

I'm interested as well to try out the frog farming... any idea how can i start? Can i come and visit?

You are more than welcome to visit. I am growing many on, very big already, to make up breeding pairs for next season, will have many available for sale so starting no problem.

Sorry, no photos, we have lost our camera charger:)

[wdrk7]

Hi,

I'm interested as well to try out the frog farming... any idea how can i start? Can i come and visit?

You are more than welcome to visit. I am growing many on, very big already, to make up breeding pairs for next season, will have many available for sale so starting no problem.

Sorry, no photos, we have lost our camera charger:)

Fruity , where is your place . Could we come and visit . would be nice if you could help by selling a few pairs for us to start off . Thanks .

[discusfarm]

Fruity , yes i like to buy also breeding pairs.

When its don't get to busy, can i visit your farm also?

[jaideeguy]

My wife just bought 200 baby frogs and she is raising them in 2 concrete ring tanks 1mtr diameter.

They are small now 1 inch at most, but already they cover the whole tank floor and I'm telling her that they will soon outgrow their tanks and she says no problem.

just wondering what the ideal population of frogs for a 1 mtr tank would be?? maybe she's thinking I'll buy some more tanks?

thanks....

[fruity]

My wife just bought 200 baby frogs and she is raising them in 2 concrete ring tanks 1mtr diameter.

They are small now 1 inch at most, but already they cover the whole tank floor and I'm telling her that they will soon outgrow their tanks and she says no problem.

just wondering what the ideal population of frogs for a 1 mtr tank would be?? maybe she's thinking I'll buy some more tanks?

thanks....

Everyone welcome to visit, we are in Buriram,A.Muang. There isn't so much to see, only tanks full of frogs:-)

There will be plenty of breeding pairs for anyone who wants them, will be sorting them out soon.

The concrete rings are a bit smallish to hold 100 frogs, when they grow, I'd recommend buying at least another two & splitting the frogs up. Also put some old roofing tiles or something similar in there for the frogs to hide under. The concrete rings are ideal for housing breeding pairs, the smaller-septic tank size ideal for a pair. If you are going to repeat the exercise, build a tank with breeze blocks.

[wdrk7]

Thanks fruity , will surely give you a visit once i finish my concrete tanks . A few breading pairs is a must ok ?

[fruity]

Thanks fruity , will surely give you a visit once i finish my concrete tanks . A few breading pairs is a must ok ?

OK:)....As I said earlier, we'll be sorting them out soon. More than welcome to visit when your ready.

[pricklyheat]

Thanks fruity , will surely give you a visit once i finish my concrete tanks . A few breading pairs is a must ok ?

OK:)....As I said earlier, we'll be sorting them out soon. More than welcome to visit when your ready.

What is the cost of a pair of breeding frogs also how many would you recommend to start up to make it viable?

[fruity]

Thanks fruity , will surely give you a visit once i finish my concrete tanks . A few breading pairs is a must ok ?

OK:)....As I said earlier, we'll be sorting them out soon. More than welcome to visit when your ready.

What is the cost of a pair of breeding frogs also how many would you recommend to start up to make it viable?

The frogs are my wifes really; she wants B500 for a breeding pair, which isn't expensive. We have paid B1500 for pairs in the past.

Depending on how many frogs you want to rear, I would recommend ten pairs of breeders, each female will lay literally thousands of eggs, between 7-10,000. If you get a 30% hatching rate, which is average, that should give you 25-30,000 tapdoles / 20-25,000 froglets. Even if you were to sell off the baby frogs at the going rate of 2 baht apiece, you would be well ahead of the game, much more money if you reared the frogs on to marketable size, which should take no more than four months. You then should have one hel_l of a lot of kilos to sell at no less than 80 baht per kilo wholesale, 130 retail.

[LaoPo]

You then should have one hel_l of a lot of kilos to sell at no less than 80 baht per kilo wholesale, 130 retail.

Interesting topic !

Maybe yo should do some research about the very famous French "Cuisses de Grenouille" or in English "Froglegs". They are considered a delicatesse in France but also in other countries (like French speaking Canada).

Vietnam is producing, packing and exporting those as well so they probably bring a lot more than the Baht 80/kg wholesale (for the whole frog I suppose ?) you are making now.

Interesting and good luck !

LaoPo

[Nongwahyay]

How would one go about marketing the frogs??? Find a local wholesale buyer, who would take the whole lot of your hands regularly?? Or would it be worthwhile setting up one of the family with a table/stand at the local market...... if it were at all possible.. complete with fly swat???

[fruity]

How would one go about marketing the frogs??? Find a local wholesale buyer, who would take the whole lot of your hands regularly?? Or would it be worthwhile setting up one of the family with a table/stand at the local market...... if it were at all possible.. complete with fly swat???

We find them very easy to sell, we have a wholesale buyer, plus there are plenty of locals who drop by for a kilo or two. One thing about frogs, they are easy to sell, a stand at the local market isn't a bad idea , if you are on a main road, a sign outside would sell all you could produce I'd wager

[Nongwahyay]

Forgive my ignorance.......... but is there a definite breeding season for frogs in Thailand or does the hot climate lend itself to breeding all year round??? What breed of frogs are we talking about????

[fruity]

Forgive my ignorance.......... but is there a definite breeding season for frogs in Thailand or does the hot climate lend itself to breeding all year round??? What breed of frogs are we talking about????

These are Bullfrogs. It is possible to induce breeding all year round artificially, however, this isn't practible to most. There is basically a breeding season which starts with the early rains.

[basjke]

Just out of curiosity,how is the noise with a few thousand frogs around?

[Nongwahyay]

Just out of curiosity, how is the noise with a few thousand frogs around?

Good question!!!!! Over to you again, fruity. Don´t tell me, it´s worse than howling dogs!!!!!!

[fruity]

Just out of curiosity, how is the noise with a few thousand frogs around?

Good question!!!!! Over to you again, fruity. Don´t tell me, it´s worse than howling dogs!!!!!!

Actually, there isn't so much noise; when it rains, they 'chirp up', but it isn't an unpleasent noise. When they are breeding, the males go up an octave or two, but again, it's not so bad. Give me croaking frogs as opposed to yapping dogs anytime:)

[track61]

Though I'm not interested in doing this I find it a very interesting and infromative thread. My in-laws have around 15 rai of land that's not much good for anythng but cattle. I may mention frog raising to my father-in-law. He spends many evenings in the paddy snatching the critters for kapow and is always looking for new ways to make a few stang.

Anyway I googled the following. I don't really know how helpful or accurate it is but I and thought it was relevant and informative:

Understand that you cannot force your frogs to breed. You can, however, create conditions that will make them more likely to breed.

Make sure you have a male and a female frog. It can be difficult to identify the sexes, but some females have a triangle-like protrusion between their rear legs. The best way to be sure you have both sexes is to request this when purchasing your frogs.

Learn about the type of climate your type of frog naturally lives in. You need to replicate spring in that climate to make your frogs think it is time to breed. This may mean you'll need to lower the temperature (so your frogs will hibernate) and then warm the frogs' environment. Or you may have to create a dry period (usually done with dry moss) followed by a "rainy" period, during which you mist the frogs often. The change in climate triggers the impulse to breed.

Be sure to provide plants for the frogs to hibernate under or climb on (if you have a tree frog).

Understand that the length of the cold or dry spell will vary with the type of frog.

Provide your frogs with fresh water at all times even if you are simulating a dry spell.

Watch for your frogs to mate. The male will climb on top of the female and fertilize her eggs as they are laid.

Separate your frogs from their eggs so they do not attempt to eat them.

Expect your eggs to hatch into tadpoles in 6 to 21 days, depending on your type of frog.

[joeuk1]

Fruity

Thank yo so much for setting up the girls with the frogs for the frog farm that they have started .

Wife tells me its a nice setup that the girls had built concrete tanks it did not cost much to setup . They have already had many visits from nosey locals that came to have a look . Thanx for all the help you gave them and the advice that you gave them re feeding -breeding frogs .

Will keep you in touch with how they get on and send you a few photos when i get back to Thailand i am still in uk at the moment .

Thank you again .

Best regards JB

[fruity]

Fruity

Thank yo so much for setting up the girls with the frogs for the frog farm that they have started .

Wife tells me its a nice setup that the girls had built concrete tanks it did not cost much to setup . They have already had many visits from nosey locals that came to have a look . Thanx for all the help you gave them and the advice that you gave them re feeding -breeding frogs .

Will keep you in touch with how they get on and send you a few photos when i get back to Thailand i am still in uk at the moment .

Thank you again .

Best regards JB

You are welcome Joe, my pleasure. I told your wife if she has any problems / queries not to hesitate to get in touch.

Best regards Fruity.

[torrenova]

Can I ask how you stop them just running / jumping away ? Or are the pens walls too high ?

Though I don't know you I would welcome the chance to visit if you have the time. I'm in Buriram with the family at the moment if you were up to receiving visitors.

She / family has some land laying idle and I'd be interested to investigate this idea further as it seems better than some of her hair brained "business" ideas.

Please PM if you can.

[fruity]

Can I ask how you stop them just running / jumping away ? Or are the pens walls too high ?

Though I don't know you I would welcome the chance to visit if you have the time. I'm in Buriram with the family at the moment if you were up to receiving visitors.

She / family has some land laying idle and I'd be interested to investigate this idea further as it seems better than some of her hair brained "business" ideas.

Please PM if you can.

Hi Torrenova,

You are more than welcome to visit, we are around most times. PM me for details.

Cheers

Fruity