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Started By
Message
Anyone here own a crawfish farm?
Posted on 4/1/19 at 5:41 pm
Posted on 4/1/19 at 5:41 pm
Ive been researching this as a small side gig. I have the land, water and equipment to construct the levees. Found some good information thru the LSU ag center.
A few questions I have..
1. How much does it cost to initially stock the area per acre?
2. Is using a rice field the only way to profitability raise crawfish? Could you use cut and flooded hay as a food source or is rice stubble the only way to go?
A few questions I have..
1. How much does it cost to initially stock the area per acre?
2. Is using a rice field the only way to profitability raise crawfish? Could you use cut and flooded hay as a food source or is rice stubble the only way to go?
Posted on 4/1/19 at 5:55 pm to texag7
quote:
Could you use cut and flooded hay as a food source or is rice stubble the only way to go?
Crawfish eat decaying vegetation...it doesn't really matter what kind. The main reason you don't see crawfish behind soybeans is due to the fact that soybeans have very little stubble. You need the stubble or some other dead or dying vegetation (or organic matter in general) to feed crawfish.
Keep in mind, there are a lot of crawfish caught out of the Atchafalaya Basin each year...and they aren't eating rice.
Posted on 4/1/19 at 6:14 pm to texag7
I know guys who fish pond that essentially are hay fields. They bushhog them several times a year and then flood up for crawfish. Ours follow a rice harvest 90% of the time and the other 10% sometimes we even throw in “crawfish rice” purely for the crawfish crop.
Posted on 4/1/19 at 6:16 pm to texag7
How many acres side gig? Shiite would get old quick if no profit involved.
Posted on 4/1/19 at 6:23 pm to KemoSabe65
I was thinking of doing only an acre or so as a test plot. But if it works well I could potentially flood upwards of 100 acres.
I have several tanks and creeks to use as a water source. I see the main work as building the levees and adding aeration devices to each pond.
I have several tanks and creeks to use as a water source. I see the main work as building the levees and adding aeration devices to each pond.
Posted on 4/1/19 at 6:24 pm to texag7
quote:
Small side gig
Seems like a huge side gig
Posted on 4/1/19 at 6:24 pm to texag7
Not meaning to hijack but whats dem flags mean in them big crawfish ponds. Passing thru mamou and they have big orange or yellow flags probably every 50yds apart
Posted on 4/1/19 at 6:24 pm to texag7
quote:Fully ran that’s like 1500-2000 traps which is a full time job and then some. Just FYI.
But if it works well I could potentially flood upwards of 100 acres.
Flags are to keep geese out of the ponds. Big flock can wipe out the vegetation in a 40 acre pond overnight
This post was edited on 4/1/19 at 6:26 pm
Posted on 4/1/19 at 6:31 pm to jimbeam
I’m reading you can stock each acre with 50-60 lbs. Is this correct?
Posted on 4/1/19 at 6:32 pm to texag7
That’s about right. Once you have a population you can decrease that amount
Posted on 4/1/19 at 6:40 pm to jimbeam
I plan on going home in the next few weeks to work on a levee system and the location of each pond
Posted on 4/1/19 at 8:07 pm to texag7
Side gig, hell you could retire on the profit off the price gouging alone
Price dun gotern go up der chen
Too cold
Too hot
Too much water
Too little water
Too many stars out
Too few stars out
Too many dust storms in Africa
Too few dust storms in Africa
Too ....
Price dun gotern go up der chen
Too cold
Too hot
Too much water
Too little water
Too many stars out
Too few stars out
Too many dust storms in Africa
Too few dust storms in Africa
Too ....
Posted on 4/1/19 at 9:58 pm to DirtyMikeandtheBoys
quote:
Side gig, hell you could retire on the profit off the price gouging alone
In College Station area he could kill if he maintains a population.
Posted on 4/1/19 at 10:10 pm to junkfunky
I had a friend try that in college and the birds ate all his seed crawfish.
Posted on 4/2/19 at 1:27 am to texag7
quote:
m reading you can stock each acre with 50-60 lbs. Is this correct?
Most people I know stock with one sack per acre and they don't fish it for the first 3 years. Since you own everything and can levee it up yourself, do it. You can farm rice when the price of crawfish is even with your expenses. Grade your crawfish and you can make some good money selling to restraunts that want big ones.
Posted on 4/2/19 at 5:24 am to DirtyMikeandtheBoys
quote:
Side gig, hell you could retire on the profit off the price gouging alone
*Don't bite the shiny hook... Don't bite the shiny hook...*
Posted on 4/2/19 at 9:33 am to saintsfan1977
quote:
Most people I know stock with one sack per acre and they don't fish it for the first 3 years.
Would you recommend I do the same? Would fishing it the first year hurt the population
Posted on 4/2/19 at 12:29 pm to texag7
Something else you need to consider is your soil type. Is it suitable for flood irrigation?
If the ground won't hold water, you are wasting your time.
If the ground won't hold water, you are wasting your time.
Posted on 4/3/19 at 5:40 am to texag7
quote:
Would you recommend I do the same? Would fishing it the first year hurt the population
Absolutely. Not every crawfish you stock in the pond is going to live or stay in the pond. Some will leave because they are feeling adventurous, Birds will get hungry and start snacking on them, etc. You need to establish a good population before fishing them. It wouldn hurt to stock them every few years to keep them plentiful.
Posted on 4/3/19 at 6:23 am to saintsfan1977
An ex girlfriend from colleges father was a rice farmer/crawfish farmer. He stocked his ponds with 1 sack per acre. Every pond he would harvest crawfish he made sure that pond wasn’t fished the year before. The food was always leftover rice stubble. He would usually have 5 ponds on average each season and would harvest about 12 sacks a day/6 days a week. Sunday was church and family day. The crawfish they harvested was amazing. About 60% if not more were #1 select the wholesalers payed top dollar for. Those shipped to high end restaurants. I can’t remember how long his guys ran them, but I think it was around 3 months. Put all his kids through college and vet school. I prefer the medium size ones personally. Oh the damn white egrets and commorants will test your patience. They think those ponds are a Chinese buffet. You also have to run the levees regularly due to minks running tunnels through them. Pain in the arse when a levee fails due to those bastards. Added bonus sometimes you have a duck hunting oasis. It’s feast or famine with ducks though.
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