 Agriculture evolved from a need for a more stable food source. And aquaculture is evolving because of our inability to harvest from nature the quantity and quality of foods we desire. This program is an introduction to alligator aquaculture designed to familiarize you with the alligator industry. Alligator hides have been in demand for many years and products derived from their leather bring high prices in the international marketplace. Windling wild populations during the 1960s prompted research studies which confirmed the idea that farming could produce a reliable supply of animals for both commercial and conservation purposes. A new industry, alligator farming, was born. Initial alligator research was conducted by personnel of the Louisiana State Department of Wildlife and Fisheries at the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge located in southwestern Louisiana. Rockefeller Refuge has become the premier crocodilian research center in the world and the alligator has become the most intensively managed wildlife species. Monies collected from commercial alligator hunting licenses directly support marketing and conservation efforts which directly benefit alligator farmers. Detailed research data have been used to develop farming and management techniques which are used around the world. Cultural practices are continually updated as new data become available. This information is made available through the Cooperative Extension Service and local county and fisheries agents. The farmer should be aware of the basic life cycle of the alligator. Even though domesticated alligators, those which are artificially hatched and hand reared exhibit strikingly different behavior as adult breeders are compared to wild captive stock. Their basic life cycle remains much the same. The more a farmer knows, the better he'll be able to deal with his stock. Sexual maturity for wild and domestic alligators appears to be between nine and ten years of age and a length of six and one-half feet. Although research has shown that the most productive females measure seven and one-half feet long and larger. During the spring mating season in the wild, both sexes gather together in courting groups in open water, bayous canals, or large marsh lakes and ponds where the water measures approximately nine feet deep. Courtship activities usually begin in April with occasional light bellowing by both males and females. Bellowing is a recognition call used by alligators and is a prelude to mating. The courtship and mating period begins in May and lasts until mid-June. From the middle of June to the end of the month, almost all reproducing females will be carrying eggs with shells in their overducks and will begin to lay eggs. Vegetation from around the pond's edge is used to construct a large mound used as a nest. The female will deposit her eggs within the nest and remain close to the nest until after the eggs have hatched. The female is signaled when the young begin to make a grunting noise. She then bites open the nest to release the young, which then make their way to a nearby pond where they remain until spring. A commercial alligator farm is able to maintain two to four adult breeding stock per acre. A small operation will normally keep 60 females and 20 males. Farmer would need 20 to 25 acres of breeding pens. Pens of approximately two acres in size are recommended. A deep water courtship pond measuring from 16 to 60 feet wide and 100 to 175 feet long, with a water depth of 6 feet, should be constructed. A number of small isolation ponds for nesting females are needed. They should measure 20 feet by 50 feet with a water depth of 6 feet. The perimeter of the pen is made with one by two by 60-inch welded wire fencing mounted flush to the ground. Pre-assorted boards, one by six inches, are installed at the bottom edge of the fence. Natural vegetation such as wiregrass, rosocame, buck brush, bull whip, and marsh fleabane should be included in each pen. This vegetation is used by the alligators for cover, shade, and nesting material. Hay can be added by a farmer if there is not an ample supply of natural material. An adequate water source is needed to maintain the pond's water level and quality. Four to eight adult domesticated alligators can be placed in a pen of this size. The time from ovulation to egg laying is normally three and one-half weeks. Females lay a clutch of around 40 eggs per nest. They're usually laid from about the second week of June up to the first week of July. If eggs are to be artificially incubated by the farmer, they are collected during July and August. They should be taken from nests during the first week or after the fourth week of incubation. The embryo is very fragile and can be mortally injured if disturbed. There is far less chance of damage to the eggs following these guidelines. The collected eggs should be marked and oriented in the same manner as they were in the nest. Unlike bird eggs, which must be turned daily, the eggs of reptiles must remain in the same position. This technique assures a higher survival rate. Eggs should be transported in single layers covered top and bottom with two to two and one-half inches of nest material. After harvest, eggs are placed in artificial incubation chambers where temperature and humidity are controlled. It's very important to simulate actual nest conditions. Research has shown that the best hatching temperature is between 87 to 89 degrees Fahrenheit with a relative humidity of 90 to 92%. Temperature at incubation determines the sex of the baby alligator. When the temperature is higher, more males are produced. When the temperature is lower, more females are produced. Incubation trays measuring 24 by 12 by 6 inches covered top and bottom with half-inch mesh hardware cloth are recommended. This allows for proper air circulation. The nesting medium used is the actual marsh grass media. Bacteria, which are common to the natural grasses, perforate the shell and aid in hatching. Eggs are inspected daily and chamber conditions are monitored constantly until hatching begins. The young hatch late in August and early September after approximately 65 days of incubation. As eggs reach the peeping stage, when 10 to 15% of a clutch have hatched naturally, the remainder are manually removed from the eggs. Manually removing the young alligators at this stage ensures a higher survival rate. Hatchlings are kept in their trays for at least 24 hours to ensure separation from the shell and the umbilical core. The hatching period usually extends over a three-week period for all of the eggs collected. Hatching rates of up to 90% have been achieved for eggs using proper collection, handling, and incubation procedures. Young alligators are separated into size groups with special care taken to keep the smaller, weaker individuals segregated in brooder chambers. These enclosures are constructed so that temperature can be thermostatically controlled and maintained at 88 degrees Fahrenheit. This temperature promotes rapid growth and it also reduces the risk of death from drastic temperature change. Construction costs for these experimental enclosures was approximately $5,000 each. Careful attention must be given to the number of young placed in a chamber with no more than one individual per square foot. Chambers should be partitioned to reduce pile-ups caused by young alligators crowding into one particular spot. New farmers are supplied with young through a process governed by wildlife and fisheries. But as farmers begin to have breeder stock, more small alligators will be purchased from commercial sources. The young begin feeding by the third day. And it's extremely important to regiment them to a feeding scheme as quickly as possible. Unlike brewed stock, which are fed once a week, the young are fed five or six days a week. Nutria, which are large rodents, are an important source of food. Nutria is not readily available during the entire year. So it's extremely important to stockpile a sufficient supply in walk-in-type freezers to last during the off-season. Farmers have found it convenient to package the nutria in large plastic bags for freezing. Nutria cost is approximately 8 to 10 cents per pound. Nutria carcasses are purchased from trappers and ground in a heavy-duty meat grinder and fed at a rate of 6% of the body weight per week. Fish are a readily available source of feed. However, they must be supplemented with a multi-purpose vitamin mixture to correct the dietary deficiencies which are inherent in a diet of purely marine fish. Studies have shown the Nutria diet to be far superior to fish in that it yields adults which are more sexually productive. The rate of feeding is gradually increased to 25% of body weight through the remainder of the first year. When the young reach one year of age, they have normally reached sufficient size, 2 feet 9 inches, to handle a diet of coarsely ground Nutria. The amount fed is then slowly decreased to 18% of body weight per week by the end of the third year. At three years, they have reached an average length of 5 feet 3 inches. However, recent research indicates that it may be possible to grow marketable alligators in 18 months. If fish is used as feed, oily fish should be avoided because they tend to be carriers of heavier concentrations of pesticides. There are no serious disease problems with alligators, but pile-ups can cause suffocation, fighting, and physical abuse. A farming operation will keep alligators in brooder chambers during their entire lives on the farm. During this whole time, they are kept in complete darkness at 86 to 88 degrees Fahrenheit. The darkness helps keep certain hormone levels down and promotes a calm animal. Brooder chambers can vary in design and construction, but all are energy efficient. Total construction costs average around $40 per square foot. Electric heating coils or water pipes are placed in the concrete floors so that the temperature can be maintained during the entire year. Many farmers build their own facilities at considerable savings. Plans for construction of pens and brooder chambers are available through your county or fisheries agent. At one year of age, alligators are thinned to a stocking level of one alligator per three square feet, and at age two to three, each individual requires nine square feet. Since recent evidence has indicated that marketable alligators can be raised in an 18-month cycle, farming should become more desirable. A new farmer must keep in mind that it will take at least 18 months to two years for him to begin to realize a return on his investment by selling some market-sized stock, and it will be a minimum of seven years until his initial breeding stock has matured enough to produce eggs. The harvest of wild alligators begins the first week in September in Louisiana and lasts for 30 days. Licenses and tags are issued to hunters according to surveys made by personnel of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. The number of tags issued is based on population counts and on the quality of habitat. Alligators are taken in the wild by use of set lines and baited hooks, which can be set one day prior to the start of the season. Hunters are strictly regulated and must check their sets daily. On the other hand, farmers may request tags and harvest alligators at any time of the year whenever there is a market demand. The hides of farm-raised alligators are preferred over wild because there are usually fewer scars and imperfections in the hides and the belly width is greater. Markets for raw hides are found in Europe, Japan and the eastern United States while hide products are sold worldwide. Another quality product obtained from the alligator is deboned meat. It retails for approximately $4 a pound. The meat is high in protein and low in fat and it's being marketed nationally and internationally. Farmers and hunters have four basic options for marketing their animals. Some skin the alligator and give the meat away. Some will skin the alligator and market the meat. Others will take their animals to a certified skinning facility and then sell the meat and hide themselves. Still, others sell the whole alligator to a processor. Information is available through the Cooperative Extension Service and county agents Alligators like any resource or crop require proper management. Today, they are one of the best managed wildlife species in the world. These management and research efforts have resulted in the alligator being accepted as a renewable resource which can continue to be farmed commercially and harvested from the wild. Therefore, alligators are seen today as a specialty aquaculture crop with good potential for growth in the United States. I'm sure there's not one sneaking up on me here.