Alligators are one of the sturdiest animals that a person can ever take care of and while they are not exactly low maintenance, they are not that difficult to look after, either. Their numbers in the wild are fast dwindling and if you are interested in restoring this number back or just want to be closer to your favorite animal, setting up an alligator farm might be an interesting option for you. You just need a wide space to raise them and some knowledge on alligator farming. Read on below and see if this is something that you might want to try. Be warned that this would take serious commitment since you are dealing with lives of endangered species.
- What is the main purpose of your farm? You first need to determine why you are having this farm in the first place. This will keep you focused on your goals and at the same time, make decision making a bit easier. Are you doing this for conservation purposes? Are you doing this for supplying alligators to zoos and other nature reserves? If you are doing this without raising a profit in mind then it would be easier for you to just provide the best possible care for your alligators without the worry of breaking even. But if you are doing this for a profit then you need to be a bit wiser in getting your supplies so that you will not be operating at a loss.
- Getting your venue and staff together. You need to get a place that is a bit marsh-like since alligators like a mixture of dry and humid environments. The area must be well irrigated but not flooded. There must be areas where they can bury their eggs under the mud and at the same time, be able to move around without hurting themselves. Low marshlands are the best venues for an alligator farm and if you cannot find something like this naturally, then you need to simulate that kind of environment for them. You also need to get a vet on call and a well trained staff since handling alligators take a bit of muscle work especially if one gets out of control. Be sure that you have ample fencing and protective gear for your staff as well.
- Follow the alligator farming regulations and acquire the necessary paperwork. Depending on the state that you are in, check with the Alligator Advisory Council the regulations that would apply to you and your team in terms of raising these reptiles. Be sure that you have the necessary paperwork, licenses and other legal documents before you make your farm operational.
- Ready, get set, farm! When you have all these in place, you just need to acquire a few young alligators to star your farm, get your supply of alligator food and let them grow. It would be wise to source your own alligator food source, such as raising your own chickens to save on costs and at the same time, minimize the risk of poisoning your gators. An alligator will take around 15 months to mature from egg to an adult one so it takes a bit of time before you can actually sell your gators. You will want to keep at least half of the population to repopulate to keep your supply constant.
With all of these tips, you should be well on your way to raising more and more gators in your area. Just make sure that you have all of them accounted for every day.