See, you have to market towards the day-trippers and lazy yet idealistic people! You know--"pack your jacket and your lunch" it makes you look like such a nature lover! Brother in law has adopted some stray emus. His neighbors used to raise some--but not THESE! Nobody knows where they came from! They actually have the same problem with potbellied pigs. It is such a shame that people do what they do with fad animals.
Alpacas
- Thread starter Kelly
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Many years ago the big deal was frog farming, then it was hamsters for research, nutria, guiene(sp) pigs then it seems like frogs made a comeback. Then came the expensive fads, emus, ostrich, llamas, alpacas, buffalo, deer farms, wonder what will be next
dun
dun
Crowderfarms
Well-known member
A little like the Dalmatian craze when the 101 Dalmatian movie came out. People thought they'd make great pets.Many are born deaf, and are not the best dogs for kids.
Crowderfarms
Well-known member
Dun, Don't forget the worm fad. Earthworm casings, fish bait, etc.
Crowderfarms":uesztwk5 said:
Yup, forgot them, even though one place we bought was an out of business worm farm. Every building is full of cardboard boxes full of worm casings. Dumped it in a low spot and grew cherry tomatoes the size of cantalopes
dun
Crowderfarms
Well-known member
I thought about starting a cricket ranch...Was afraid I couln't find lariats and squeeze chutes and branding irons. The wife would have complained about the chirping anyway. Kind of like that commercial on TV where the cowboys are branding the Shrimp.We have a friend that got burned big time in the worm business. Hard to believe they fell for it.The casings are great fertilizer, but what a scam.Maybe medical leeches, they say that's hot now.
I knew one couple in the desert that made really good money on frogs. They grew them inside big buildings with A/c and heating. Some medical lab in LA (CA) bought them. One week-end in July they left for a day and we had a valley wide power outage for a the day. You could smell that place for 10 miles around after that. a couple hundred thousand frogs from tadpole up to harvesting size sure do stink when the start to rot.
Back in the 20's my dad started a frog farm to sell the legs to restaurants. Dug a pond and stocked it with frogs. About the time they should have been big enough to market, one of my uncles had the whole clan over for a frog leg dinner. Yup, dad didn;t have a frog left. Became a quite a family joke, years later............
dun
Back in the 20's my dad started a frog farm to sell the legs to restaurants. Dug a pond and stocked it with frogs. About the time they should have been big enough to market, one of my uncles had the whole clan over for a frog leg dinner. Yup, dad didn;t have a frog left. Became a quite a family joke, years later............
dun
Crowderfarms
Well-known member
Feel froggy? Leap to the frog pond!
sidney411
Well-known member
Dun - these people were growing frogs for research? What do researchers do with frogs and how do they need so many of them? I have never heard of anyone raising frogs before, interesting.
It had to do with some kind of deal with their pancreas or some other internal organ. Don;t recall exactly what the deal was, but I'm sure that market is down to toilet just like the llamas, emus, etc... since it was 20 some odd years ago.
dun
dun
Cattle Rack Rancher
Well-known member
The big thing up here for awhile was buffalo. Guys were paying $5000-$6000 per cow. Now there's lots of them and you can pick them up cheaper than cattle.
Running Arrow Bill
Well-known member
sidney411":kdztlrob said:
Frogs found in virtually every high school & college biology Lab in the country. Experimental psychology class students us them to study reflexes, etc., by inserting electrodes in their body, etc.
sidney411
Well-known member
Yuch! I really don't like frogs.
Cattle Rack Rancher
Well-known member
My place has a slough area out in the trees where there are just thousands of frogs. I'd think about getting into them for the US market but knowing my luck, I'd just get a bunch of money invested into it and then R-FROG would close the border. :lol:
fellersbarnoneranch
Well-known member
sidney411":lq3h11vg said:
Sorry you don't have a taste for them, theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey're GrEEEEEEEEEEAT!!!!
How bout it, Arkies??? CatFish Cove--buffet..........mmmmmmmmmm Their's are really hoppin!!!!
sidney411
Well-known member
I have never brough myself to try them but my husband broke half of his tooth off on one!!!! About $800 later he has a fake tooth and I won't ever attempt to try them! Too expensive! 
When we first bought our property we had two people we knew offer to "give us" Llamas, they run the coyotes and are get packers and good pets...no thanks. Last time I was at the sale barn watched 4 go through at 12 dollars each, a long way from what they went for 10 years ago.
My Grandpa got into the Nutera (sp) market back in the early 60's, paid $1500 for a breeding pair ... shot all of them in the mid 60's.
Had a grand aunt with a garage full of Chincilla's (sp) nice for a youg boy to look at, don't know what happened to them.
Gimmicks come and go.
Alan
My Grandpa got into the Nutera (sp) market back in the early 60's, paid $1500 for a breeding pair ... shot all of them in the mid 60's.
Had a grand aunt with a garage full of Chincilla's (sp) nice for a youg boy to look at, don't know what happened to them.
Gimmicks come and go.
Alan
