This Asian country cannot even afford to keep cows. Not because she’s poor, just small. They import most of their products, but still try to produce their own meat.
And frogs are bred on an industrial scale.

This story is about a toad farm. There is an area on the northern border of the city-country where several farms are located. In addition to frogs, they also keep chickens and goats. But Europeans are not allowed onto the goat farm.

It must be said that despite the famous French frog legs, this meat is most popular among the Chinese. And they are not limited to paws. The taste of frog meat is similar to chicken, and in terms of beneficial properties it surpasses beef. So, frogs have always been eaten in Singapore. But previously they were imported from China. And thirty years ago they decided to grow their own.

Singaporean schoolchildren are taken to the farm to teach them to eat frog meat from childhood.

This is what the process of breeding and growing up frogs looks like, from fry to adults.

They stupidly swim in pools and get their food.

Over time, the eggs and larvae develop into recognizable frogs.

Then the pool gets crowded. It's time for meat.

The “meat” breed is called the American bullfrog. They breed like rabbits! But they don’t care at all about their eggs and tadpoles, they don’t care about their offspring, so in the wild they are often eaten by the parents themselves.

Therefore, it is important to deprive them of parental rights in a timely manner and transplant the “children” into a separate body of water.

They are called bulls for their relatively large size and specific sounds that attract females: they resemble mooing.

Accident at work.

At the entrance to the farm, you are offered to feed the frogs some tasty treats.

And when you leave, buy frogs.

Well, now tell me what you think about all this.

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Agricultural products include a huge number of animals, the meat of which is ultimately delivered to the table of the final consumer. But if you don’t surprise anyone by raising chicken or pigs, then an edible frog still seems exotic. Nevertheless, in the dishes of many cuisines around the world, this delicacy is used along with our usual products, being considered healthy and nutritious food. At the same time, as practice shows, raising frogs is quite simple, and the price of their meat is still high, and many entrepreneurs are seriously thinking about such a somewhat unusual type of business as selling frog legs (they are the ones used for food). At first glance, such an undertaking seems extremely promising and very profitable, but is it really that simple?

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In Russia there are already farms for breeding frogs for sale as a food product. Many of them are based in the south and central part of this country because these amphibians can only live in mild climates. However, the level of competition cannot be called serious; by entering the market with an offer of frog legs, you can easily find many customers. But there is also a possibility that you simply will have no one to sell the finished product to, it will turn out to be completely unnecessary, including no one’s and your competitors’.

It may be of interest to cafes and restaurants specializing in exotic cuisine. Contrary to popular belief, frogs are used as an ingredient in dishes not only in French cuisine, but also in Chinese, Thai and Southeast Asian countries in general, as well as in Italian, Spanish and Greek. That is, if you have ready-made frozen goods, the first thing you should do is make an offer to these potential customers.

The next step is large supermarkets and hypermarkets that sell frozen frog legs for the most sophisticated customers. Still, there is a considerable percentage of people who strive to diversify their home cooking.

And finally, you can try to reach foreign consumers by exporting a similar product.

Despite a sufficient choice of implementation methods, it is quite possible that you will encounter a lack of demand at all. Russians are not accustomed to eating croaking amphibians, and even in large cities, dishes using frog legs can be found in only a few restaurants. It is clear that in the provinces things are only worse (and there are no hypermarkets in them to be able to sell paws at least to housewives). But still, when searching for restaurants suitable for the theme, you should not just offer to purchase a frozen product, but conduct tastings; here you will need a recipe and reasonable cooking skills. You can also visit exhibitions dedicated to the culinary arts; restaurant chefs often appear there and, having appreciated the merits of frog meat, may be interested in buying it.

The next problem that you may encounter is the lack of clear technical regulations for working with such meat in the legislation. To sell meat, like any other, you will have to contact a veterinary service, but do not be surprised if they themselves do not know how to check and register such a product. Even the general classifier of entrepreneurial activity does not have a separate code for amphibians (for example, there is one for reptiles), so it is used (OKPD 2) 01.49.19 Other living animals not included in other groups. Also, for further work, when registering, the entrepreneur must indicate (OKPD 2) 10.1 Meat and meat food products and (OKPD 2) 10.9 Prepared feed for animals.

In general, in the first stages of work and when encountering the bureaucratic apparatus, you need to be prepared for difficulties and expect unforeseen difficulties. It may not be possible to get by with a simple amount for registration; you will have to issue complex and long-term permits - it’s just that agricultural (and indeed any) products in Russia are not accustomed to the frog business. It is best to have 100 thousand rubles in reserve to resolve all legal issues.

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If all permits have been obtained and potential clients have been found, then you can begin directly breeding the future delicacy. There are three species that are eaten: Pelophylax lessonæ (pond frog), Pelophylax ridibundus (lake frog) and their hybrid Rana esculenta (edible frog). As is clear from the name of the latter, this particular species is mainly used for food, and such individuals also live in their natural habitat. To find such an animal, just visit the pond in the warm season; amphibians love to bask in the sun and catch several individuals. However, you need to have knowledge about catching frogs and their physiology in order to have dioecious animals for breeding. If your knowledge of biology leaves much to be desired, you can purchase already caught frogs or their eggs, but it may be difficult to find a supplier. After all, if someone is already engaged in a similar business in the area directly proposed for business, there is hardly any point in starting such a business. There are amphibian hobbyists who breed them for their own pleasure, but such people tend to keep more exotic species, as well as those who keep amphibians for sale as food. Often it is enough to contact a zoo or pet store; in the first, they may agree to sell you animals prepared as lunch for some python (sometimes in zoos with access to some pond, entire frog colonies are bred, serving as a source of food for the animals), in the second, they may simply end up captured by some by a lover of individuals that the pet store took for free for its own assortment. The great advantage of breeding frogs as future meat is precisely that it does not require a species specially bred by breeders or even one that simply does not live in nature, but rather ordinary inhabitants of local rivers, swamps and lakes. After catching or purchasing amphibians, you can return home to raise them.

Breeding frogs is still a branch of agriculture; it is quite possible to keep them in a large city apartment, but in order to make a serious profit, considerable space will be required. If you have your own house in a rural area with territory, you can populate amphibians there, the main thing is that there is access to a reservoir with running water. Frogs, of course, often settle in swamps, but standing water is bad for the health of the desired species. At the same time, the improvement of the nursery involves only restrictions that prevent the escape of amphibians; frogs will be able to independently find their own food from insects flying by, crawling arachnids and other small animals. At night, near the amphibian pond, you can light a lantern, which will attract many insects, which will become breakfast for the awakened frogs. If there is not enough food for your pets, you can use fertilizer, which consists of the main diet of frogs - the same insects, crustaceans, arachnids and even small fish. Also make sure the water is clean, it should not stagnate, there should always be at least a slight current to prevent swamps. Also take into account the depth of the pond, because a timid animal will hide, burrowing into the bottom silt, from where it can be problematic to get it out.

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If you already have a fish farm, then amphibians can be placed with fish (the main thing is that they are not very small); these animals eat different foods, and their cohabitation will only have a better effect on the small ecosystem of your nursery. It is worth noting that the frog becomes ready for consumption only after the year of birth, so the first profit can be obtained only after this period. It is better to leave the largest individuals for reproduction; one female lays up to 15 thousand eggs per year, so the number of pets will begin to recover during the next breeding, which allows you to select a large number of frogs, but smaller in size than breeding individuals. In this case, no special equipment is required; the caught amphibians are killed with a hammer or beater, after which the skin is removed and the hind legs are separated. It is likely that a veterinarian should be present during this process (the local service, if necessary, will immediately inform you about this if you contact them in advance), who will confirm the fact of correct slaughter and give permission for further examination of the meat. After this, the legs are packaged in kilogram bags and sent for freezing, awaiting further transportation.

So, to open your own frog farm in the countryside on your own plot, you only need refrigeration equipment and carpentry skills in constructing fences. You may prefer to prepare the packaging for fresh legs yourself, but then you will need additional equipment; It’s much easier to order packaging bags from the relevant companies. If you are going to export meat from the country or sell it to supermarkets, then in addition you will need a label, but to restaurants it can be supplied simply packaged. If we take into account the worst case scenario, and problems arise with registration, for which the entire above-mentioned amount of 100 thousand rubles will have to be spent, then the starting capital should be about 130 thousand rubles, which, in addition to paying for documentation, will include refrigeration equipment and packaging. An additional expense may be the purchase of feeding, but usually frogs are able to provide themselves with food. The downside to keeping frogs outdoors is the winter period, during which the amphibians will go to the bottom to overwinter, and you will have to wait until spring to get a new portion of meat.

The situation is completely different if you decide to breed frogs in an apartment. It should be noted that it is unlikely that it will be possible to achieve large production volumes, because, for example, for 50 kilograms of frog legs, about 600 animals will be required. However, for the initial entry into the market you won’t need a large amount of meat, so if you have a free room, you can set up a nursery for frogs there. For a room of 20 m2 you need to purchase about 8 terrariums for 7 thousand each. Half (about 30 centimeters) of the terrarium should be filled with water, on one side you need to make something like land onto which the amphibians will crawl out. In captivity, these animals are much less mobile and require constant food, but catching them is much easier. The temperature in terrariums needs to be maintained between 25° and 27° Celsius, and a heated room in winter and drawn curtains in summer can do this well so as not to overheat in the sun.

Water for frogs needs to be changed every 3-4 days, after passing it through filters or allowing it to settle - chlorinated water can kill amphibians. You will also have to control the number of offspring, since in the absence of cold weather, frogs can have up to 4 mating seasons per year. It should be noted that sexual maturity in the species Rana esculenta begins at three years of age, so when purchasing caviar you will have to wait exactly that long until the first offspring, which is not economically profitable.

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A business keeping frogs in an apartment is less profitable compared to breeding in a natural reservoir, it significantly reduces production, requires more significant investments and pays off much longer. In case you actually manage to establish good distribution channels, you will face a problem where it is impossible to satisfy the needs of customers. However, when starting such an endeavor, you have the opportunity to test how well the business is going by starting to deliver just a few packages. The starting capital for breeding indoor amphibians will be 167 thousand rubles. This includes registration, refrigeration equipment (but in this case one refrigerator worth 10 thousand rubles is enough), packaging (a thousand rubles for a small batch, no more) and terrariums. Also, about 5 thousand will be the monthly expenses for food and utilities.

Selling frog legs will be justified when you can sell 85 kilogram packages per month. Each of them will take 10 frogs (their legs weigh from 80 to 120 grams), that is, 850 amphibians will be sent to slaughter every month. This will allow you to receive a monthly income of 29,750 rubles (the cost of one package from the manufacturer is on average 350 rubles). At the same time, sales will begin only after a year, and for indoor breeding the amount will be even less (although it all depends on the size of the room where you keep frogs). But the costs of their maintenance are practically zero (rare feeding and utility bills), which will allow you to have a good additional income per month. However, a frog farm in an apartment is unlikely to generate significant income, which will justify your work only if it is not additional income, for example, for aquarium fish. Working in rural areas is also good because, if successful, expanding production will not be difficult, but in the city you are limited by the size of the room, and it is worth foreseeing options for renting a country house in advance.

The level of consumption of frogs in Russia has remained and remains, and most likely will remain quite low for a considerable time; a dish with frog legs seems alien, incomprehensible and absolutely uninteresting, and to some even disgusting. Restaurants will be able to become a distribution channel, but you shouldn’t count on selling large quantities, just like hypermarkets. The most promising direction so far remains export sales; in European countries, such a delicacy is not new, while, for example, in Italy and Greece the edible frog is not found, which forces it to import its legs from other countries. It’s worth starting with these directions, since people abroad will actually be willing to pay for such rare meat and will look at your business with an open mind. You can also turn to another direction - Southeast Asia, where they also willingly eat not only amphibians, but also insects and arachnids.

And finally, we must not forget that the remains of a killed frog, deprived of its legs, should not be thrown away. Firstly, its skin may be of interest for the production of clothing, shoes, leather accessories and the like. This area is also not developed, but again, due to the rare breeding of these amphibians, it is worth talking and making an offer to such companies. And, secondly, the frog’s body and offal can be used as food for many species of animals; it makes sense to turn to farmers and zoos, who are highly likely to buy a gutted carcass in order to feed it to their animals in the future. This can significantly increase profits and create a truly waste-free production with high profitability.

Matthias Laudanum

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Everyone is accustomed to the fact that a private business must necessarily be based on beautiful and wonderful products. But in the era of original earnings, a frog came to the aid of future entrepreneurs. On one side of the scale is her unsightly appearance. On the other there is a real opportunity to make money. In the case of breeding for food purposes, only proper care is required. It's not difficult at all!

Restaurant delicacy

Frog legs have long been known as a gourmet restaurant dish. In the best establishments they are served to the table, inventing new recipes. Such pleasure costs a lot of money. Not only in their homeland, France, but all over the world everyone wants to try frog legs. Such culinary trends will no longer surprise anyone in restaurants in the CIS countries. The secret of such popularity of the delicacy from French chefs is its exoticism and ease of preparation. Frog meat is not only healthy and dietary, but also tasty; it tastes very much like chicken.

The meat of these amphibians is gradually ceasing to be the exclusive prerogative of holiday and restaurant menus. The Internet can give advice on how to prepare dishes from frog legs quickly, tasty and original. Judging by the number of discussions and blogs devoted to this topic, the French product is also in demand in the home kitchen. Unconventional business ideas based on the idea of ​​raising frogs as a food product have not yet reached the peak of their popularity. This means that starting your own business in this industry will be a success. You need to know which amphibians can be cooked - this species is called “edible frog”. They get along well in the fresh waters of Europe and the southern, warmer regions of Russia. To start a business, you will need to catch the required number of specimens from the rivers or lakes where these frogs live. For this work, you can hire local teenagers, who will gladly take advantage of the opportunity to earn extra money during the summer holidays. If for some reason you do not want to catch amphibians, you can buy frog eggs from breeders.

Breeding conditions

A natural pond with a fence for farm use is a real paradise for amphibians. If you do not live near a body of water, you can create an artificial pond. A prerequisite is flowing water and clean water. The young frogs, tadpoles, are raised in separate tanks filled with water. Peat, charcoal, and soil are also added here. In tanks, the soil must be moistened so that it does not dry out.

What to feed?

It is quite natural that you need to spend money on fattening any animal on which profit depends on its weight and size. But the benefits will be undeniable! What do frogs eat? From time immemorial, insects continue to be the main (and favorite) dish. But if you want to grow an individual up to 1–1.5 kg, then you should take care of animal feeding. These are spiders, crayfish, and sometimes even mice and small birds. Frog legs are frozen and stored in plastic bags. If you put your business on stream and do business on a large scale, special packaging equipment will come in handy.

Where and to whom to sell

When thinking through your own business from the beginning, you need to immediately establish contacts with the sales market. Despite the increased popularity of frog meat, the main purchasing segment remains restaurants and public catering establishments, if such a delicacy is on the menu. You can negotiate with restaurant owners, or you can bring to life a business idea on how to open your own restaurant.

Supermarkets and regular stores can also purchase this dietary meat (customers at home like to experiment). The average price for store-bought paws is $5 – $15, while restaurant-prepared paws are several times more expensive.

Additional funds may also come from other parts of the amphibian. They are used to feed animals and fertilize land.

Frog breeding is a very specific business. But just wait for a young entrepreneur. The investment will not be too large, and the price of frog meat remains very high. But, before deciding to start such a specific market, it is worth soberly assessing all its nuances.

First of all, it is worth noting the competition, which in this environment remains critically low. But this happened due to the fact that the demand for the product was also reduced. After all, not every person is accustomed to eating such a delicacy. The main consumers are restaurants and large supermarkets. But there is still a chance to find your consumers. It is also worth noting that frogs will have to be raised only in warm regions of our country; in the north, frogs will not be able to grow and develop normally.

Another aspect is the regulatory side of the issue. After all, when breeding frogs (as with any other type of agricultural activity), it is necessary to contact a veterinary service. And no one there knows how to clearly regulate this type of activity, because a section on how to control such a product has not yet been invented. Therefore, you need to be prepared for the fact that you will have to pay an order of magnitude more for paperwork. But, if clients are found and documents are drawn up, then you can safely proceed to organizational matters.

Room for breeding frogs.

It is most profitable to raise frogs in a specialized insulated hangar. To do this, you can rent it with the prospect of upgrading it for your own business. You can take a room where fish were previously grown. The most advantageous area will be the outskirts of a large city.

The premises must have an area of ​​at least 140 m2, but for greater profits it is worth renting larger areas. This area will feature terrariums and spacious glass pools. To organize one you need to spend about $1 thousand.

It is important that the humidity in the room is controlled (25-28 degrees). The entire area must be divided into a zone for growing, breeding and cutting meat. You will need to invest about $4 thousand to rent and organize the premises.

Industrial equipment.

To breed frogs indoors, the following devices are required:

1. Heating equipment - up to $1.5 thousand;
2. Equipment for water filtration - $700;
3. Lighting equipment - $260;
4. Device for feeding and dosing feed - $400;
5. Refrigeration equipment - $800.

In total, about $4 thousand is needed to purchase the minimum amount of equipment.

It is worth noting that there is no need to purchase special devices for slaughtering and cutting up frogs. They are first stunned with a hard object and then undergo standard cutting of meat.

Purchase of frogs and food.

There are actually three varieties of frogs that can be eaten: Pelophylax lessonæ (pond frog), Pelophylax ridibundus (lake frog) and their hybrid Rana esculenta (edible frog). But it is the latter type that is most popular among consumers. They also live in the natural environment.

Of course, you can just go to a pond and catch a few individuals. But, for this you need to have certain knowledge in biology in order to find the right variety and take individuals of different sexes. Therefore, a more acceptable option is to purchase already living individuals or purchase their eggs. It may just be difficult to find a supplier. After all, it will be necessary to look for it in a completely different area or transport frogs outside our state. Alternatively, you can contact a zoo or nursery; perhaps they will agree to sell you frogs that were prepared to be eaten by other mammals.

Frogs grow very quickly. In 4 months they can be released into free swimming. And after a year they are completely ready for use. In this case, the weight should be up to 1.5 kg. But for this they need to be well fed. The basis of the diet is animal food, namely arachnids, cockroaches, mice and even small lizards.

All this can be purchased in specialized stores. In total, you need to prepare about $600 for this aspect.

Staff.

The company requires about 20 people. All people must have veterinary and zootechnical education. The enterprise needs veterinarians, livestock specialists, feeders, an electrician, general workers, a driver, an accountant, and a frog cutter. Since such production is not very widespread, there is no point in trying to find people with experience.

Education in this industry, a completed health book and a desire to learn are quite enough. In any case, it will be necessary to support staff in training in frog farming. And for the first time, basic knowledge will be enough.

In total, about $5 thousand must be allocated to pay staff.

Advertising.

To make a good profit, you need to carefully advertise your products. The first thing you should do is search for potential clients. You need to call them, make an appointment and offer your products. It is also worth making a presentation website and promoting it online among clients.

You can also use outdoor advertising or create an interesting video for consumers to attract consumers. There are master classes for chefs. This is where you can offer your products. Chefs, after evaluating frog meat, may decide to order the product to their restaurant.

Expenses.

The main costs of organizing a frog breeding business include the following:

1. Rent and arrangement of premises - $4 thousand;
2. Selection of equipment - $4 thousand;
3. Purchase of frogs and food for them - $600;
4. Staff - $5 thousand;
5. Advertising - $700;
6. Paperwork - up to $1 thousand.

In total, business development will cost $15-16 thousand.

Profit and payback.

Payback will occur no earlier than in 1.5 years. The fact is that frogs grow for about a year and for an uninterrupted supply a constant turnover of individuals is necessary. From one frog you can take about 700 grams of meat. And on the market, one kg of such a product will cost around $80.

Thus, for one planting of a frog you can get a profit of $70 thousand. But only with 100% sales.

Clients and development options.

Clients include shops, hypermarkets, supermarkets, restaurants and cafes. You can develop your business by purchasing additional drying ovens and offering consumers a beer snack in the form of dried frog legs with spices. You can also grow fish on the basis of your own enterprise. They complement each other perfectly and get along well.

Read also:

We wrote a lot about “beautiful” business, for example, opening or. However, not only a pleasant aesthetic business can bring good money. For example, breeding frogs at home. Amphibians seem unpleasant and disgusting to many people, however, if you can make good money by breeding them, then why not try?

Frog legs have long been considered a real delicacy in France. The best restaurants serve this dish in a wide variety of forms and, I must say, this pleasure is not cheap. Originating in France, the fashion for dishes made from frog legs has already spread to many countries in Europe and beyond. And in many restaurants in the CIS countries you can now taste this French delicacy. The success of this dish can be explained by the fact that it combines exoticism and simplicity - after all, frog meat tastes very similar to chicken.

Frog legs cannot be called a purely restaurant dish. Now on the Internet there are a huge number of culinary blogs and forums where lovers of tasty and unusual cooking share their recipes and ideas. And judging by them, frog legs are quite a popular home-cooked dish.

The business of breeding edible frogs is a niche that has not yet been completely filled. Therefore, it's time to think about starting a business in this area.

The species of frogs that are eaten is called - edible frog. This species evolved from the pond and lake frog naturally, and lives throughout almost all of Europe, as well as in the southern regions of Russia. For further breeding, such frogs are caught from lakes, ponds and rivers. To start breeding frogs, you can first buy eggs, which will soon turn into tadpoles.

Frog breeding site

The best place to breed frogs is a natural pond, part of which is fenced off for your farm. But you can also use other bodies of water, for example, artificial ponds. The main thing is that the water in them is clean and running. The cultivation of tadpoles itself takes place in special containers with water, soil, peat and charcoal. The soil must always be kept moist.

Feeding the frogs

To feed frogs, sometimes it is necessary to spend quite a large amount of money and time, since some individuals can grow up to 1-1.5 kilograms of weight. The main food of edible frogs is insects. This is what frog breeders most often feed their “pets.” But, in addition to insects, frogs can also feed on other animal food: mice, crustaceans, arachnids, birds.
Frog legs are usually stored frozen in plastic bags. If you are planning to develop a fairly large business, then you cannot do without special packaging equipment.

Sales channels

Business will be successful only if you can find buyers for your product. Most often, frog legs are purchased by restaurants and other catering establishments that have such an exotic dish on their menu. Also, your customers can be supermarkets and just shops - as we wrote above, frog legs are often prepared at home. Frozen frog legs cost about $5-$15 in stores. But ready-made dishes from this product can be tried in restaurants for a much larger sum.

You can sell not only frog legs. The remaining parts are used to prepare animal feed and various fertilizers. Therefore, you can also receive additional income.