Wood frog farming has many requirements for the growth environment. After all, it is an amphibian and cannot survive in places with too little water.
This is also the reason why Lu Lu chose this mud ditch.
There are quite a lot of big trees on the mountains on both sides, and there are shrubs under the big trees, and there are weeds and rotten leaves under the shrubs. Moreover, most of them are broad-leaved forests, which gives the ground a strong shading effect, which is relatively unobstructed.
Open areas that are less exposed to wind are much more humid.
Moreover, there is a lot of mud in the ditch and thick rotten leaves in the forest, which can easily breed insects and provide a lot of insect food.
Wood frogs go up the mountain and like to hide in these rotten leaves. Their activity peaks in the morning and evening.
A place like this is more advantageous.
Next, Lu Lu led the three of them and checked along the mud ditch, pointing out several places suitable for building hatching ponds.
Then he led the three people and pointed out to them the areas that needed to be delineated.
That's how things were arranged.
In the next few days, Lu Lu led Zhang Shaofeng and Meng Zhaohua to the farm to plow the fields, and kept toying with the farming machines.
After all, Meng Zhaohua knew how to drive a car, and he had the foundation. Lu Lu told him how to control it, and with simple guidance, he could get started quickly.
Zhang Shaofeng is a slower learner, but he is also very interested in these machines. He can still master them in a few days. I believe that he will become more and more proficient in the next use process. During this period of time,
This large area of 2,000 acres of land that had been plowed once before was plowed again.
Time also arrived in mid-April in a blink of an eye. Seeing that the time was almost up, Lu Lu returned to Lannigou to take a look. Zhao Yongke and Liang Kangbo were leading a group of people to dig or block and construct according to the terrain.
Those wood frog hatching ponds.
In addition to the several families who participated in the establishment of the family farm, there were also several militiamen who led their daughters-in-law to join in the work. Things were progressing very quickly, and six of the ponds Lu Lu needed had been created.
The six pools have been filled with water, forming bubbles. The water quality in the earliest ones has settled and become clear.
A ditch was dug upstream to divert water into the pool. A drainage ditch was dug at the bottom of the pool, and the drainage channel was inlaid with stones. The drainage outlet can be blocked directly with a snakeskin bag filled with mud, which is very convenient.
"Brother, how are these pools doing?"
Liang Kangbo asked with a smile when he saw Lu Lu coming to check out these pools and was leading a group of people in the mud ditch to shovel out the mud from the pond and paste it on the edge of the pond.
“Very good!”
Lu Lu praised sincerely.
They were following Lu Lu's requirements meticulously, and they also used some methods that Lu Lu had never noticed before.
For example, when diverting water into the pond, they directly cut down pieces of wood, and then used chisels and axes to cut grooves directly on the tree trunks. They connected these wooden grooves to introduce water into the pond, eliminating the need to dig long-distance ditches.
trouble.
"Brother Liang, you continue to lead them. I have to call Brother Zhao away and we go to the mountains to look for forest frog eggs together. We can't miss this time, otherwise we won't be able to raise them this year."
Now is the time when wood frogs lay eggs, which only lasts about a month. During this time, you must collect as many wood frog eggs as possible.
Liang Kangbo nodded repeatedly: "This matter is important. I can just lead them to do the things here."
Lu Lu greeted Zhang Shaofeng, Meng Zhaohua, and Zhao Yongke and explained the matter clearly.
Going back in the evening, when passing by Xiushan Village, Lu Lu called Chen Xiuqing out.
"Brother Lu, what are you doing?" Chen Xiuqing ran out sweating profusely.
"Put aside the matter of building your house. Your father-in-law is leading the construction, so you don't have to worry about it. Come with me into the mountains tomorrow to look for frog eggs! If anything happens, tell Brother Wang in advance.
Hey, it’s not a problem for you to be on the house every day. There are so many things to do on the farm, and it doesn’t make sense for you not to care at all. The key is that you can’t do anything else except help carry things here!”
This guy hasn't paid attention to the farm for a long time. Everyone else is here. It's inappropriate for him to be like this and he doesn't seem to be very motivated.
After hearing what Lu Lu said, Chen Xiuqing came to understand and nodded quickly in agreement: "Yeah!"
In the early morning of the next day, Meng Zhaohua, Zhang Shaofeng and Zhao Yongke arrived at Lulu Caodianzi early, and each prepared buckets and cleaned inner bags removed from fertilizer bags. These were prepared to contain forest frog eggs.
Chen Xiuqing has been living with Lu Lu since she built her house, and her things have been prepared.
All the tools that needed to be brought were loaded into the car, and everyone also brought their semi-automatic rifles.
To collect Rana eggs, you have to go to puddles in the mountains, streams, and small rivers where the water flow is gentle. You must bring a gun, not only for hunting, but also for protection.
"Huazi, go to the hunting gear shop in the district first!"
After letting Zhang Shaofeng sit in the passenger seat, Lu Lu gave instructions to Meng Zhaohua.
The dogs have been trapped at home these days, and Lu Lu also plans to take them into the mountains to serve as a warning if there are wild animals approaching.
Not to mention anything else, at this time, the blind bears have ended their hibernation and are beginning to come out. After a long winter, they need a lot of nourishment. If they encounter them, they are more likely to attack people.
A lot of them happened, so we had to take precautions.
After getting in the car, Lu Lu waved to a few dogs. They were already running happily to follow the dogs that were spinning around. After Yuan Bao took the lead and jumped into the car, the other dogs also jumped up one after another.
The place he was going was not far away, so he wasn't worried about Yuanbao getting motion sick like last time.
After getting ready, Lu Lu shouted loudly: "Let's go!"
Meng Zhaohua immediately started the car and headed towards the district.
During this time, he has been working on the farm, Ma Jinlan has been living at home, Aunt Duan will come over often, and Zhao Tuanqing has also habitually walked around Caodianzi twice a day, so there is no need to worry about the safety of Caodianzi.
The car stopped at the entrance of Ou Shang's hunting equipment store.
Lu Lu and others jumped out of the car and entered the store one after another.
Except for Meng Zhaohua, the others all carried semi-automatic machines on their backs and sneaked into the store one after another. The salesperson looked at them in a daze and looked very nervous.
"Get us some water-crotches!"
If you want to go into the water to catch frog eggs, you can't do it without wading equipment like water-forked pants.
It's only early spring now, and the ice and snow have not yet melted in many shady places. Without crotch pants, it would be unbearable to roll up your trouser legs and go into the water with bare feet. Even if you wear crotch pants that are waterproof, you will still be very cold.
Several people quickly bought suitable pants according to their sizes. After paying the money, they all walked to the door. Lu Lu suddenly stopped again and stopped them: "Wait a minute, I need to buy something else!"
"What are you buying?" Zhang Shaofeng was a little confused.
"You also need to prepare some bird nets or gauze... When the frog eggs are placed in the hatching pond, many birds will come to eat them during the hatching process, so you have to be on guard!"
Lu Lu explained the reason and went back to the salesperson to buy a lot of gauze and bird nets.
This kind of half-artificial intervention and half-wild forest frog farming has a very low catch rate even though the population base is very large at the beginning.
From the time they are still eggs, you have to be careful to protect them. There are no fish in the mud ditch, so you don’t have to worry about fish eating frog eggs. But when you go up the mountain, you will face predators such as rats, snakes and birds. These protection measures are not enough.
If done well, it will be densely packed when you go up the mountain. Those who can really escape the disaster and return to the pond to overwinter are very few. You must know that wood frogs have to be raised for about three years before they can be processed and sold.
Things sound simple, but in practice, they are quite troublesome.
Lu Lu prepared a notebook for each account and recorded it clearly. When the time comes, the money will be divided among the five people according to their shares.
After the matter was done, the group of people got into the car again.
The first place Lu Lu chose to go was the Wolong River where a group of people went to hunt for fish after Liu Hao came back.
The last time I fished, I caught a lot of forest frogs along the way, so this naturally became my first choice.
Without access, cars cannot penetrate all the way.
They simply chose a spacious place and parked the car near the channel where the Wolong River merges into the Tangwang River. Then, each of them used a pole to carry the bucket covered with a fertilizer bag, and went into the mountains toward the Wolong River.
near.
After arriving at the place, it didn't take long for the group of people to see the first group of forest frog eggs in the water and grass in the river bend where the water flow was gentle.
After putting on the water-forked pants, Lu Lu got into the river first. Through the water-forked pants, he could feel the coldness of the river water.
He carried the bucket and carefully approached the ball of Rana eggs floating among the water plants, then picked up the ball of Rana eggs and put it into the bucket: "This ball of Rana eggs should be produced by a four-year-old Rana.
There are at least 1,340 eggs. If they are fully hatched, there will be 1,340 tadpoles! Come over and take a good look and identify them carefully.
What we want to raise is the Northeastern forest frog. Not only the Northeastern forest frog lives in this mountain, there is also a smaller forest frog that is more common, also called the HLJ forest frog, which also lays eggs during this period and also produces toad oil.
, but it is not the same thing as the Northeastern wood frog.
Northeastern wood frogs go up mountains, but HLJ wood frogs are mostly concentrated in fields and forests where there is water.
In terms of the wood frog oil produced, the HLJ wood frog is not as good as the Northeast wood frog. The meat quality is also much worse. The Northeast wood frog's skin is smooth, while the HLJ wood frog's skin is skinny.
Although the places where Northeastern wood frogs and HLJ wood frogs lay eggs are naturally separated from each other and are usually not located together, there are always exceptions. Pay attention to the distinction. They cannot be mixed together.
The most obvious thing is that the eggs laid by the Northeast wood frog are slightly larger than the eggs of the HLJ wood frog..."
Lu Lu explained the identification method to the four people in detail. He even found a group of HLJ forest frog eggs for comparison.
But the result was that none of them expected that there were so many twists and turns, and they were completely confused.
"Also, the stages before and after Rana lay eggs are different. Some eggs have already begun to hatch in the water, while some eggs have just been laid. Such eggs cannot be placed together and must be placed separately."
Lu Lu explained carefully.
Well, it is understandable that the eggs of Northeastern wood frogs cannot be mixed with the eggs of HLJ wood frogs.
But now, the eggs of the same wood frogs cannot be placed together...
"Why is this?"
Chen Xiuqing, a tough guy, scratched his hair and asked.
"The hatching times are different. The tadpoles that emerge first will eat the eggs that hatch later!" Lu Lu patiently explained: "So, the tadpoles that hatch at the same time should be placed in the same pool, and they cannot be confused.
"
"There is still such a thing... Then we should separate!" Zhang Shaofeng listened attentively.
Zhao Yongke listened with a dull look on his face. Meng Zhaohua and Liang Kangbo had similar reactions, like Chen Xiuqing, scratching their heads again and again.
"Also, there are other frogs in the Northeast, such as toads, etc. They also lay eggs in the water, which is different from the wood frogs..."
Lu Lu continued to explain, but was quickly interrupted by Zhang Shaofeng.
"Brother, I think the best way is for us to fish them out for you to see, and then you can distinguish them. There are so many things, and we can't even distinguish them for a while!"
Even Zhang Shaofeng had a sad face when he heard this: "You would never imagine that just raising a forest frog requires so much attention."
"Without Brother Lu, it would be difficult for us to raise him... we wouldn't be able to have fun at all!" Meng Zhaohua interjected.
Lu Lu smiled slightly: "You will understand it gradually in the future, but let's talk about it first. This is a technical thing. What I tell you must be kept secret, otherwise, we may not be able to make much money.
Time money.”
When everyone gets rid of the old ideological constraints in their heads and starts to think of ways to make money, people will soon continue to study and copy these things, and develop more efficient methods. By then, smart people will suddenly become more numerous
Incredible.
Even though what Lu Lu is talking about now is not comparable to Gao Shen, the necessary confidentiality is still quite appropriate.
Hearing Lu Lu speak so seriously, several people thought about it and nodded repeatedly.
Not knowing how to teach them for a while, Lu Lu could only do what Zhang Shaofeng said, and let them use them to identify the frog eggs when they found them, to judge whether they were real or not, and how to sort them into buckets.
The five people also divided themselves on both sides of the river bank and began to search along the bank, heading deeper into the mountains.