They Raise Turtles And Alligators

They Raise Turtles And Alligators AG WORLD Ag World 20-5-20 Harvey and Jean Kliebert, Hammond, Louisiana, have an unusual "crop" - they raise turtles and alligators. Their "red ear slider" turtles are sold both as eggs and as hatchlings while alligators are sold for their meat and leather. "I started raising turtles in 1947," says Harvey, noting that today the Far East and Mexico are Kliebert's biggest customers, buying some 800,000 of the animals (eggs and young combined) annually. Kliebert says they're sold in those countries for pets. Kliebert's turtle eggs are also shipped in large numbers to U.S. universities, where they're used in laboratories for eye and blood research, and for pollution experimentation. A turtle egg brings Kliebert between 40 and 60 cents, depending on the market; hatchlings about $1 to $1.50; and the 4-in. turtles sold to pet shops and wholesalers yield about $3 apiece. A 500 by 40-ft. pond is stocked with more than 15,000 breeder turtles. Most are about dinner-plate size. The egg laying sea-son starts about April 1 and runs until the end of June. Pregnant females emerge from the water to lay their clutches - which usually consist of 7 to 10 eggs, but have been known to contain as many as 23 - in a 10-ft. wide swath of mud that borders the pools on all sides. "They dig a hole for the eggs four to six inches down in the mud. When we come to dig them up - and we try to do this the day they're laid - we find them by landmarks such as wet spots, claw marks, and raised earth," says Kliebert. Most laying is done early in the morning; a red ear will lay two or three times a season. Over the three months Kliebert's breeders lay a total of 1.5 million eggs, and of these about 70% hatch out. Once gathered, eggs are placed in Kliebert's four incubators which can hold the entire 1.5 million eggs laid at the farm. Incubation lasts 70 to 75 days. The "red ears" at Kliebert's farm get fed from mid-March until the end of August. Fifty pounds of catfish food pellets are scattered every day in the ponds, and this is augmented with catfish heads and entrails, water lily pads, and duckweed - "a particular favorite", says Kliebert. Kliebert also raises alligators in numerous pools of varying sizes. He claims to have the oldest alligator in captivity - 37 years old. He maintains 200 females and 50 males for his breeding stock. Males can measure a whopping 19 ft. long and weigh 2,500 lbs. while females rarely exceed 9 ft. and weigh about 900 lbs. The young are raised to between 4 and 6 ft. when they're slaughtered (up to about 175 ægators per year), a process which is done at the farm. Alligator meat is shipped all over the U.S.; the hides go entirely to France. The farm can be toured seven days a week from March to November. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Kliebert's Turtle and Alligator Farm, 41067 W. Yellow Water Road, Hammond, La. 70401 (ph 504 345-3617).

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