FWD: Croaking sounds of success for farming couple

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This article is from The Star Online (http://thestar.com.my)

URL:

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2005/6/15/nation/11218820 & sec=nation

 

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Wednesday June 15, 2005

Croaking sounds of success for farming couple

<b>BY HAH FOONG LIAN</b>

 

TELUK INTAN: Waking up to the sound of bullfrogs croaking may be a nuisance to

many but not so for farmer Lim Thiew Seng and his wife Chye Kwai Lan.

 

& #147;I don & #146;t find them noisy. I am used to them and they croak only

during the mating season, & #148; Chye said with a smile.

 

Chye, 41, who has been breeding the amphibians for the past 10 years in a farm,

said the bullfrogs were much sought after by restaurant owners here, in Langkap,

Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur.

 

 

 

& #147;The frogs are tasty if stir fried with ginger and spring onion or steamed

or cooked in soya sauce, & #148; she said when met at her farm in Langkap, about

25km from here.

 

Lim, 42, said he began breeding the bullfrogs after reading about a Taiwanese

finding success in the business in 1995.

 

Lim, who has a keen interest in breeding fish, decided to venture into rearing

bullfrogs after buying 40 pairs at RM40 per pair from a friend.

 

He began the bullfrog business with an investment of between RM10,000 and

RM20,000 and managed to see some good results in 1996.

 

Lim, who used to rear flower horn fish and terrapins, said he turned to

bullfrogs when they became a popular dish in nearby restaurants.

 

& #147;Business was good when I first started breeding them, but now it has

slowed down quite a bit, & #148; he said, adding that he was fortunate to be able

to cover the increasing expenses needed to care for the frogs.

 

Lim said business would pick up between April and June. It was normally slow

during the rest of the year.

 

He added that bullfrog breeding farms were sprouting and there was keen

competition now.

 

Chye said it took about seven months for the bullfrogs to grow to about 1kg and

be ready for the market.

 

However, some buyers would want frogs which weighed between 200g and 250g.

 

Chye said she would feed them high protein feedmeal twice a day and the

bullfrogs had to be separated into different enclosures according to their size,

adding that there were more than 100 enclosures in her 0.6ha farm.

 

Her day at the farm includes having to wash the enclosures to keep them clean

so that the frogs are disease-free.

 

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