SRAC Publication No. 232

I

May 1993

SouthernRegionalAquacultureCenter

Alligator production in environ-mentally controlled houses is simi-lar in intensity to production inpoultry and swine houses. As withany highly intensified agricultureactivity, alligator farming has ahigh degree of risk and demandsspecial management skills. Man-agement skills in alligator produc-tion are particularly critical sincethese animals have been removedfrom the wild only recently andare not truly domesticated. Essen-tial management skills for the alli-gator producer are providingproper physical conditions, ade-quate nutrition, and a nonstressfulenvironment.

This fact sheet outlines basic man-agement practices for growing alli-gators from hatchlings toharvest/market size.

Grow-out facilities

Many different designs of grow-out facilities have been built.Grow-out buildings are heavily in-sulated concrete block, wood ormetal buildings with heated foun-dations. The foundation is a con-crete slab laced with hot waterpiping or, less commonly, electricheating coils. A constant tempera-

Alligator Production

Grow-out and Harvest

Michael P. Masser*

* Extension Fisheries Specialist, AuburnUniversity, Alabama

ture is maintained in the buildingby pumping hot water throughthe pipes. The slab is poured overinsulation board to reduce heatloss. Some grow-out houses areearth-bermed to reduce furtherheat loss. Pools, drains and feed-ing areas are designed into thefoundation before the concrete ispoured. Approximately one-thirdof the pen is above the normal .water level and is used as a feed-ing and basking deck. The remain-ing two-thirds is a pool usuallyabout one foot deep at the drain.The pool bottom slopes to a cen-tral drain to facilitate cleaning.Separate pens are constructedwithin a building using concreteblock walls three feet tall.

Pens can be made almost any size.In general, smaller pens are usedfor rearing small alligators and asthe alligators grow, pens becomeprogressively larger. Many pro-ducers stack small fiberglass ormetal tanks above the larger floorpens for housing small gators.This greatly increases the utiliza-tion of space and heat within thegrow-out houses. Pens and tanksmust be “climb-proofed” to pre-vent nimble young gators from es-caping. Table 1 gives examples ofpen size to alligator size and corre-sponding densities.

Many producers construct a cou-ple sizes of grow-out pens and sim-ply reduce the density by moving

Table 1. Recommended pen sizes for grow-out operations.1

Gator Pen size Gators/ Sq ft/ Sq ft neededlength Sq ft (lxw)2 pen gator 350 gators7-15” 9 (3x3) 20 0.45 158

15-30” 120 (10x12) 80 1.50 52530’’-4’ 168 (12x14) 50 3.36 1,176

4-5’ 192 (12x16) 50 3.84 1,344

5-6’ 216 (12x18) 40 5.40 1,8901taken from Smith & Cardeilhac, 1981.2length times width.

Young alligators in a concrete pen.

the animals as they grow. A com-monly used stocking regime is:

■ 1 square foot per animal until 2feet in length.

■ 3 square feet per animal until 4feet in length.

■ 6 square feet per animal to 6feet in length.

A common construction plan in-cludes a building containing ap-proximately 5,000 square feet (e.g.,33 x 150 feet) with an aisle downthe middle and pens on eitherside. A 4-foot aisle leaves pensroughly 14 feet in width. Penlength is usually about 12 feet.Three-foot high concrete blockwalls separate individual pens andpens from the aisle.

Within the 12- x 14-foot pen is a 5-foot wide deck (i.e., 5 x 12 feet)next to the service aisle and a 9-foot wide pool (i.e., 9 x 12 feet).Food can be placed on the deckand the pen hosed clean from theaisle without entering it. The pooledge slopes rapidly to a depth of10 inches next to the deck, and thepool bottom slopes from there to a12-inch depth at the drain. Thedrain runs the width of the pool.

The pen is easily divided into twopens by the construction of a walldown the center. The large pencan hold around 160 two-foot or50 four-foot alligators. The smallpen can hold about 80 two-footalligators. Some state laws requirethat alligators less than 2 feet longbe held separately from those over2 feet in length.

Another popular building designis a single “round house’’ design.Round house structures are 15 to25 feet in diameter and are con-structed as single pens. Manyround houses are constructedfrom a single section and roof com-ponent of a prefab metal silo (usedfor grain storage). Round houseshave also been built from concreteblocks. The round concrete slab onwhich the house sets is sloped(about 10:1) from the outer edge toa central drain. The round house isfilled with water to leave aboutone-third of the outer floor abovethe water level. Producers like thissingle pen design because it doesnot disturb alligators in other pensduring routine feeding, cleaningand handling operations.

Part of any alligator facility designis a room that holds the heatingsystem. The heating system usu-ally consists of water heaters andpumps to circulate warm waterthrough the concrete slab. Warmwater is needed to warm the build-ing and to clean the pens. Someheating systems consist of severalindustrial size water heaters.Other systems consist of a flash-type heater (i.e., the type used incar washes) to heat water for clean-ing and standard water heaters tocirculate warm water through theslab. Both systems use thermo-stats to turn on heaters and circula-tion pumps. The temperature ingrow-out buildings must be main-tained between 86 and 88°F for op-timum growth.

Grow-out buildings rarely containwindows, and many producersprefer no skylights. In fact, mostanimals are kept in near or totaldarkness except at feeding andcleaning times.

Feeding and nutrition

Research on the diets of wild alli-gators show that diets change asanimals grow; but, in general, alli-gators consume a diet high in pro-tein and low in fat. Early alligatorproducers fed diets high in fishflesh. Research later showed thatmedium to large alligators eatmostly higher protein prey (i.e.,birds and mammals).

Most alligator farms were, there-fore, equipped with large walk-infreezers to store large quantities of meat. Meat sources which havebeen used include: nutria, beef,horse, chicken, muskrat, fish,beaver and deer. Today, however,artificial diets have been devel-oped which provide adequate nu-trition. These diets haveeliminated much of the need tokeep fresh-frozen meat products available.

Burris Pet Food in Franklinton,LA, SF Services of Madison, MS,Goldkist Feeds of Valdosta, GA,and Ralston Purina of St. Louis,

Water heaters and pumps such asthese circulate warm water through the concrete slab in the pen.

administered to alligators onlythrough a prescription from a vet-erinarian. One research studyshowed that females treated withthese antibiotics (OTC at 100grams/ton) and VA at 20 grams/ton) had improved fertility rates of16 percent and hatching rates of 8percent. These antibiotics havealso improved growth (15 percent)of hatchlings that were stressed.

Growth rates of young alligatorscan be as much as 3 inches orgreater per month when held at aconstant temperature of 86 to89°F fed a quality diet and pro-tected from stress. Many produc-ers are rearing alligators fromhatchlings to 4 feet in 14 months.A few producers have grown alli-gators to 6 feet in 24 months.Farm-raised alligators are gener-ally 10 percent heavier than wildalligators of the same length.Table 2 gives average length andweight of wild and farm-raised al-ligators.

must be tagged with tags from thestate regulatory agency immedi-ately after slaughter. Alligatorscan be skinned only at approvedsites and by using specific skin-ning instructions issued by thestate agency.

Skinning, scraping and curingmust be done carefully to assurequality. Hides that are cut,scratched or stretched, particularlythe belly scales, have reducedvalue. Buyers pay less or “down-grade” for damaged hides.

Many producers chill alligators be-fore skinning. Chilling makes theskinning process easier. Hides arescraped carefully to remove allmeat and fat and then washed toremove all blood, etc. Fine grainmixing salt, not rock salt, is usedto preserve the hide. Salt isrubbed thoroughly into the skin,making sure to get salt into allcreases and flaps so that curingcan begin. Hides are then covered

Table 2. Length-weight relationships for wild and farm-raisedalligators.

Wild weight Farm-raised weightLength/inches pounds/(ounces) pounds/(ounces)

12 0.1 5/ (2.4) 0.1 6/ (2.6)18 0.42/ (6.7) 0.47/ (7.5)24 0.68/ (10.8) 0.75/ (12.1)30 3.5 3.936 8.6 9.542 13.0 14.748 17.7 19.854 28.0 31.160 39.6 44.066 45.4 50.472 49.6 55.1

Harvest in 1/2 to 1 inch of salt. Hides aretightly rolled and allowed to drain

In most states written approval and dry in a well ventilated, cooland tags must be obtained from place. Hides are checked and re-the state regulatory agency (e.g., salted as necessary after three toDepartment of Conservation and five days.Natural Resources) before alliga-tors can be harvested. Some statesalso have a minimum length re-quirement (e.g., at least 4 feet, un-less the animal dies from naturalcauses) at harvest. All alligators

Producers processing alligatormeat must comply with all sanita-tion requirements of federal, stateand local authorities. County orparish health departments can sup-ply guidelines and assistance in

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Fine grain mixing salt is used to preserve the hide after skinning.

complying with sanitation stand-ards. Specific state laws regulatethe size of meat cartons (e.g., notlarger than 5 pounds), labelling ofthe cartons with the names of theseller and buyer, date of sale, andtag number that corresponds tothe hide. Average deboned dress-out percentages for alligators inthe 4- to 6-foot range are given inTable 3.

Table 3. Percent yield of de-boned alligator meaton a live-weight basis.

tail leg torso r ibs1 j a w

16-17 4-5 6-12 7-10 1 1ribs with bones.

It is interesting to note that whilehide prices have fallen, meatprices have remained constant,and the supply of alligator meat iswell below market demand.

Stress

Stress and/or poor water manage-ment may lead to brown spot dis-ease. Although sores will heal, thespots are detectable and reducethe value of the skin.

Alligators are wild creatureswhich have been thrust into captiv-ity. In the wild, alligators are rela-

tively shy and reclusive creaturesthat do not normally congregate to-gether except during the breedingseason. Cultural conditions im-posed upon them are unnaturaland stressful.

Alligators crowded into pens ap-pear to be very sensitive to lightand sound. Many producers liketo keep alligators in the dark, orwith very reduced light condi-tions. They try to locate and insu-late facilities to minimize externalnoise. Some producers, however,put lights on timers to simulatenatural conditions and place ra-dioes in the grow-out houses, be-lieving that the animals will growaccustomed to human voices andnot be as stressed by daily feedingand cleaning routines. Some pro-ducers believe that alligators recog-nize individual humans andshould be fed and cleaned by thesame personnel each day to reducestress.

Signs of stress include piling-up,reduced feeding, stargazing andfighting. Piling-up usually occursin the corners of the pens and canlead to suffocation of animals onthe bottom of the pile. Reducedfeed consumption is a certain signof problematic stress. Stargazingis, as the name suggests, a positionthe alligator assumes by rising up

on its front feet, arching its backand neck, and pointing its snoutinto the air. Stargazing has been related to a vitamin B deficiencyand may also be a general sign ofstress. Fighting among animalsthat have been penned togetherbut not overcrowded is a definitesign of stress. Fighting can scarthe hide, reducing its quality andvalue.

Each producer must keep good re-cords on environmental conditionsand feed consumption. Whensigns of stress appear, try to iden-tify the cause and remedy it assoon as possible. Overcrowding,excessive disturbance and poorfeeding practices are commoncauses of stress.

Alligators can be aggressive, par-ticularly if under stress. Therefore,handling alligators must be donewith care and with the properequipment. Handlers should al-ways wear heavy leather bootsand gloves. Catch sticks or noosesshould be used to get animalsunder control. Once under controlthe alligator’s mouth should bebound, taped or banded shut to prevent biting, The tail can be par-ticularly dangerous and should beheld or secured tightly. Claws canalso inflict damage. Think safety,take precautions and handle the al-ligators carefully.

No single publication can provideall the possible information and in-sights that a prospective producerwill need before venturing into arisky alternative agriculture enter-prise such as alligator farming.This publication has attempted togive a prospective producer basicinformation on which he/she canmake informed decisions. Beforeventuring further into alligatorfarming, visit a few alligator farmsand talk to producers. First handinformation is imperative to thedecision making process.

The work reported in this publication was supported in part by the Southern Regional Aquaculture Center through Grant No. 89-38500-4516 from the UnitedStates Department of Agriculture.