Environmentally & Ecologically Sustainable farming
Stocking your dam with Yabbies:
When you have a dam on your property there is nothing better than wandering
down to your waterhole, often with a coldie in one hand a net or two
in the other returning with a feed of delicious of blue claw yabbies
Ensuring a continued supply of these delicious critters depends on the stocking density you started with, bearing in mind it wont only be you snacking
on these delicious morsels.
Yabbies are a keystone species within an environment and are staple food source for fish, eels, birds, turles, platypus, water rats, water monitors, foxes etc.
Thankfully the humble yabby is a highly fecund species meaning they are able to produce an abundance of offspring, mutliple times in a year.
How many do I need?
Yabbies need AREA not volume.
The number of yabbies you will need to build a sustainable population is primarily based on square metre area of your dam.
Yabbies are a solitary animal, not a schooling one like fish and are opportunist feeders meaning every yabby is a potential meal for another yabby, especially during the molt process.
Rule of thumb
Adding 1 female and 1 male to a 1000 m2 dam is pointless
as they will likely never meet up.
To ensure a sufficient mix of males and females we recommend a minimum
of 1 yabby per 10m2 or 100 whichever number is greater to build
a sustainable population.
Better results are achieved at stocking rates of up to 3 yabbies per 10m2, bearing in mind that dams need to have sufficient area and food resources for your yabbies to thrive.
Aquaponic systems or water bodies less than 150m2 are not suitable if you are seeking to grow a constant and sustainable supply of yabbies.
Food availability
Yabbies are detritus feeders able to metabolise meat and vegetable protein
meaning grasses, hay, bugs decaying leaf matter, vegetable scraps
are all ideal food sources.
Healthy dams or water bodies are those which can support an interconnected food web, as demonstrated in the image below
© Provided by Gizmodo Australia A food web is the graphical representation of food chains within natural ecosystems. This simplified aquatic food web highlights the importance of yabbies in Australian freshwater ecosystems.
Supplimenatry feeding with chicken or pig pellets can slo be of benefit.
WE DO NOT RECOMMEND FEEDING UNCOOKED
SEAFOOD TO YOUR YABBIES.
The outbreak of white spot virus in Queensland Prawn farms have been attributed to the use of raw eating grade prawns being used as bait.
For newly dug dams you will need to add a food source food such as
lucerne hay, meadow or mulch hay even sugar cane mulch
as soon as practical.
Questions?
Call us 02 4997 5415 or email us