Anyone feed with chicken egg yoke?

Jason · #1 (**permalink**) 09-19-2009, 01:52 AM

I purchased a few vivariums from a member on the board and found some tadpoles. Since I don't have any other egg feeders, decided to try my hand at raising them myself. Aaron from Aaron's Frog Farm had mentioned using chicken egg yoke, so I decided to try it. This was 2 months ago.

All tadpoles are still alive and doing well. What I do is take the yoke of a chicken egg, mix in a little Rep-Cal Herptivate or Calcium and mix it up on a plate. I then set it out on the counter until it is almost dry. Usually about 3 to 4 hours. I can then take the yoke and roll little eggs in my fingers and drop them in the deli cup. After about 24 hours I change out the water. The tadpoles eat so much they have a hard time moving around.

Has anyone else had any luck raising tads this way?

GSXR_MURRHEE · #2 (**permalink**) 09-19-2009, 02:00 AM

I've heard and read of others doing it and having success, but I've never tried using chicken egg yoke. I did have some success feeding other tadpoles to some mancreek tads I had a while back, lol.

midget · #3 (**permalink**) 09-19-2009, 02:05 AM

i've read about this but most said theres came out rather small and very few servied might i mind you though these were back in 2007, not sure if somthing changed.

Ed · #4 (**permalink**) 09-19-2009, 02:17 AM

There are reports of people trying this going all the way back into the early 1980s (I have reports in the literature going back to before 1984) and the results have consistently been very poor and while the tadpoles do feed on it, the rate of successful metamorphosis in general tends to be poor as is the survivorship post six months.

However it appears you really didn't have any other options.

Ed

frogfarm · #5 (**permalink**) 09-19-2009, 02:21 PM

That`s probably because they were using it on the "harder" costa rican and nicaraguan morphs. It seemed to work well for bastis and man creeks but not for escudos.
I think the morph has a lot to do w/ it.