GIBSON, La. — If you’ve never learned about alligator farming, then Tim Domangue’s got you covered.
He’s offering up tours that explain the process from start to finish at his property in Gibson called “Greenwood Gator Farm and Tours”, and he begins by explaining how they gather eggs from the wild.
“We go by helicopter, and they’ll throw down a flag right around the nest when we see the nest in the wild, and then, about two weeks later, we come in an air boat and we we get the eggs from the marsh,” explains Tim.
Eggs are usually collected at the end of June and into early July.
Then in August, tourists can come to the farm and get a real hands on experience in the hatchery room.
“If you come over here, I have about 600 to 700 eggs that we’ll show you how they hatch and everything, and let you experience them coming out of the egg,” says Tim.
The tour then ventures into a mock “processing room” where there are several learning stations to help show what it looks like to skin the gators, grade the hide, and what different products are made from it.
According to Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries, raw meat and hide values are estimated at more than $11 million for wild harvest and more than $46 million for farm harvest.
After learning the farming process, it’s time for a little interaction.
Tourists can hold baby alligators and check out a live feeding outside at the gator pond.
There’s also one more option of watching the gators from a distance on a nice swamp boat tour to finish the day.
“This is a once in a lifetime adventure to come and experience all of this, and you will leave the gator farm knowing a whole lot more about alligators and their surroundings,” says Tim.
Greenwood gator farm houses up to 12,000 alligators each year and a portion of them are returned to the wild.
To learn more about Greenwood Gator Farm and Tours, click here.
