Have you ever wondered what the crawfish do in their off-season? After all, what goes on in the murky deep where those succulent Louisiana crawfish reside? Like any other creature, crawfish have ingrained habits. But the Louisiana crawfish has a routine unlike other animals! During their down time, the crawfish live in open water playing Zydeco, mud wrestling, working out at Mudbugs Gym and practicing their escape and evasion techniques!

Ok…not really. But have you ever thought about what crawfish do when it isn’t crawfish season?

Think about it. There is more to the life cycle of the Louisiana crawfish than merely existing until some harvester arrives to pluck them from their muddy home and take them to their final location-that large pot of boiling water, Cajun seasoning, corn, potatoes and onions. But have you ever thought about crawfish, other than when the next time will be that you can enjoy their sumptuousness again? Seriously, there is more to the crawfish than what the best way to prepare them is (not that we are averse to hearing your ideas!) and how soon the season will resume.

The Louisiana crawfish off-season, sometimes called the dry season, usually begins in mid-summer (though there are years it can last longer) and runs into spring. During that time, the crawfish will burrow into the mud, sometimes as deep as 10 feet, to find a place to keep cool while they breed and grow. As it takes six to eight weeks for a newly hatched (yes, hatched as they lay eggs) crawfish to be large enough to harvest that works well for our crawfish harvesters.

Here in Louisiana, crawfish farming is done through a process known as aquaculture. This is a cycle of flooding harvested rice fields to encourage the breeding and growing. Once rice is harvested, the fields are flooded again, and the crawfish feed off of the rice stalks. Soon it will begin to be time to begin enjoying boils, Crawfish Etouffee and many other fabulous crawfish delicacies.
But, until it’s time to enjoy fresh Louisiana crawfish again, what do you think would be some interesting off-season activities for the Louisiana crawfish? Spending time at Claw Salon? Practicing their crawl? Be creative, we would love to hear your fun and fictitious ideas!