Our state-of-the-art hatchery allows us to spawn our koi indoors with carefully paired broodstock. Spawning has many steps: introducing and extending an artificial thermal period, injecting hormones and creating an environment conducive to mating. Spawning in a hatchery may also include milking the males and removing the eggs from the females. All these steps are just the beginning to the process of producing healthy fry.
Even when outdoor temps are still low, our heated ponds maintain optimum temperature for delicate, newly-hatched fry. Fry are safely moved to their outdoor ponds in late spring, where they stay until culling begins in July. Culling is the process of categorizing the young fish by color pattern as well as body/fin/scale type, selecting out the best. Fingerling size koi are harvested in October and brought indoors to spend the winter in the hatchery ponds. In contrast, broodstock is always kept in temperature controlled (heated) ponds and fed premium food for good nutrition throughout the year.
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