INTRODUCTION
Grasscutter belong to the family of
rodent. It is also known as cane rat or cutting grass. Grasscutter farming is a
relatively new venture in animal husbandry in Nigeria but has since been
practiced in many west African countries such as Ghana, republic of Benin,
Togo, cote D’vore and many other countries in central Africa.
There are
different spices of grasscutters, but the popular ones are the thryonomis
agregorianus (brown race) and the thryonomis swinderianus (black race)
ECONOMIC IMPORTANT OF
GRASSCUTTER
- It service as protein to man
- It services as source of income to man
- The furs/skin of the grass cutter is a ready raw material for making various kinds of hard brushes and foot mats.
- Its waste product serves as a good source of organic manures.
There are two main management systems,
and these are the extensive system and the intensive system.
EXTENSIVE SYSTEM
This system is the wide range system.
Grasscutter are usually found in the bushes or in the forest. Harvesting is
hunting in the wide life.
- It provides game for man during hunting festivals
- A source of meat to man
- A source of raw materials to industries
- It destroys our natural habitat
- It is very difficult to harvest
SEMI INTENSIVE SYSTEM
Under this system, a large acres of
land is fenced and the grasscutter are then released into the large acres of
land with a lot of natural basal feed (natural grasses) to feed on. Harvesting
is usually done by setting traps.
ADVERTAGES
- It is very cheap to manage
- It provides meat to man
DISADVERTAGES
- Taking total numbers of stock is impossible
- Open to external predators
- This system is not usually the best because un-matured ones may be caught or injured during the harvesting period.
- If not handle with care, it can be very dangerous
INTENSIVE SYSTEM
Grasscutters
under this system are usually kept inside a confined environment where housing,
feeding and treatment are given to them for optimal health and development. The
house build for them is called a ‘den’.
DEN OF A GRASS CUTTER
ADVERTAGES
- Grass cutter is a source of income to the farmer
- It provide food for man
- Is serve as source of raw materials for industries and research
DISADVANTAGE
- It is costly to maintain
- If not handle with care, it can be very dangerous
IDENTIFICATION OF SEX IN GRASSCUTTERS
There
are three criteria in identifying sex in grasscutters, these are;
- Shape of the head
- Body size
- Ana-genital distance (Ana-genital distance that exist between the reproductive organ and anus)
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MALE
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FEMALE
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The males head is usually big and round,
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The female’s head is usually smallish and narrow
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Their bodies is usually bigger than that of the
female
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Their body size is smaller than that of the male
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There is golf
distance between the anus and the pennies
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The anus and the clitoris are clamped together,
hence there is no dist
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HANDLING OF GRASSCUTTERS
As a result of the hostile nature of
grasscutter, one needs to be very careful when handling any one of them. Always
use a clip to select any desired specie you want to examine. But in the absent
of clip, hold the grasscutter on the center of the tail, or on the fore-legs or
on the hind leg, use any one possible.
FEEDIND IN GRASS CUTTER
Feeding in grasscutter
can take the form of basal feeding or artificial feeding
EXAMPLES BASAL FEEDING
Basal feeds are those naturally feed use in feeding animals.
Examples of basal feed for grasscutters are; elephant grass, guinea grass,
paspalon, fresh maize stalk and cobs, sugar cane, pineapple leaves and crown,
nervure of palm trees and coconut trees, cassava stem and tubers, pawpaw fruit,
unripe tomatoes, cucumber, and so on.
THE NEED FOR ARTIFICIAL FEED
There is
need to use artificial feeding as supplement when rearing your grasscutter in
order to the grasscutter the require nutrition value. A good formulated feed for grasscutter is
written below;
Crude
protein……………………………………………….. 12.14
Digestible energy……………………………………………. 2300-2500kcal
Crude cellulose ……………………………………………… 8-10
Calcium ………………………………………………………….0.5-1%
Phosphorus
…………………………………………………….0.3-0.5%
The
recommended feed ratio is 50-60g/day per animal and the average daily weight
grained (ADWG) IS
BETWEEN 9-10g
REPRODUCTION
The reproductive age of grasscutter is 7-8 months for both
sexes.
REPRODUCTION SELECTION
IN MALE
- The male must be docile
- Must have normal growth rate or should have been at least 2.5kg at 8 months
- Must have equal size of testicle
REPRODUCTION SELECTION IN FEMALE
- The female must have at least two pairs of teat
- Must have normal growth rate or attain at least 2kg
PREPARING THE MALE FOR COPULATION
STIMULATING
This exercise is carried out on the
third month of the birth of the grasscutter. It involves the massaging of the
genital organ, especially at the neck region with a view to arouse its sexual consciousness.
This exercise continued until the male grasscutter attained full reproductive
stage at eight months.
COUPULATION
This
is usually done when the female is on heat, (especially in the intensive
system). On the natural bases, the male will mount one the female before it
ejaculate internal and fertilize the ovary of the female. The same principle is
what takes place even in the intensive system. The only thing is that special
attention is given to them. One male can be use for four female.
Note; always allow the female to stay
with the male in the same den for about one to two months to ensure
fertilization.
GESTATION TEST
Gestation test is done using cotton
bud. Insert the cotton bud inside the clitoris of the female with a gentle
twist.
RESULT
Those ones with blood stain or
brownish colour in the cotton bud indicate that they are pregnant, while those
ones that are grayish-white are not pregnant. The non-pregnant ones are
re-introducing into the den.
Note; male are called buck while
female are called doe.
GESTATION PERIOD
The pregnant doe gestate for a period
of 5 months hence 152 days
LITTER SIZE
The litter sizes 4-11 kids per doe
LACTATION PERIOD
They lactate for 45days
WEANING
Weaning is done immediately after
lactation
COLONY
Four female grascutter to one male
grascutter