THE HEALTH MANAGEMENT OF GRASS CUTTERS

Health Management in Grasscutter Farming

Health management is very important in all aspects of livestock farming. As a grasscutter or cane rat farmer, the health of your big rats should be very important to you because if they come down with diseases, you would be spending additional money to combat those diseases. Of course, your cost of production is increasing. To protect your grasscutters from diseases, the following measures should be done:

▪️ Inspect grasscutters daily in order to detect any sick animals early.

▪️ Giving your animals the appropriate feed and taking basic hygiene measures help in reducing potential losses to diseases.

▪️ Avoid rough handling of your animals and unnecessary noise. 

▪️ Regularly disinfect the pens, sheds, cages its environment and materials. Wash the feeding and drinking troughs twice in a week.

▪️ Quarantine new grasscutters for 2 weeks before joining them with the main stock.

▪️ Keep feed away from rodents by making the feed store rodent-proof.

▪️ Give minerals and vitamins supplements bi-weekly. You can also give sweetened lemon juice which has been recognized as an immune system strengthener. To make this juice, get 400 ml of pure lemon juice and add 55 cubes of sugar and mix with 20 litres of water.

*How to Identify a Sick Grasscutter*

To know if a grasscutter is sick, there are some observable signs you will see. These include:

▪️ Loss of appetite

▪️ Dull-looking or matted fur

▪️ Social withdrawal or isolation from others

▪️ Inability to escape capture

▪️ Liquid or soft faeces

▪️ Paralysis

▪️ Coughing

▪️ Inflammation of certain parts of the body

▪️ Abnormally long incisors 

For more information on health management you can email us: thygabgrasscutterfarm@gmail.com for complete manual guide. 

*Additional Information*

Grasscutters should be provided with food always. Also, the grasscutters should be fed with fodder 2 hours before feeding them concentrate in the morning and evening. It is also very important to provide water always to the animals. Hence, grassy fodder needs to be dried in the sun for 1-2 days before feeding them to animals.

Concentrate could be combined with fodder. The concentrate can be made up from just one ingredient or several ingredients. It is advisable to alternate the concentrate if single ingredient concentrate is used. If the concentrate is a mix of more than one ingredient, then it could be given to the grasscutters continuously. 

*Importance of conserving and storing feeds*

And lastly let's look at the importance of conserving and storing grasscutter food

Conservation of feeds and stocking the feed barn is another aspect of grasscutter farming that should be considered. The fodder for the animals should be air-dried or sun-dried and kept in a dry place. Planting and cultivating fodder could be done to have sufficient fodder in the period of scarcity.

Concentrates should be stored in a dry place and avoid storing them for long because a concentrate feed is very sensitive to changes in humidity, temperature and/or oxidation. It could also be attacked by insects, rodents, mites, bacteria, fungi or mould. 

That's all the guide you need to start up your grass cutter farming.

*Finally a little breakdown... of profit tag in grasscutter farming. Grasscutter farming is highly profitable, more profitable than you imagined. The meat is widely consumed allover the West Africa region and beyond, making it one of the top 10 animals whose meat is in highest demand in the market. A market ready Grasscutter is sold between N8,000 to N10,000. Five hundred Grasscuters in a year could earn you between N3 Million to N5 Million.*

*The animal reproduces very quickly and in good numbers. A fully grown female Grasscutter after gestation, carries the pregnancy for 140 – 150 days and deliver about twice a year. Each pregnancy produces average of four to seven young ones. Sometimes up to ten, that means one female Grasscutter could produce 8 – 20 other Grasscutters in a year*

*It grows big and very fast too. Grasscutter is one of the biggest rodent in Africa. A fully mature female or male that is ready for market weighs between 3.5kg for the female and 4.5kg for the male. While measuring 45cm to 60cm in body length. The standing height is between 25 to 30cm. The body size of a fully grown male is about the size of a nine inches block.*

*More information on how and where to get live grass cutters to buy for you to start your own grasscutter farming, you can reach me on whatsapp here or on this group platform or you can simply dial my number.* 

Reproduction in Grasscutter Production

*The next phase we are going to look at is the reproduction part in grass cutter farming because that is another essential area where income/profit comes from or being generated

Some basic facts about grasscutter with regards to reproduction are as follows:

*Sexual maturity:* Male grasscutters mature in 8 months or 32 weeks and they have a minimum body weight of 2.5kg while the female grasscutters mature in 6.5 months or 26 weeks having a minimum body weight of 1.8kg.

*Sex ratio:* 1 male can service 4 to 10 females.

Ovulation: Just like female rabbits (does), female cane-rats start ovulating on sighting a male. 

*Gestation period:* 152 days

Numbers of litters per year: 2 litters

*Number of young per litter:* 3-11 young

Suckling period: 40 days before weaning. 

Selection for Breeding

Let's look at selection for breeding

In grasscutter production, random selection should be avoided. You should procure the best animals from the nearest breeding center or another grasscutter breeder. Additionally, when making your selection, it should be based on body weight. All the females within a family should be having almost the same body weight and the male grasscutter should be 0.5-1kg or at least 1kg heavier than the females. 

Don’t buy or breed closely related mating pairs; that is, a male closely related to the females.

*Let's look at the mating process* 

Mating is the process where a male and female specie are place together have sexual intercourse in order to produce babies (animals notably). 

Mating in Grasscutters

A male grasscutter is capable of mating with many females grasscutters in a single period. The male should be placed in the mating pen and the female grasscutter is moved from her own pen to the male’s pen. Leave both in the pen for 24 hours.

*Note:* Don’t move the male to the female pen because it may result to fight and mating may not occur. Also, avoid mating a male that is lighter than the female in weight. 

And also there are two mating options in grasscutter farming. The first one is:

Permanent mating: Here, the male and female grasscutters are allowed to mate together in the same pen but the young are moved to another pen after they have been weaned.

Temporary mating: Here, the female is placed together with the male until she is pregnant and she is moved to another pen.

*Also take note that there are advantages and disadvantages too.

Let's look at the advantages and disadvantages of permanent mating 

Advantages of permanent mating 

▪️ Increased breeding cycle

Disadvantage of permanent mating

▪️ Difficult to identify the mother of each offspring. 

▪️ Less control over reproduction. 

▪️ Risk of cannibalism (the male eating the offerings). 

▪️ Risk of exhausting reproductive females. 

▪️ Under-exploitation of the male. 

Advantages of temporary mating

▪️ Clear identification of mother and offspring. 

▪️ Excellent management of breeding process. 

▪️ Reduced risk of adult male killing offspring. 

Disadvantages of temporary mating

▪️ Increased investment (several pens needed). 

▪️ Need for larger space to house females. 

▪️ Reduced number of litters per female  and per year.

Gestation

Let's look at the gestation period in grass cutter 

The gestation period for grasscutters or cane-rats is 152 days. After your male and female grasscutters must have mated with each other, it is necessary to check if the female is pregnant.

Another question that may runs through your mind is how do I know if my female grasscutter is pregnant 😊😊😊.  But don't to worry I will show u how to know. 

*Pregnancy test*

4-8 weeks after mating, just carefully insert a cotton bud into the genital of the female. If it changes color to red or in a reddish color then that grasscutter is pregnant. If there is no discolouration, then the female is not pregnant.

Once female grasscutter gives birth, the newborn grasscutters resemble adult ones. Within a few hours, they can move around. After the female has delivered, she must be provided with enough feeds and water for adequate milk production. 

*Weaning Grasscutters*

You should wean your newborn grasscutters 40 days after they are born.This is necessary because any extension will make the mother to grow weak due to prolonged breastfeeding.

When weaning, separate the males from the females.

You can identify a male grasscutter by distancing the genitals and anus, which is twice as large as those in the young females.

The feeds or foods that are given to grasscutters should meet all their daily nutritional requirements, since the grasscutters would be in captivity, their diet should consist of majorly green forage, but fresh or dried food could also be provided. 

They can also be given concentrates rich in energy, proteins and  minerals.

Feeding The Grasscutters

Grasscutter is a herbivorous animals meaning their source of food is basically from the bush, that’s why they are more comfortable in the bush where their foods could easily be found. Their major food is Elephant or Napier grass. They also love Sugar cane and most farmers use sugar cane mainly for their feeding, Guinea grass, Gamba grass, Congo grass. The animal also like Gliricidia sepium, herbaceous legumes like Stylo (Stylosanthes gracilis) and Pueraria phaseoloides. The root and pitch of oil and coconut palms, bark of the anacardium and fruits such as half ripen pawpaw, plantain, pineapple, mango etc are their delight. Food crops such as groundnut, rice, maize, grain legume, tubers like cassava, sweet potato etc also make part of their food, stressed the grasscutter farmer.

The farmer also stated that grasscutter feed on palm wine and that is why they destroy oil palm plantation. They take their water mostly from the field and go to the river during the dry season only. But when domesticated, you can give them water by adding some attractant to it. Cane rate it should be noted does not dig a hole and cannot climb a tree either, he further stressed.

They can also be fed with formulated concentrates like pellet as well as other processing by-products like wheat bran, corn bran, groundnut, soya, oilseed, cotton seed cakes, brewer yeast, grain legume pods, brewers’ grains, maize shucks and cobs, brewer’s yeast etc as feed supplements.

Grasscutter don’t like cold environment.  The rooms or cages where you keep them must neither be too cold nor too hot. Environment that is suitable for human is considered suitable for Grasscutters.

According to experience farmers, Hygiene and good feeding are the most important factors for successful, profitably Grasscutter farming. You can also fatten the male with broiler’s finisher or broiler starter’s feed to help attain market weight within short period of time.

Lastly on this post I will do a write up on the major food Grass cutters eat.. 

Although some of their major food has already been stated above under *Feeding the grass cutter* but I want to show you their major food that you can easily get around. 

The first one is: *Elephant Grass*

This Grass is found virtually everywhere in Nigeria. It is the tall Grass that its stem looks like that of sugarcane. This is one of their favourites and i suggest you feed them with this every morning, and add it sometimes to their evening meals. Ensure that your source is clean and so that you don’t feed your Grasscutters with infected Grasses. You can engage little children to help you cut this grass like 3 times in a week. When i started raising my Grasscutters, i used to cut them by myself with my kid brother, but now I just give my sister bag when she is coming back from school she just branches their secondary bush to cut and bring for me back home. 

The second one is: *SUGAR CANE*

This is one of Grasscutter’s best food, and where they got the name “Greater cane rat.” Feed a grasscutter with this and it might offer you a kiss (hehehe). All you do is just to cut it into bits and give it to them. But i will give you a simple warnings you should adhere to.

Don’t feed them much of it. Remember it contains sugar, so you should be careful because if they feed much it on it, it will cause tooth ache for them and they will start avoiding food because of the tooth ache. So feed them with your own discretion.

The third one is: *Ugu Stem*

Like i said earlier, you can raise your Grasscutters without spending money on feeding, but i suggest to achieve fast growth, add supplements to their feeding plan.

But with their food all around us, you are still in profit mode. In markets when market women sell Ugu, they only sell the leaves and throw away the stem. That is where your profit come in again. Simply help them with the disposal by diposing it in the stomach of your Grasscutters.

Few meters from me is a street market called “Ramat park market Ikpoba hill” (Ikpoba hill Market), i simply take 6 empty rice sacks and share amongst the women who sell Ugu there. After selling there Ugu leaves, they simply park the Ugu Stem into my Sacs and by 9pm in the evening, i simply mobilize my workers we go and bring home the bags.

Grasscutters don’t play with Ugu stem.I consider it their next best food after sugarcane.

*Lastly, here is another food grasscutter loves so much that you can easily get is Maize

*Maize is one of their favorite foods. Whenever i come back from the market and start making the sound “chachachachacha” with my mouth, they will rush to feed whatever it is i came back with. Maize can be given to them in 4 ways:

1. you can give it to them when it is still fresh.

2. You can give them the maize leafs.

3. You can feed them with the seeds.

4. You can feed them the husk

*I have a lady that roasts maize at my street junction in the evening i drop my bag with her, and when she is through with roasting her maize, she will park some of the husks for me and i pick it up later at  that night.

How to Construct Rearing Sheds for Grasscutters

Today I will be discussing on how to Construct the place where the grasscutters will be residing. 

There are various materials used in constructing the rearing shed of grasscutters, Breezeblocks, bricks, straws and bamboo can be used for this purpose.

I will advised to use local materials so as to reduce construction costs during your starting stage.

It is mandatory that the building have adequate light and ventilation.

The long sides of the pen must be low-walled (1.5 meters high) and the upper half can be covered with a chicken net.

Corrugated iron or other waterproof materials can be used for roofing the rearing shed.

Note; that grass cutters eat wood, and bamboo too, but if kept in the house for a very long time they get use to you and the environment.  

Although mine are placed in a wooden/net pens they do not eat the wood. 

*But I will teach on how to construct a wooden pens with a strong chicken net in which cannot be eaten up by these grasscutters that you rearing. 

How to Construct Rearing Pen for Grasscutters

Rearing pen

Grasscutters are commonly kept and raised inside rearing pens. It is the production objectives that determine the number of pens to construct. One breeding female per pen is recommended and the surface area per adult grasscutter is 0.2 m2.

Your pen setup could be:

A pen for adults

A pen for mating

A pen for giving birth and feeding the young

A pen for fattening young grasscutters

But you can also construct a pen for one  colony i.e. for one male and four female 

A pictorial view o a dimension for a single pens

A pictorial representation of a double pens (up & down) 

Although mine is a double pens having just one colony for now.

When constructing a wooden pens like the picture above after you have done the wooden framing make sure the chicken net is inside the wood frame not outside the wood frame take note.

And also construct where you place their food and water too because grasscutter don't sleep on where they eat.

The biggest enemies for Grasscutter are Snakes and Soldier Ants. Make sure their house are built is a safe place and you must also be wary of human thieves. To protect them from the invasion of soldier ants, you may pour black engine oil around their houses, especially at night during raining season mostly.

The floor should be overlay with dry soft grasses to protect their feet from being hurt and to provide them soft cushy play ground condition.

Grasscutter farming: A manual for beginners in Nigeria

These little creatures are not just amazing but can bring you some profit as well. Grasscutters are loved and treasured in West and Central Africa. Their meat is considered to have one of the highest protein and lowest fat contents. Grasscutter meat can be very valuable. Let’s find out why there is a very intensive production of grasscutters in many African countries and how you can start this kind of business yourself. For those who want to learn more about grasscutter farming, a manual for beginners in Nigeria, continue reading.

Grasscutter farming is highly profitable, more profitable than you imagined. The meat is widely consumed allover the West Africa region and beyond, making it one of the top 10 animals whose meat is in highest demand in the market. A market ready Grasscutter is sold between N4,000 to N5,500. Five hundred Grasscuters in a year could earn you between N2 Million to N2.75 Million.

The animal reproduces very quickly and in good numbers. A fully grown female Grasscutter after gestation, carries the pregnancy for 140 – 150 days and deliver about twice a year. Each pregnancy produces average of four to seven young ones. Sometimes up to ten, that means one female Grasscutter could produce 8 – 20 other Grasscutters in a year. 

It grows big and very fast too. Grasscutter is one of the biggest rodent in Africa. A fully mature female or male that is ready for market weighs between 3.5kg for the female and 4.5kg for the male. While measuring 45cm to 60cm in body length. The standing height is between 25 to 30cm. The body size of a fully grown male is about the size of a nine inches block.

A good number of Grasscutter is consumed yearly but most of them still comes from the wild through hunters who goes into the bush to hunt for them but usually not easy to catch, making the animal meat very scarce in the market.

Grasscutters has we all known is divided into species although they are under the porcupine family. Grasscutter is of two species which are:

1. Thryonomys swinderianus temminck: which is the giant breed and

2. Thryonomys Gregorianus

*PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF GRASS CUTTERS*

The body length of thryonomys Swinderianus temminck varies from 25-70cm with an average of 48cm and their tail reaches 0.65-26cm in length, the total body weight of adult ranges between 4-12kg. The heaviest bodies have an average weight in males of 4.5kg and 3.5kg in females which looks a giant guinea pig. 

GRASS CUTTER BEHAVIOR IN CONFINEMENT

Grass cutters can be subdivided into two (2) categories, the docile and indocile grass cutter. 

The docile grass cutter: adapts well to life in confinement and becomes accustomed to man quickly, whereas the indocile grass cutter panics when people approach and tries to escape from its cage or pen. Grass cutters easily recognize their cage or pen and the individual who takes care of them.

1. (Thryonomys swinderianus),also called Cane Rats and Grass Cutter; in English-speaking West African countries, Agouti in French-speaking West African countries and hedgehogs in Central Africa, are rodents that are widely found in wet or grasslands areas in Africa. Though these animals are widely hunted in Africa, they can be domesticated like other micro-livestock animals such as rabbits.

More often the thryonomys Swinderianus is common and that's the one am currently rearing. 

Let's have a little view on some of their characteristics... 

Some characteristics of grasscutters are:

Grasscutters  are placid(peaceful)  and relatively prolific animal.

They become sexually active and mature at 5-6 months. At this age they can reproduce and give birth to as high as 12 young.

They can be easily reared or managed, and this made their domestication as an alternative to poaching them in the wild.

They can grow rapidly in intensive conditions.

The meat of grasscutters is very rich in protein and economically valuable.

HOW TO BREED OR RAISE GRASSCUTTERS

The best way to breed grasscutter is by raising them under intensive system, i.e. keeping them in cages or pens inside a very safe shed.

It is very important to choose a very good location as this is high critical for successful grasscutter rearing.

Other conditions that must be met for a successful grass cutter rearing include:

The area/location should be easily accessible and free from flood. 

It must be well ventilated, secured, availability of a source of feed and water. 

The number of grasscutters kept and the objectives of production determine the size of the building or pen. 

However, the standard is that a family of grasscutters, comprising one adult male and four females should be provided a space of 1.6-2 m2.