Grasscutter Farming In Ghana - So Simple Even Your Kids Can Do It

In today’s article, I am going to give you the simple most important way to start a profitable grasscutter farming in Ghana.

Keep your eyes fixed as I unveil everything you need to know about Grasscutter Farming in Ghana

What is Grasscutter?

The Grasscutter is a rodent of the rat family that can be found in the bush or as a pet. Like squirrels, she has pretty hilarious pranks.

In the “Ga” language they are called Kpin (pin) and also locally known as Ukraine.

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Where to Buy a Grasscutter in Ghana

In modern Ghana, it is now easy to buy farm animals online.

Residents who still prefer the ways of buying old school can still choose homesteads.

It is advisable to buy Grasscutters while still young so that they grow together. Adult Grasscutters fight and kill each other even because their colonies are like a family.

Many people want to know how to start a Grasscutter farm business in Ghana. But before delving into a profitable Grasscutter farm in Ghana, it’s important to talk about Grasscutters.

Grasscutters (Thryonomys swinderianus), in English-speaking West African countries, also known as sugar cane rats and grass cutters, in French-speaking West African countries, Agouti and Central African hedgehogs, are rodents widely found in wetlands. or African grasslands.

Although these animals are widely hunted in Africa, they can be domesticated like other micro animals such as rabbits.

Some of the features of grasscutters are:

Grasscutters are quiet and fairly fertile animals
They become sexually active and mature in 5-6 months. At this age, they can reproduce and give birth to up to 12 pups.
They can be easily grown or managed, so their domestication is an alternative to poaching in the wild.
They can grow quickly in intense conditions
Mower meat is high in protein and it is economically valuable.

How to breed or breed Grasscutters in Ghana

The best way to breed Grasscutters is to breed them in an intensive system,

i. Store in cages or enclosures in a very secure house. It is very important to choose a very good location as this is extremely important for successful mowing of the mower.

Other conditions that must be met to have a successful Grasscutter are the following:

The location/location should be easily accessible and free of flooding
Must be well ventilated, protected, have a source of energy and water
The number of Grasscutters stored and the production goals determine the size of the building or enclosure. However, the standard stipulates that a Grasscutter family of one adult man and four women is 1.6 to 2 m2 in size.

How to Build pen for Grasscutter Breeding

Various materials for the Grasscutter pen are used in the construction of the stable, and Breezeblocks, bricks, straw, and bamboo can be used for this purpose. To reduce construction costs, the use of local materials is always recommended. Adequate lighting and ventilation must be provided in the building. The long sides of the enclosure must be low (1.5 meters high) and the upper side can be covered with a chicken net. Corrugated iron or other waterproof materials can be used to cover the roofs of the barn.

How to Build a Grasscutter Breeding Fence

Grasscutters are generally considered and raised as a growing pen. It is the production goals that determine the number of pens they produce. One breeding female is recommended for one pen, and the area of an adult mower is 0.2 m2.

You can adjust the pen as follows:

Pens for adults
Pen for mating
A pen for giving birth and feeding young people
Pen for thickening young boats

The building materials of the pen determine the layout of the pens. Brick pens are stable and unchanged, and metal pens are mobile.

The use of wood, bamboo, or straw in the manufacture of fountains for Grasscutters is not recommended as Grasscutters can eat them. The rear stalls can be opened or closed, and it is important to have transitions between the breeding stalls during construction.

The pen opens

These are enclosures that are not covered at the top and have an area of 3m2 and a height of 1.5m. The pens have side openings that allow the farmer to move easily in and out.

The pen closes

These are shells that are covered on top with a suitable roof covering. These pens can be divided into sections. The surface can range from 2-3 sq.m to 80 cm in height.

If two partitions are created, their surface area should be the same. They should also be separated by partitions and have a 15 cm opening so that the cutters can move freely into and out of the compartments.

A variety of materials can be used to make the roof of the building, and the floors of the building must be uniform and level, and the floors of the columns can be covered.

Cutting pen with partition

How to construct Grasscutter feeding and watering trays

It can be built of clay or cement but should be heavy enough for Grasscutters. This is to prevent the animals from turning over the cradles. The farmer can personally construct the bowls by forming them from wood or metal. One cot should be for three mowers.

Pressure cage

The press cage is used to easily operate the mowers. Its dimensions should be the same as the animal to be handled. The print sheet can be made by building a rectangular cage with a mesh finish.

The average weight and breed of the animals must be taken into account when constructing this cage. It should not be constructed in such a way that animals can rotate or move inside the cage.

Reproduction in Grasscutters

Some of the key facts about Grasscutters for reproduction are:

Sexual maturity: Male mowers mature in 8 months or 32 weeks and have a minimum body weight of 2.5 kg, while mowers are 6.5 or 26 weeks old and have a minimum body weight of 1.8 kg.
Gender ratio: 1 man can serve 4 to 10 women.
Ovulation: Like female rabbits, female sugar cane rats begin to ovulate when they see the male
Pregnancy: 152 days
Number of litters per year: 2 litters
Number of pups in the litter: 3-11 pups
Suckling period: 40 days before weaning

Breeding

Random selection should be avoided when manufacturing Grasscutters. You should count the best animals at the nearest breeding center or other Grasscutter. Also, if you want, it should be based on body weight.

All women in the family should have almost the same body weight and the mower should be 0.5 to 1 kg heavier than females. Don’t buy or enter related pairs now; it is a male closely related to females.

Pairing in Grasscutters

A man who mows grass can mate with many female mowers within one period. The male must be placed in the mating pin and the female of the trimmer is transferred from his page to the male’s feather. Leave both in the pen for 24 hours.

Note: Do not move the male to the female pin as this may cause a fight and there may be no mating. Also, avoid mating a male that is lighter than a female.

There are two mating options on the herb farm:

Permanent mating: Here mowers and female Grasscutters are allowed to mate in the same pen, but the chicks are transferred to another pen after weaning.

Temporary mating: Here the female is placed with the male until she becomes pregnant and she is transferred to another pen.

Both permanent and temporary mating have their pros and cons.

Benefits of constant mating

Increased breeding cycle

Disadvantages of constant mating

It is difficult to identify the mother of each offspring
Less reproduction control
Risk of cannibalism
Risk of fatigue in reproductive females
Insufficient use of the male

Benefits of temporary mating

Clear identification of mother and offspring
Excellent management of the breeding process
Reduces the risk of an adult male-killing offspring

Disadvantages of temporary mating

Increased investment (multiple pens required)
More space is needed for females
Reduce the number of litters per female per year

Pregnancy

The gestation period of herbaceous or reed rats is 152 days. After you have to mate herbs and their males, it is necessary to check if the female is pregnant.

Pregnancy tests

Carefully place a cotton bud on the female genitals 4 to 8 weeks after mating. If the color changes to red, the mower is pregnant. If there is no color, the female is not pregnant.

Childbirth

Newborn Grasscutters look like adults. They can move in a matter of hours. After giving birth, a woman must provide enough feed and water to produce milk.

Weaning

Newborns should be weaned 40 days after birth. This is necessary because any elongation will cause the mother to grow poorly due to long breastfeeding. Separate males from females during weaning. You can identify a male Grasscutter by removing the genitals and anus, which are twice the size of young females.

The feed or food given to Grasscutters must meet all of their daily nutritional needs. Since Grasscutters would be in captivity, their diet should be mostly green fodder, but fresh or dried food can also be supplied. They can also get concentrates that are rich in energy, protein, and minerals.

Feeds and Feeding in Grasscutter Farming

Grasscutters need a balanced diet every day. The green bedbug made by some Grasscutters only feeds the animals. This is one of the reasons for the slow growth and low milk production in women’s Grasscutters. On the other hand, if they are not fed green fodder such as grass or legumes, they will experience digestive problems. A balanced diet in male and female reed rats yields an average of 3.5 kg and 2.8 kg, respectively.

Some feeds and concentrate that can be used on Grasscutters, as follows:

Edible grasses and legumes of agricultural by-products, such as garden waste, vegetable residues, ripe or unripe fruit, coconut, leaves, pawpaw, and bamboo shoots.
By-products of agricultural processing such as brewery-dried cereals (BDG), maize bran, wheat bran, and peanut cake (GNC).

Tubers and roots: For him, jam, peel, cassava peel, potato, potato peel, cocoa, and cocoa peel.

Cereal grains such as rice, millet, sorghum, and maize
Shells, such as eggshells, oyster shells, or bone meal

Grasscutters should always be provided with food. Grasscutters should also be fed for 2 hours before feeding concentrate in the morning and evening. That’s a lot too it is important to provide water to the animals. So, before feeding the animals, grass fodder should be dried in the sun for 1-2 days.

The concentrate can be combined with feed. The concentrate can only be made from one or more ingredients. It is advisable to change the concentrate alternately if a single ingredient concentrate is used. If the concentrate contains more than one ingredient, it can be continuously supplied to herbalists.

The importance of conserving and maintaining feed

Food preservation and storage of feed sheds is another aspect of grassland farming that should be considered. AThe animal feed should be air-dried or sun-dried and stored in a dry place. It would be possible to plant and cultivate fodder so that there would be enough fodder during the shortage.

Concentrates should be stored in a dry place and avoided for long periods, as concentrates are very sensitive to changes in humidity, temperature, and/or oxidation. It can also be attacked by insects, rodents, mites, bacteria, fungi, or mold.

Health management

Health management is very important in all aspects of animal husbandry. The health of large rats for you as an herbalist or reed warbler must be very important because if you get sick, you will spend extra money to fight the diseases. Your production costs naturally increase. To protect your mower from diseases, you need to take the following measures:

Inspect the Grasscutters daily for the detection of sick animals.
By giving the animals the necessary feed and following basic hygiene measures, the loss of diseases can be reduced.
Avoid rough handling of animals and unnecessary noise
Disinfect pens, huts, cages, and the environment regularly. Wash the feed and drink beds twice a week.
Quarantine new Grasscutters for 2 weeks before combining them with basic supplies.

Keep food away from rodents by keeping the rodent safe.

Give mineral and vitamin supplements every two weeks. You can also give sweetened lemon juice, which is recognized as an immune system booster. To make this juice, get 400 ml of lemon juice, add 55 cubes of sugar and mix it with 20 liters of water.

How many babies can Grasscutter give birth to?

Although there is a lot of hunting done on grasscutters, it can also be tamed. They are calm animals and fairly fertile, reach sexual maturity, and can reproduce within five to six months, and raise a litter of up to twelve pups.

Your comments are welcome. Kindly share this useful information to your friends.

Grasscutter Farming In Ghana – So Simple Even Your Kids Can Do It

What is Grasscutter?

Where to Buy a Grasscutter in Ghana

Some of the features of grasscutters are:

How to breed or breed Grasscutters in Ghana

How to Build pen for Grasscutter Breeding