How to start grasscutter farming in Nigeria.

How to Start Grasscutter Farming in westafrica

Grasscutter belongs to the rodent family, also known as ''The greater cane rat'' ( Thryonomys swinderianus ) is
one of two species of cane rats, a small family of
African hystricognath rodents.
with spiny fur on its back, rounded nose and round earshelp differentiates Grasscutter from rats. Cane rats can grow to nearly 2 ft (61 cm) in length and weigh a little less than 19 lb (8.6 kg).

They lives near riverbank and by reed-bed in most parts of westafrica.
 It has a very high commercial value now than ever.
Grasscutter farming is highly profitable, more
profitable than you imagined. The meat is widely
consumed by many in West African region and
beyond. It has an extremely high nutritional and medicinal value. The nutritional value of grass cutter meat is as
good as those from domestic animals. Beef, Lamb and pork also contain higher fat percentage than meat
from the grass cutter.In fact grass cutter meat is
nutritionally superior to some domestic meat because of its high protein to fat ratio and higher
mineral contents. The meat quality is also leaner
and non-cholestrogenic.
The meat is very tasty when compared to both
domestic and familiar game
species. The grass cutter also play an important
role in traditional African
medicine for preparation of concoctions for fertility
etc. In Ghana, the hair of the grass cutter is used to season food just  as much as its stomach and intestinal contents. Also, the pancreas of the grass cutter contains a high concentration of insulin which is used in local preparation for the treatment of diabetes.

Grasscutter gives reproduces very rapidly and in good
numbers. A full grown female Grasscutter after
gestation, carries the pregnancy for 140 - 150
days and deliver about twice a year. At one birth, female grasscutter could give birth to five to seven (5 - 7)
young ones (litters). Sometimes up to ten, conequently a female Grasscutter could produce 10 -
20
They grow up very fast if fed and nurtured well.

STARTING UP A GRASSCUTTER FARM.

The following factors should be given adequate attention before going into grasscutter farming:
A. capital
B. housing
C. feeding
D. weaning period

CAPITAL

Like most businesses in Nigeria and beyond, a capital is needed to kick start a grasscutter farm. But unlike some other businesses it does not require large capital to start up.
 A family consist of one male and three - four females which varies with locations in prices. with little as N20,000 - N30,000 one could get a good bred family.

HOUSING

Grasscutters are neat animals, they dont sleep where they eat, as such a farmer must build a partitioned cage or house which should have atleast two compartments.
Two mature male grasscutters doesn't stay together because of the battle for supremacy which could lead to mortality. So therefore, for best result a family (as described above) is enough for a compartment, one for dinning and perhaps steeping while the other for sleeping.
Grasscutter has a very sharps set of tooths that can cut and tear some metalic nets of  low iron content, so it is advisable to use a very strong net in constructing a cage.
A compartment should be wide enough to house one family, so a cage/compartment of 150cm in length, 100cm in width and 70cm in height i perfect for a family. They should not be kept in a cold envionment as it can make them bleed.

FEEDING

Whatever be the choice of grass cutter farming
embarked upon by farmer (breeding or fattening), provision of quality and adequate nutrition is
essential to the success of each grass cutter
rearing. Balanced feeding that takes into consideration nutritional requirements and regularity of feeding
are essential factors responsible for the animals'
good growth, health and reproduction. They also feed on kitchen wastes.

FEED INGREDIENTS

1)FORAGE
Grass cutters normally prefer grass with succulent
stalk and such quality can be found in the following wild or cultivated grasses among others.
.Elephant grass (pennisetum purpureum)
.Sugar cane (Saccharum spp)
.Guinea grass (Panicum maximum)
.Giant star grass(Andropogon gayanus)
.Maize stem (zea mays)
.Rice stalks (Oryza spp.)

ii)FOOD CROP CULTIVATED/PRODUCTS
.Rice
.Maize
.Guinea Corn
.Millet
.Cassava

NUTRIENTS
Balanced feed can be found in a proportional
mixture of the following feed
ingredients that are used in preparing the
supplementary feed. Examples of
feed ingredients include:
.Maize/millet------------------ cassava
.Brewers dried grain (BDG)-----Leucaena
leucocephala
.Corn bran/wheat offal---------Oyster/snail shell
.Palm kernel cake (PKC)--------Bone meal
.Soyabean cake (SBC)-----------Salt
.Groundnut cake(GNC)-----------Vitamin -mineral
premix.
Basically, grasscutters are herbivorous animal.

WEANING PERIOD

With good, adequate feeding, young one's can be weaned between four to eight weeks. The young grasscutters should be separated from the mother after five months  of birth and placed on their own. After a resting period of about 14 days, the mother can be paired with the male again.

A male take just 5months to attain maturity while a female takes up to 7month, at this age they can be emancipated and paired to form another family.
Indfinite mating can start between a family after which the male should be removed. The mating period is
140days, but if after 160 days of separation
from the male, there is still no sign of
pregnancy , then the male should be reintroduced.

MARKET

Grasscutter meat is a very scarce meat, so consumers would well to get hold of it.
with  these knowledge a farmer doesn't need to even take the meat to the market as customer will come looking for them.
The rule of investment that states that ''the more you invest, the more the profit'' also applies here.
A full grown Grasscutter goes for N4,500 in the market. so if a farm harvest 100  fully grown grass cutter that mathematically give you around N450,000.

If he is able to harvest 1000 in a year that could fetch him over N4.5mil for the year.
one thing is sure, tha no amount of grasscutter you produce is surplus to requirement because of  it scarcity. Restaurants and other eateries would make you customer at the first knowledge of your  poducts.

so why not take  that first step and explore  this business.

drop your comments, question and sugggestion in the comment box lets  share.