Grasscutter breeding stock for sale. Serious buyers call or whatsapp Ononam farms at 08077047351. We also offer practical training and consulting service.

Before going into grasscutter farming it is necessary to have adequate knowledge of the practice to keep mortality at a minimum. They are strong and shy creatures yet quite delicate. Unlike chickens, goats, sheep and other domestic animals that have been around for a long while and are docile, grsscttrs are wild and the farm practice is novel hence the scanty literature available about them. Subsequently i will give a few pointers on how to breed these lovely animals.

Causes of mortality include:
Cold, injury, bad feed, gastrointestinal parasites, poor hygeine, improper handling and housing, inbreeding, fear(real or imagined).

How to reduce mortality:

Cold: grsscttrs are extremely sensitive to cold. Prolonged exposure to cold causes pnuemonia and eventually death if not addressed on time. To avoid this, a proper animal house and cage must be constructed that allows room temperature to be constant between 22 to 28 degree celsius and protect them from direct wind and sunlight. In fact they can withstand heat much better than cold. There should be windows that can be adjusted to regulate temperature and allow ventilation. Those with pnuenomia can be treated by heating up their environment and adding garlic and ginger to their supplement.

Injury: This can result from fighting, attempting to escape from cage, aggressive mating and improper handling and cage construction. Steps to prevent injury include:

- overcrowding should be avoided
- two or more males over 4 months should not be in the same cage
- females should not be mated with aggressive males
- provide enough feed to reduce competition
- grsscttrs run as if they are blind. They run into any obstacle in their path so the cages should be built in a way that injury is minimized when forcefull impact is made on the walls. Sandcrete drinkers and feeders should be minimized and kept at the edges of the cage to avoid clutter.
- grsscttrs below 4 months can be held at the tail while older ones should be held at the waist.

Bad feed: We are all familiar with the saying 'garbage in garbage out.' The intending grsscttr farmer needs to know what they eat, , how its prepared, the ration per serving and the right time they should be fed. As their name implies, grass is their main feed but its low in nutrient so they cant function optimally on that alone. To meet their daily nutritional and caloric requirement, they are given supplements once a day. They eat many types of grass but seem to prefer elephant grass and panicum maximum. Wet grass and feed that contains mould should be avoided. Grssctters have high insulin production and this causes the rapid depletion of sugar in their system which in turn can result to fatigue and death. Poor feed and starvation is not advisable. So a balanced diet and sufficient feed is essential in preventing mortality.

Gastrointestinal parasites: these parasites are introduced into the animal primarily through contaminated grass and dirty environment. A major symptom of this infection is weight loss, watery stool, loss of appetite and excess water intake. This can be prevented by avoiding early morning grass, keeping their cages and animal house clean, inspecting and shaking the grass before serving. Those infected can be treated with bitter leaf or pawpaw seeds or garlic. Note that pawpaw seeds have an abortive ingredient hence should not be giving to pregnant ones. Animals can be dewormed every six months or only when weight loss is observed despite good feeding.

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Poor hygiene: Grsscttrs are neat animals. A dirty environment can be fatal. The need to keep their living quaters clean cannot be over emphasized. Their cages and surroundings should be cleaned every morning before giving them feed. Their drinkers should be washed thoroughly before and after use. If cement cages are used, ash can be used as a disinfectant. Waste must be cleared regularly to prevent odour and pests.

Inbreeding: Another cause of mortality is when grsscttr siblings are mated. Offsprings produced from such pairing tend to have genetic deficiencies that are deleterious to health and this reduces the chance of survival. It is therefore adviseable to mate unrelated animals and this can only be done when proper records are kept. Agriculture is a science so the farmer should be observant and methodical in their practice.

Fear: Grasscutters are shy and easily frightened. Their fight or flight response is flight and they can kill themselves while attempting to escape danger because it seems as if their threshold to pain drops remarkably when frightened. As stated previously, they run as if they are blind; hitting anything in their way and trying to use their teeth to forcefully tear open an escape route where possible. This can cause fatal injuries and those pregnant could have miscarriage if this fear persists for long. So it is important to keep them in a place where they feel safe. Such an environment should have minimum human presence and noise of any sort. Ensure that it is in an enclosed area and not exposed to public view. More, given that grsscttrs are quite intelligent and are quick to know when things are slightly out of place, the farm attendant(s) should try to follow a particular routine when carrying out their duties in order not to frighten them unnecessarily.

My mum wants to try this, but am worried Grasscutter farming might be too difficult for her, I have seen these animals " thrash", they are very tough buggers.Am not quite sure if it's something a woman over 65 can handle. How profitable is it bro?.. Nice write up.

You will probably be my best source since you dey 042..

Baroba:
My mum wants to try this, but am worried Grasscutter farming might be too difficult for her, I have seen these animals " thrash", they are very tough buggers.Am not quite sure if it's something a woman over 65 can handle. How profitable is it bro?.. Nice write up.

You will probably be my best source since you dey 042..

You are right. she wont be able to handle it on her own but she can employ someone to assist her.

Grasscutter farming is very lucrative.

Thanks Fayasoul, I will contact you soonest..

how much is a colony

Aremolekunowo:
how much is a colony

N70,000 (this includes cost of transport and cage)

Baroba:
Thanks Fayasoul, I will contact you soonest..

alright.

S3xual maturity in male grsscttrs can be dictated when the phalus region becomes reddish. This usually occurs between 9 to 11 months.

Female grsscttrs on the other hand dont show any dictectable sign when they attain s3xual maturity. Even their ovulation cycle cant be pinpointed. They seem to be induced ovulators. The presence of a mature male causes ovulation when the female is above 6 months.

Types of cages:

1) Those made with sandcrete and metal door.
2) Those made of metal
3) Those made of wood and mesh wire.

Advantages of sandcrete cages include:
- They are durable.
- Less feed is wasted
- Probability of escape is low

Disadvantages include:
- Since grsscttrs throw themselves on the walls of the cage when trying to flee danger the probability of hemorrhagic stroke is high.
- They are immovable.
- Risk of feed contamination is high if the floor is not disinfected properly.
- Probability of pnuemonia is high during raining season and hamattan.
- difficult to clean.

Advantages of metal cages:

- easy to clean

- moveable

- durable

- doesnt require disinfection

- feed contamination is minimized

disadvantages:

- expensive to built

- can cause pnuemonia due to cold metal during cold weather

Start your grasscutter farm today. The competition is low and the market is huge; both local and foreign. So be a pioneer.

Advantages of cages made of wood and mesh wire(as seen in pic above):
- they are movable
- cost effecctive
- easy to clean
- doesnt require regular disinfection
- cases of pneumonia is minimized.
Disadvantages:
- Requires maintainance
- problem of feed wastage through gaps on the floor.
- not as durable as the other two

how much water should be given to grasscutters? A lot of grsscttr farmers are divided on this question. Grsscttrs dont drink much water especially during rainy season nonetheless sufficient water supply should be provided to prevent complications in pregnancy and overal health problems due to dehydration. There is a method of giving water that ensures proper hydration.

Give them water every other day during dry season or when they drink all the water given to them the day before. During raining season give them water once a week.

Some farmers make their grasscutter drink more water by adding honey or molasses to their water. Is this advisable?

I dont think enticing grsscttrs to drink more water by adding sweetners is advisable because they take very little salt so too much water intake will throw their isotonicity of balance and may result to low blood pressure among other things. Well i let my animals decide how much they want to drink.

Ok

Why do grsscttrs drink less water during raining season?

The water content in grass increases during raining season and this serves as a source of hydration.

how long should grasscuttlings be weaned?