Early records tell of heavy damage at various times on all the islands where sugar cane is grown. This is one of grasscutters best food, and where they got the name greater cane rat. Smallholder farming of the greater cane rat, thryonomys. Although it prefers green fodder, it can survive on the dry highveld grasses since it has digestive microbes in the hindgut. In cameroon, cane rats is encouraged in economic development efforts. This article discusses the potential of the cane rat or grasscutter thryonomys swinderianus as a meatproducing species suitable for small farms in w. The cane rat, a large, bluntnosed version of its urban cousin, looks docile enough. Debbie ducommun has written an excellent article about introducing rats, which is available on the rat fan club web site, under helpful info, at. Rats are perfectly safe to eat, assuming they have not gotten into pesticidespoisonsetc. You can make millions of naira every six months from grasscutter farming. Cane rat muridae black rat shaggy rat swamp rat striped mouse insectivora soricidae nigerian musk shew hyracoidea procavidae black giant shrew pholidota manidae western treehyrax longtailedtree pangolin reptilia reptila nile croccodilus monitor lizard water moccasin rock python green mamba black cobra hingeback class scientific name conservation mode of population order. Over the course of this journey, i ate bat, cane rat, and guinea pig, yucca, sugar cane, coffee, and fruits and vegetables i had never heard of. Trinidad and tobago sugar cane production, 19602019. Sugarcane farming can be complex and returns are linked to multiple factors.
Department of clinical sciences, division of large animal clinical sciences, faculty of veterinary medicine and animal science, swedish university of agricultural sciences, uppsala, sweden. An experimental station was set up in benin in 1984 to develop a domesticated strain, establish appropriate husbandry and breeding methods, and to study the economic feasibility of cane rat production. For growers and adult grasscutters, use this feed formula. There are plenty of wood burning books available for those looking for new projects, but if youre in the mood to start right away, you can find all kinds of free printable wood burning patterns online. Feed a grasscutter with this and it might offer you a kiss hehehe. Sugar cane is in the same family as grass, and grows in the form of tall, narrow stalks, or canes. Its popular name grasscutter or cuttinggrass better befits a species on its way to domestication. Trapping was once used as a control measure, a bounty was used for a time, gangs of dogs were trained to catch the rats as the cane was harvested. Be careful while cutting the sugarcane as you might cut your. Foraging individuals systematically cut grass with the upper incisors, which results in a toothchattering sound. Also these rats are reported to be resistant to certain types of poisons large or small, rats can be a problem for any farm or farmer. The population cycle of the ground rat closely follows the sugarcane crop cycle figure 1. In agriculture sector, sugarcane shared is about 7% of the total value of agriculture out put and occupied about 2. The intention was to reduce rat numbers and it worked.
Best guide how to start grasscutter farming business. The mean litter size of the greater cane rats in this study. Although it was unknown in the free state province before 1983, it has since then gradually expanded its range and is now recorded as far west as. Nevertheless, domestication of canerats has its own teething problems. Grasscutter farming is gaining popularity in africa for good reasons. Manual on simple methods of meat preservation, fao. The greater cane rat thryonomys swinderianus and the lesser cane rat t. How to determine the feasibility of your business idea a complete fill in the blanks template system that will help you predict problems before they happen and keep you from losing your shirt on dog business ideas. However, some challenges of the grasscutter production include irregular supply of breeding stock.
As a minimum, a cage with 12 by 24 inches 2 square feet of floor space is okay for two smaller rats as long as the cage is tall and you provide shelves andor hammocks for extra space. One tabloid headline capitalised rat as though the ridley road stallholders had been selling cockney rodents hauled from the sewers. Recently, rats have been making the headlines in the uk. Distribution records for greater cane rat thryonomys swinderianus within the assessment region. Whenever cropproducts like grains from cereals are used for feed, they are a loss, because 1 kg meat or animalproducts. Have a business plan, an operational plan and a strategic down on paper before you buy or start a farm. All you do is just to cut it into bits and give it to them. Sugar cane is planted in ruts on its side in the fall. Heres what youll discover in the how to start a cattle farming business book. Heres a look at some our favorite patterns, many of which you can use with any type of good wood burning tool. How to deal with a rat problem farming and livestock.
Additional personal and business goals and objectives, and financial and market goals and objectives are also important to note. Nigeria has been declared free from ebola, but nigerians are left with the. The name grasscutter is preferable to cane rat, which refers to the animals reputation as a marauder of planted crops sugar cane. Alternative income and protein activities implemented. How to start snail farming what nobody will tell you for free. So if you want to compound good feed for your grasscutters, you can use the following feed formulae. Interestingly enough, farmers have actually started to raise can rats to sell as meat. Behaviour cane rats are predominantly nocturnal in the wild and travel through trails in. The colony sizes were relatively small, ranging between 1 and 96, with nearly a 100% farmer dropout rate.
In 2019, sugar cane production for trinidad and tobago was 0 tonnes. The reproductive performance and mortalities in a colony of captive greater cane rats, thryonomys swinderianus, were monitored from 1992 to 1998 at the grasscutter domestication centre, achimota, ghana. Grasscutter cane rat farming is highly lucrative youtube. Small animals for small farms food and agriculture organization of. I shook the calloused hands of the farmers who fed me the people who feed us and witnessed a relationship between man. Grasscutter or canerat has been suggested as one of the. The number of times that each type of alternative livelihood was used in the 155 identified projects. Greater cane rat popularly known as grasscutter belongs to the rodent family and is very closely related to the porcupine, almost look alike except that porcupine is bigger. Bamboo rat definition is any of several burrowing asian rodents of the genus rhizomys. Grasscutter thryonomys swinderianus production in west africa.
Mature, nonbreeding individuals leave adjacent noncrop harbourage areas and colonise developing crops during novemberjanuary. In some producing countries, marginal quantities of sugar cane are consumed, either directly as food or in the form of juice. Rat management in sugarcane sugar research australia. Cane rat, genus thryonomys, either of two species of large, stocky african rodent. Egypt, south africa, mauritius seem to be saturated markets. Pdf grasscutter thryonomys swinderianus production in west. But i will give you 2 simple warnings you should adhere to. In australia, a rat farm that provides food for zoos and pet stores was the subject of a 2018 profile. Sugarcane provides raw material for the second largest agrobased industry after textile.
Feed formula for grasscutter cane rat livestocking. Thryonomys swinderianus greater cane rat the endangered. Rodents include guinea pigs, giant rats and cane rats or grasscutters as well as. Bamboo rat definition of bamboo rat by merriamwebster. Burgeoning and domestication of grasscutter thryonomys. How to start a cattle farming business free book pdf. A large wire cage is best, especially one with horizontal bars that allow the rat to climb on the sides. Grasscutter is a wild herbivorous rodent found in the subsaharan region of africa. It requires no maintenance over the winter, and in spring. Pest controllers have reported finding giant rats twice the size of the normal domestic rats that are usually found in the uk.
A male grasscutter canerat is referred to as a buck. Grasscutter farmers part 1 skills development fund sdf diaries. Can the provision of alternative livelihoods reduce the. Grasscutter farming has social acceptability, good meat quality of high biological value high protein and. One of challenge of some grasscutter farmers is feed formulation for grasscutters. Efforts have been made to develop rat farming among the dalit in the indian state of bihar.
Rats gnaw cane stalks off at the base, causing the cane to deteriorate and compromising the sugar content. Thryonomys swinderianus greater cane rat reconstructed range of thryonomys gregorianus orange and thryonomys swinderianus red, with overlapping ranges in stripe pattern. Other articles where greater cane rat is discussed. Diagnosis of the cane rat thryonomys swinderianus breeding. Weighing up to 7 kg more than 15 pounds, cane rats can grow to a length of 61 cm 24 inches, not including the scantily haired tail, which measures up to 26 cm.
Cane sugar is currently grown primarily in tropical regions. Though trinidad and tobago sugar cane production fluctuated substantially in recent years, it tended to decrease through 1970 2019 period ending at 0 tonnes in 2019. Aerial bid to control rats in sugarcane canegrowers. The best opportunities from a cost perspective are in zambia, malawi, zimbabwe and mozambique. In africa, infrastructure bottlenecks are proving to be the most critical of constraints. A large pile of canestalks lay like ribboned shadows upon the ground. You need skill to be able to handle them, says francis ababio, who. Cane rat feeds on sugar cane, tuber crops especially cassava, cereals like wheat, maize and. The meat of cane rat is regarded as a delicacy, superior to that of rabbit. However, before going into the details about starting a profitable grasscutter farm, it is important to discuss about grasscutters or cane rats. The animals were kept in cages and exposed to constant lighting from a.
After 12 months an 80 per cent reduction in the rat population was recorded. Beneath a swaying oil lamp, a negro alternately whipped out at the mule, and fed canestalks to the grinder. These include the need to provide regular supply of feeds rich and balanced in nutrients taiwo et al, 2009. Cane rat definition is a large ratlike african rodent thryonomys swinderianus or related species that is related to the porcupine called also ground pig.
Grasscutter farming business plan in nigeria may 2020 pdf. Baseline management practices and productivity of captive greater cane rats were studied between february and july 1992 using questionnaires with 33 practising and former farmers in 16 villages in three regions in southern ghana. The cane rat, thryonomys swinderianus, is an aseasonal breeder. A study on wild rat behaviour and control on a pig farm.
Cane rats have blunt muzzles and small ears, and their speckled brown fur is coarse and bristly. As i mentioned above, the cane rat is known as a delicacy in africa as they are high protein, low in fat and are apparently quite tender and tasty. Again, captive rearing of rodents and enclosures might augment the bushmeat supply from the wild 10. A group of 1 male to 4 females is referred to as family. The two species are found together in certain regions, but they occupy different habitats. A mule, harnessed to a pole, trudged lazily round and round the pivot of the grinder. How to start grasscutter farming in nigeria complete guide. This rodent subclass embraces similar species in both the old and new world, species which were originally classified according to the. Starting grasscutter farming many people want to know how to start a grasscutter cane rat farming business.