Post by Ismail AbdulAzeez on May 17, 2011 23:21:17 GMT 1
The grasscutter (Cane-rat) is a hystricomorph rodent endemic to Africa. The animal occurs in savannah grasslands, forest clearings, cultivated lands and secondary forests, where it is very common and is heavily hunted as a food resource in many areas on the continent. Grasscutters are herbivorous, their favourite food being savannah grasses (Asibey, 1974b). In captivity, they will also take sugar cane, corn stalks and cassava peelings. The animal is a wasteful feeder, cutting the grass at a characteristic angle with its very powerful incisors to eat the more nutritious, succulent inter-nodes, leaving behind scattered pieces of stem on the feeding grounds. This characteristic feeding behaviour is exploited by hunters who look for the feeding sites, an indication of where the animals were active the previous night and concentrate hunting efforts in such areas. The animal does not burrow? but may shelter in hollows and burrows made by other animals. This means enclosures for captive rearing can be fenced in by mud walls. The grasscutter has a long gestation period, about five months, a relatively small litter size, maximum of four in the wild but up to twelve has been recorded in captivity. The young are born with their eyes open and the coat fully developed and are able to follow the mother immediately after birth. Females can be re-fertilised after parturition if paired with the male, thus two litters are possible in a year. Average weight of wild grasscutters is 4 - 5kg, males can reach up to 10 kg. Captive grasscutters can be kept in cages or boxes but are best kept in open areas enclosed within mud walls or other fencing material where males and females can be kept together. Depending on the size of cages used, stocking rates of one male to five females are possible. Pregnant females must be separated at full term since cannibalism of males on the newly born young ones is common.
Within the West African sub-region, grasscutter is the favourite bushmeat species and accounts for the greater proportion of bushmeat sold in markets. In most of the countries within the sub-region, grasscutter meat fetches higher prices than that of beef. The popularity of grasscutter meat led to the choice of the animal as the subject of several studies during the early 1970s, aimed at domesticating the species for large scale farming and production of the meat for human consumption.
Ewer's studies in Ghana in the 1970s demonstrated that the animal could be kept in captivity (Asibey, pers. com.). Her work was followed by studies on several aspects of the biology and ecology of the animal in Ghana (Asibey, 1974b; Ntiamoa-Baidu, 1980) and in Nigeria (Ajayi, 1971). In addition to the field studies on feeding and reproductive ecology, Asibey also worked directly with farmers. Interested farmers were provided with a starting stock of a male and a female grasscutters (mostly captured from the wild) and a cage. The performance of the animals was monitored by trained extension workers. The idea was that the research findings could be applied directly by farmers and that both rural and urban households could rear grasscutters in their back-yard to provide meat to feed the family The studies confirmed the feasibility of rearing the grasscutter in captivity and demonstrated that its litter size could be increased with good feeding. However, the initial interest and efforts put into the project did not result in the establishment of any large scale, grasscutter farms and only a few people continued with the idea of back-yard grasscutter farming. The waning support could be attributed mainly to the relatively large initial capital investment required, the lack of readily available breeding stock, problems of feed during the dry season and the many unresolved and poorly understood issues associated with diseases in captive grasscutters.
More recently, a major research programme on grasscutters has been initiated in Benin under the Project Benino - Allemand d'Aulacodiculture (PBAA). The aim of the project is to select improved grasscutter stocks genetically adapted to life in captivity and to promote the rearing of the animal in rural and sub-urban environments (Baptist and Mensah, 1986; Mensah, 1991). The research focused on the ethology of the animal, feed, pathology and reproduction as well as on the technical feasibility of farming grasscutters at the level of small scale farmers.
Feasibility reports on grasscutter farming ventures indicate that the long term profitability is comparable to that of poultry farming and higher than cattle ranching (Tutu e' al., 199(i). However, the high costs of initial inputs (cages. breeding stocks), the slow returns and the limited technical expertise has hampered the adoption of back-yard grasscutter farming by rural households and the development of large scale commercial ventures. The market for both fresh and smoked grasscutter meat is effectively unlimited and there is therefore the need to invest in research to develop cheaper ways of production and extension services to enable the transfer of appropriate technologies to small scale farmers.
Learn more about grasscutter farming in Nigeria @ www.thethyconsulting.com/thebeautyofgrasscutterfarming.htm
Within the West African sub-region, grasscutter is the favourite bushmeat species and accounts for the greater proportion of bushmeat sold in markets. In most of the countries within the sub-region, grasscutter meat fetches higher prices than that of beef. The popularity of grasscutter meat led to the choice of the animal as the subject of several studies during the early 1970s, aimed at domesticating the species for large scale farming and production of the meat for human consumption.
Ewer's studies in Ghana in the 1970s demonstrated that the animal could be kept in captivity (Asibey, pers. com.). Her work was followed by studies on several aspects of the biology and ecology of the animal in Ghana (Asibey, 1974b; Ntiamoa-Baidu, 1980) and in Nigeria (Ajayi, 1971). In addition to the field studies on feeding and reproductive ecology, Asibey also worked directly with farmers. Interested farmers were provided with a starting stock of a male and a female grasscutters (mostly captured from the wild) and a cage. The performance of the animals was monitored by trained extension workers. The idea was that the research findings could be applied directly by farmers and that both rural and urban households could rear grasscutters in their back-yard to provide meat to feed the family The studies confirmed the feasibility of rearing the grasscutter in captivity and demonstrated that its litter size could be increased with good feeding. However, the initial interest and efforts put into the project did not result in the establishment of any large scale, grasscutter farms and only a few people continued with the idea of back-yard grasscutter farming. The waning support could be attributed mainly to the relatively large initial capital investment required, the lack of readily available breeding stock, problems of feed during the dry season and the many unresolved and poorly understood issues associated with diseases in captive grasscutters.
More recently, a major research programme on grasscutters has been initiated in Benin under the Project Benino - Allemand d'Aulacodiculture (PBAA). The aim of the project is to select improved grasscutter stocks genetically adapted to life in captivity and to promote the rearing of the animal in rural and sub-urban environments (Baptist and Mensah, 1986; Mensah, 1991). The research focused on the ethology of the animal, feed, pathology and reproduction as well as on the technical feasibility of farming grasscutters at the level of small scale farmers.
Feasibility reports on grasscutter farming ventures indicate that the long term profitability is comparable to that of poultry farming and higher than cattle ranching (Tutu e' al., 199(i). However, the high costs of initial inputs (cages. breeding stocks), the slow returns and the limited technical expertise has hampered the adoption of back-yard grasscutter farming by rural households and the development of large scale commercial ventures. The market for both fresh and smoked grasscutter meat is effectively unlimited and there is therefore the need to invest in research to develop cheaper ways of production and extension services to enable the transfer of appropriate technologies to small scale farmers.
Learn more about grasscutter farming in Nigeria @ www.thethyconsulting.com/thebeautyofgrasscutterfarming.htm
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