Animal Agriculture

PROFIT   ANALYSIS OF A SUCCESSFUL GRASSCUTTER BUSINESS Initial Start-up in (Naira) =N= 1 family = 5 grasscutters (1male & 4 females) @    =N=70,000 each   Starting with 5 families = 25 grasscutters @ =N= 350,000 Cage / Housing =    =N= 75,000 for 5 families Food supplements (soya bean, crush animal bone, PKC ) =   =N= 30,000 / year TOTAL =   =N= 455,000 Expected Income in (Naira )   = N= 1 female gives birth to an average of 4 animals within 6 months 4 females will give you an average of 16 grasscutters within 6months 16 grasscutters   x 5 families = 80 grasscutters within 6 months In 1 year, you will be expecting about 160 grasscutters. The grasscutters weigh between 6- 10kg at maturity Let’s assume you sell each for =N= 6,000 6000 x 160=     =N=960, 000. FACTS TO CONSIDER 1. You

MANAGEMENT IN GRASSCUTTER FARMING My Home •Make sure the forage or grasses are cut from a clean environment. •Make sure the grasses are cut at the right time not when they are too old/hard •Don't give grasses alone to your grasscutter. •Buy supplementry feeds from reliable sources. •Let the grasscutter feeds be nutricious and of balanced standard •Use feeders and drinkers to serve feed and water to grasscutters. •Alway wash drinkers after used by the grasscutters. •Ask questions on what you don`t know concerning grasscutter feeds from a grasscutter farming consultant. •Serve water at interval for easy digestion of feed. •Try and receive training if you don`t know about grasscutter farming before. •Serve grasscutter feeds 3 times daily. •If you don`t know how to formulate grasscutter feeds,let your grasscutter consultant do it for you. •Study the performance of your grasscutters based on the kind of feeds you are using at any point in time

Reproductive characteristics of the female grasscutter ( Thryonomys swinderianus ) and formulation of colony breeding strategies P G Addo, B Awumbila*, E Awotwi* and N-A Ankrah Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Box LG581, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana * Department of Animal Science, Box LG 25, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana paddo@noguchi.mimcom.net   ;   adokaley@yahoo.com Abstract The reproductive characteristics of 34 female grasscutters ( Thryonomys Swinderianus ) were investigated to identify common features that could be used to formulate breeding strategies for grasscutters in captivity. The female's ability to manifest an oestrous cycle, mate, conceive, deliver and wean its young in captivity, as well as elicit signs of successful mating, conception and imminent parturition were investigated. Thirty-one (91.2%) females cycled erratically and mated within 2 weeks of pairing with the male, irrespective of the oestrous phase. Twenty-se