Grasscutter farming is gaining popularity in Africa for good reasons. Grasscutter belongs to the rodent family and is very closely related to the porcupine except that porcupine is bigger. The spinning fur on the back and rounded nose distinguish grasscutter from true rats. It reaches a length of about 720mm when fully matured. Grasscutter farming is highly profitable, the meat is widely consumed all over West African region and beyond, making it one of the top 10 animals whose meat is in highest demand in the market. 

Grasscutter reproduces very quickly and in good numbers. A fully grown female grasscutter after gestation, carries the pregnancy for 140-150 days and deliver about twice a year. Each pregnancy modules arrange of four to seven young ones. Sometimes up to ten, that means one female grassuctter could produce 8-20 other grasscutters in a year. It grows big and very fast too. Grasscutter is one of the biggest rodent in Africa. A fully mature female or male that is ready for market measures between 45cm to 60cm in body length. The standing height is between 25 to 30cm. A good number of grasscutter is consumed yearly but most of them still comes from the wild through hunters who goes into the bush to hunt for them but usually not easy to catch, making the animal meat very scarce in the market.

Colony –Grasscutter lives in colony, two mature male doesn’t live together. Therefore, start with a male and few females together. A colony should consist of one male and three to four females. A small farmer may start with one or two colony, with the arrangement of one male and 4 females in each colony

Breeding – grasscutter is kept 100% for the meat it has to grow well and healthy in other to be profitable. To achieve this, a new farmer must lay serious emphasis on the choice of breeding. Each colony must have a very healthy male. The male is the engine of reproduction, a healthy male makes a healthy stock. While selecting the male, pay attention on the well being, good weight gain male animals is a very important factor that determines how healthy it is. In general, both the male and female stock to be selected for breeding purpose must be healthy while a healthy, strong, agile male animal should be selected too, it will also affect the breeding stocks. To ensure that one achieves the best possible result, both male and female have to be healthy.

 

Want to Set a Grasscutter Farm?

KACS can help you setup a profitable grasscutter farming business. We offer the following services: pen construction, supply of good breeding stock, feed and other farm equipment for a profitable grasscutter farming enterprise. We deal on different breeds of grasscutter such as Tryonomis swinderianus and Tryonomis agregarianus. We decide what type of structure is best for your land based on location and topography of the land. We can also help to manage your farm effectively for maximum production.

KACS is reliable and consistent in its approach towards achieving best grasscutter farm management practices for maximum output.