Nutria: breeding and maintenance at home

Breeding nutria in households is a relatively new type of business for Russia. Until recently, many had no idea what this animal looked like. Nowadays many people became interested in nutrients.

Description of the animal

Nutria, a photo of which is placed in this article, or a marsh beaver is a mammal belonging to a detachment of rodents. Its appearance is much like a rat. The length of her body reaches 60-85 cm, and the tail - about 45 cm. The animal weighs up to 12 kg. It has a blunt muzzle with rather long vibrissae growing on it. Due to the fact that nutria can tightly close the lips behind the incisors, it is able to gnaw and under water.

All the fingers, except the outer one, on the hind limbs are connected with each other by membranes. The front paws of nutria are perfectly adapted to grip and hold food. In addition, she cleans and combs her hair.

The animals have a sharp hearing, so they are alarmed even at the slightest rustle. Judging by their appearance, it can be concluded that they are clumsy. But this is not so. In fact, they run pretty fast, making jumps, however, quickly get tired.

In order for the young to be able to feed not only on land, but also in water, the mammary glands of females are located high on the sides. Fur nutria consists of a coarse and long awn, as well as a dense undercoat, most often brown.

Under natural conditions, these animals live in Transcaucasia, Tajikistan, South America, and are acclimatized in the USA, France and Great Britain.

Breeds of nutria

Growing nutria is a very interesting and profitable occupation. Their fur is not only standard, brown color, but also other colors, for example, golden, pink, white, beige, black.

There are only 10 mutational and 7 combined species of nutria. They were obtained by a fairly long process of breeding, based on the heredity and variability of their body. The color variety of furs allowed the creation of completely new breeds, which differed significantly from all the known black and brown ones.

Nutria home is considered standard and most common not only in Russia, but also abroad. It resembles the wild form of an animal that has fur of different shades and degree of color saturation. If you violate the rules of their feeding and maintenance, fur can fall. Nutria can be described as a good mother, having a high fecundity - 5-6 puppies at a time.

How to choose the right one

A person who wants to breed these animals must first visit at least one farm, find a suitable place for their maintenance, and also in advance purchase the right amount of feed. In addition, the content of nutrients at home requires some knowledge and skills. And the first question, which will have to face: "Where can they be purchased?" Here everything is simple: either through the local society of rabbit breeders, or in the market. The second question that will inevitably arise: "How to choose the right animals?"

First of all, pay attention to the appearance of animals. In healthy nutria, the hair coat should be brightly colored and shiny. If the animals were poorly fed or not properly maintained, the fur would be dull and disheveled. Also on the good health testify and bright orange incisors. If they are pale, and even with dark spots - this is a sure sign of a weakened organism.

The most suitable time for buying nutria is the warm season, because they can be transported or carried not in insulated cages, but in ordinary closed baskets or bags. Adult animals, especially males or pregnant females, it is advisable to transport one in a cage. Its length should be not less than 50-60 cm, and height and width - about 30-40 cm. Cells for nutrients can be made independently. For this purpose, suitable materials such as wooden boards, metal mesh or thick plywood.

Content

Cages and small houses for animals are very diverse. They can be remote and stationary, single-stage and multi-tiered.

Contain nutria without swimming pools is much cheaper, and the quality of the skin does not deteriorate in any way. In the cold season, animals do not bathe, and water for drinking is replaced by vegetables. But in the heat it must be necessarily fresh and in sufficient quantity.

The main condition for the successful breeding and keeping of these animals is the presence of heat. The thick coat protects the body of the nutria from the cold, but the legs and legs that are devoid of the fur of the foot and tail can freeze if the room where they live is cold. When severe frosts occur, nutrients lose their appetite, and they try to burrow deeper into the litter. If at that time puppies are born, in the first hours of their life they may die.

The main room for keeping nutria is a two-chamber house made of wood and upholstered from the inside by a metal net. Such precaution will not be superfluous, given that animals can gnaw the walls and floor of their homes. In addition, there must be a reticular cell. Or - as it is also called - a paddock designed for exercise. In the cold season, the house is warmed with sawdust, straw, hay or rags. Then he is placed in a barn. If there are several such houses, they should be placed next to each other, and a heater should be put between their walls.

Feeding

Nutrii, the breeding and maintenance of which requires special knowledge, also need the proper selection of food. For them, the feed that is given to rabbits, sheep and cattle is quite suitable . In addition, the animals willingly eat marsh plants, such as reeds, reeds, young shoots and roots of the cattail, as well as branches of poplar, oak, birch and willow.

If the nutrient content occurs on the household plot, then feed is often used mixed feed, carrots, potatoes, beets, trout, hay and grass. In addition, in the fall you can give the animals fallen leaves of fruit trees.

It is worth recalling that on the level of feeding nutria at home depends on her health and productivity. Therefore, nutrients containing a high-grade protein (protein) in large quantities, just need these animals. It is found in fresh herbs, cakes, legumes and fodders of animal origin. They can not be replaced by carbohydrates or fats. Proteins in the diet of these animals must be present constantly and in sufficient quantities.

It is necessary to remember the main rule of feeding the nutria - use only fresh food. Various feeders are used for this. The prohibition concerns only products from tin. The fact is that when contact with this metal in food, which includes mixed feed, harmful compounds that can cause poisoning of animals are formed.

Breeding

Home-grown nutrients can be produced both by season and throughout the year. When breeding year-round, the mating of animals must be continuous. To do this, you must constantly monitor the behavior of females so as not to miss the hunting period and in time to attach them to the male. When year-round reproduction is widely used the possibility of repeated breeding of females. Thus, the litter is almost twice as large. But this way of reproduction has its drawbacks.

Nutrii, the breeding and maintenance of which in principle is not particularly difficult, still require a lot of attention. With the year-round mode of reproduction, females do not always comply with economic requirements: some of them are pregnant, others have lactation periods, and the others have not yet completed development and growth of the hairline. It is worth noting that large and full-hounded skins can be obtained only with the slaughter of animals from October to February and at the age of not less than 9-10 months. That is why the young, born in the second half of the year, have to be kept until the end of next year. And this increases the cost of feed.

The breeding of nutrients during seasonal breeding eliminates most of the shortcomings that occur in the year-round mode. The most profitable is the option, in which all the puppies are born in the I quarter. In this case, the maturation and growth of fur are already coming to an end in winter. Therefore, it is very important that the females take part in the first half of the year, since from November to March all the young will reach the required age.

Breeding

The main elements of this work are the evaluation of animals, the selection of individuals with the best qualities, mating, breeding of pedigree young animals, stamping them, as well as keeping zootechnical documentation. This set of measures is designed to improve the already existing quality, for example, size, color, length of fur or reproductive ability.

The further development of any of the tribal characters in a given animal depends mainly on its hereditary deposits, that is, genes, as well as the conditions in which it lives. At home, lovers bred not only standard nutria, but also colored ones. Color fur is a qualitative feature, which is caused by one or more genes. It happens that they mutate, and then the standard kind of nutria has offspring with a completely new coat color.

In breeding work, purebred breeding is often used. It is used in those cases if they want to end up with youngsters with the same color as their parents. For this purebred male pair with the same female.

Pedigree accounting assumes the presence of stencils on the cells where the pedigree animals are kept. In addition, it is necessary to keep a journal where all the main data on breeding, mating and whelping will be stored.

Using the carcass

Many are sure that these animals are bred solely for the sake of beautiful fur. But the meat of nutria, with its excellent taste and nutritional value, stands out favorably among similar products obtained from other animals. It has already gained recognition throughout the world.

Meat of nutria is a valuable food for both children and adolescents, and for breast-feeding mothers. To its taste and aroma it resembles chicken. Beef and rabbit for caloric content, the presence of fat, protein and vitamins, as well as minerals, are very similar to meat of nutria. The breeding and maintenance of these animals cost the farmers much cheaper than growing, for example, cattle.

Prevention of diseases

As you know, any disease is easier to prevent than treat it. Most pets have a fairly high resistance to various diseases. These include nutria. Breeding and keeping them at home with proper approach to business will not bring any special problems. The main thing is that regular cleaning of cells and lodges, swimming pools and walks, as well as the removal of contaminated litter and manure from them. After that, everything is disinfected, dried and air-blown. When the necessary actions are performed, you can return the animals to their place.

Corpses of dead animals must be burned. Flies and larvae are destroyed with a 1% solution of carbofos or chlorophos, and it is better to isolate the animals for a while in some house.

The utensils, where the food for feeds are prepared, should be kept clean. The quality of the products should be checked both in appearance and smell, and on the presence of mold. Water used for drinking, cooking and bathing must be clean and in no case contaminated with any pathogenic microbes.

Nutrii, sick with ringworm or tuberculosis, with severe injuries and paralyzed, as well as with chronic disorders of the gastrointestinal tract and other abnormalities are subject to slaughter.

Acquired animals should only be tested and well-to-do farms, where animals are not susceptible to various infectious diseases. This fact must be confirmed by a veterinary certificate. Culling not only the sick, but also poorly adapted to these conditions of keeping animals. This will greatly accelerate the reproduction of only those nutrients that are most resistant to disease and adapt easily to a particular habitat.

Reviews

Nutrition at home feel great and very quickly attached to people. Many of those who cultivate them, say that animals can be kept as pets. They are very smart, they know their nickname and respond willingly to it, because they perfectly recognize the owner by voice.

Zverek has 20 teeth, 4 of them are incisors. They do not cease to grow throughout life. The remaining 16 teeth are indigenous. They have a strong enamel and are designed for grinding and chopping food.

Such a cute and intelligent animal, like nutria, reviews about which in most cases are positive, can sometimes be very dangerous. These animals are strong enough and fast. Nutria can easily snack a finger! That's why you should not bother her when the breeding season comes. In addition, the owners of farms warn that anger at animals often occurs with constant malnutrition, when animals are kept in cages in groups. In addition, Nutria does not like to be touched behind her back, but if she is patted over the abdomen, she remains very pleased.

Well and in general, those who are engaged in cultivation of nutria, consider, that business this favorable, though and enough troublesome.