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Start grasscutter farming, join the millionaire’s club
BY SEYE ADENIYI

   
A pen supervisor with the grasscutters.IF you are one of those that is interested in agriculture and does not know which aspect to invest in, then this report is for you.


Also if you are a livestock farmer who has had unpleasant experiences in the past and now looking for solace in other aspect of livestock farming which will be stress-free with maximum profit; this news will also enlighten you.


A prominent crop and grasscutter farmer in Ibadan, Mr. Ade Olayiwola has advised people wishing to go into farming to invest in grasscutter business rather than focusing their attention on other low income business, hinging his recommendation on the fact the cane rat, as grasscutter is also called is a stress-free, profitable venture that will stimulate fast income without having to go to bed with one eye opened like say poultry business.


The grasscutter farmer in an interview with Tribune Agriculture in his explained that though grasscutter farming is not as popular in Nigeria like other animals or livestock farming, nonetheless, it is a reliable fast income generating venture that many is yet to realize. “It is more assuring than poultry business which could bring fortune to you in the day, but could also bring unexpected problem suddenly to the extent that if care is not taken, one may run into serious financial crisis as well as other problems, he declared.”


He also described grasscutter meat as a good, nutritious and medicinal delicacy for hypertensive patient in almost all the countries in the west Africa sub-region with the meat now receiving higher attention and prices compared to beef, poultry and goat meat (i.e. chevon).


“I advise any retiree or any individual looking for viable, profitable farming venture to go into grasscutter farming. Even President Obasanjo is now a grasscutter farmer. He realised the forture in it and has invested heavily in it. As a producer of domesticated grasscutter meat, you are already a silent millionaire as I am also. It is not a child’s play but a reality and I encourage many people to join the millionaire’s club and take good advantage of the large market for this products, which few of us in it cannot meet the growing demand of the meat, he stated.”


General description of grasscutter
Grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus) also known as canerat among some people is one of the best animals now domesticated in Nigeria as well as in other sub-Sahara part of Africa. With grasscutter farming, income generation and making from the initial establishment would continue to accumulate because it is fast generation of income.
The animal has many traditional names depending on the tribe. Among the Yorubas, it is known as Oya, while some people called it Obije, Nohi as well as Gafya. It is a heavy, compact and the largest African rodent after the porcupine (Hystrix Cristata).


When fully grown, the body length varies between 42 and 58cm. its tail measure between 22 and 25cm and standing height is between 23 to 30cm. The average adult weight is 3kg for female and 4.5kg for adult males.


Speaking about grasscutter domestication, Mr. Ade Olayiwola said farmers or new entrants are advised to start with two families. A family consists of one male to four females. “In all, farmers can start with eight females and two males (i.e. ten in all) because of various risks.


Housing: Grasscutters are neat animals that lives in a room and parlour. “Where they eat, they will not sleep there. Therefore the house should be neat and be cleansed every day which will assist their best performance.


They can be bred either in cages, under an intense management system or in a walled enclosure under a semi-intense management system. For example, for five animals, (i.e. 4 females and 1 male), the dimension of the cage should be 180cm in length, 60cm in breadth and 45cm high).


Also the production building must be designed to protect the animals from extreme of temperature and humidity. Predators and thieves must also be waded off from their house.


The house should also facilitate breeding management operations. It should encourage and facilitate easy monitoring and proper surveillance of the herd and optimum allocation of food.


   



Feeding: They are herbivorous animals whose source of food is basically 70 to 80 per cent from the forest. Their major food is Elephant or Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum). They also love to eat certain gramineous plant with thick succulent stalks such as Sugar cane (saccharum spp), Guinea grass (Panicum maximum), Gamba grass (Andropogon gayanus), Congo grass (Brachiaria ruziziensis as well as dried leaf of Leucaena Seucocephala i.e. hybrid tamarind.


The animal also like Gliricidia sepium, herbaceous legumes like Stylo (Stylosanthes gracilis) and Pueraria phaseoloides. “The root and pitch of oil and coconut palms, bark of the anacardium and fruits such as half ripen pawpaw, plantain, pineapple, mango etc are their delight. Food crops such as groundnut, rice, maize, grain legume, tubers like cassava, sweet potato etc also make part of their food, stressed the grasscutter farmer.”


The farmer also stated that grasscutter feed on palm wine and that is why they destroy oil palm plantation. “They take their water mostly from the field and go to the river during the dry season only. But when domesticated, you can give them water by adding some attractant to it. Cane rate it should be noted does not dig a hole and cannot climb a tree either, he further stressed.”


They can also be fed with formulated concentrates like pellet as well as other processing by-products like wheat bran, corn bran, groundnut, soya, oilseed, cotton seed cakes, brewer yeast, grain legume pods, brewers’ grains, maize shucks and cobs, brewer’s yeast etc as feed supplements.


Enemies of domesticated grasscutter - They dislike cold environment. The temperature of their house should be between 20 to 250C. Soldier ants and snake should be prevented from coming near their pen. This can be achieved by digging hole/ditches round the pen, filled with water and engine oil poured in the water to prevent the invasion of soldier ants and other predators.


Choice of breeding stock - As grasscutter is domesticated solely for their meat, the main emphasis however should be placed on good weight gain in male animals. Also the criteria applied in the choice of breeding animals will depend on the production environment.


The male is the one that always carry the genetic power, therefore a healthy, strong, agile male animal should be selected for breeding programmes. “If the female is not genetically healthy , the breeding stocks is not okay and the best production programme cannot be achieved.


The ratio of male to female should be one to four (i.e. one male can serve four females). Animals can be mated at the age of between seven to eight months from birth depending on the body weight. Usually a male grasscutter is ready for breeding purpose in seven months.


Gestation period - After mating, the female grasscutter carries the pregnancy for 150 days. They can deliver twice a year at the average of five to seven kids per birth. But maximally, they can deliver up to 10 kids.


Weaning time - With good, adequate feeding, the grasscutter kids can be weaned between four to eight weeks. But as a family, they can be with the mother for four months. The kids can be separated from the mother between five to seven months and place with a male to ride them.


The weaned animals can be mated at the age of between seven to eight months from birth. Indefinite mating is expected to have taken place when the weaned male grasscutter is seven months old and the female is eight months. The indefinite mating period is 140days. But if after 160 days of separation from the male, there is still no sign of pregnancy , then it should be taken back to the male for proper mating. Usually there should also be an extra male that can serve the same purpose.


Sources of income - With their ratio of birth, the males are always many than the female in the reproduction cycle. Hygiene and good feeding are the most important factors for successful, profitably venture. You can also fatten the male with broiler’s finisher or broiler starter’s feed to help attain market weight within short period of time. A male grasscutter can be sold for between N4,000 to N5,000.


Another source of income is from the culled adult animal (either male or female). Farmer can also make money from bad mothers which can be detected through record keeping.
Money can also be generated in grasscutter farming through training of new entrants into the business. For example, a day training programme for new entrant cannot not be less than N3,000 per head, and a minimum of between N10,000 to N15,000 per head per week which will expose the entrants to basic management knowledge in grasscutter business.


Delivery boxes for grasscutter which cost between N3,500 to N4,000 per one is also a source of income and employment for both farmers and carpenter respectively. Consultancy is another source of income, while grasscutter trapper/catcher could also bring money for the farmers. Grasscutter infrastructure is also a good source of income and employment. As a farmer, you can engage the services of both carpenters and welders for the housing, which can be sold to new entrants.


General information - There is no veterinary medicine for grasscutter at present. The standard housing measurement should be 8-meter square and 0.6 meters in height. Farmers can generate extra income from the construction of modern feeding and water trough, which if well designed and produced can bring money throughout the year.
Grasscutter are very good swimmer. They don’t dig hole, neither can they climb. They eat less and waste a lot.



   
for more SME Articles visit
http://hope2010.org/sme.htm

Read more about grasscutter farming from:  http://grasscutter234.proboards.com/index.cgi

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Quail Farming,quick Cash:

Quail farming is an uncommon farming business in Nigeria, but the few people that have embraced it are not only smiling to banks, they are also enjoying both the nutritional and health values derived from consuming it
Considering the large number of poultry farmers in Kaduna that have embraced quail farming, it is no doubt one booming farming business that is gradually taking over chicken poultry business in most parts of the north. The high rate of returns and low cost of investment as well rearing them are some of the reasons many farmers are fast resorting to quail farming. In Zaria alone, there are more than 50 farms where quail are reared and sold. The fact that the birds grow and reach maturity stage faster and lay eggs within two months, compared with the six-month maturity period of chickens for whether egg-laying or consumption, attract them to farmers who see the business as a better and more sustainable investment to explore.
From market surveys both in Zaria and Kaduna, a female quail bird sells for N500 while the male goes for between N250 and N300. Its speckled eggs go for between N20 and N25. The bird’s high nutritional and market value encourage many chicken poultry farmers to abandon the business for quail farming. The NEWS gathered that these financial and health benefits, especially the high and quick returns on investment, largely explained farmers’ rush into the business in Jos where it first started, and in Kano, Kaduna and other states in the north where it is booming now. But it is very difficult for people in the southwest who wish to go into quail farming due to the problem of getting quail chicks for starting. Good news the problem has now been solved because you can easily get it now in Ibadan. I started the business just three months ago but glory be to God I earn nothing less than 2000 Naira every day.
BENEFIT OF QUAIL FARMING
It is very easy to maintain
It is not capital intensive compare to poultry farming
High return in a very short time (quail start laying at 45 day old)
It require small space
Quail egg are now recommended in the hospital which makes a good business
Here are some additional benefits you might get from eating quail eggs.:
* acquire a strong immunity system and improve metabolism.
* contain important quantity of calcium easy to assimilate.
* help healing gastritis, ulcer.
* increase hemoglobin level, remove heavy metals, toxins from blood.
* help in the treatment of tuberculosis, asthma,.
* diabetes
* contain ovomucoid protein, used in the production of anti allergic drugs.
* help inhibit cancerous growth.
* help eliminate and remove stones from liver, kidneys and bladder.
* stimulate intellectual activity.
* may accelerate recuperation after blood stroke and help strengthen heart muscle.
* are a powerful stimulant of intimate potency. They nourish the prostrate gland with useful substances, phosphorus, proteins and vitamins and therefore help restore intimate potency.
FOR FURTHER INFO TYPE QUAIL FARMING OR BENEFIT OF QUAIL EGG ON GOOGLE.
TO START QUAIL FARMING CONTACT ME ON 08060115253 OR profindeed@yahoo.com.OR ON FACEBOOK:SENIOR AGRICULTURIST OF NIGERIA
Meet you at the top

Three species of Quails are found in Ghana. They are:
Small Buttonquail- Turnix sylvatica
Hottentot Buttonquail- Turnix hottentotta
Quail-plover- Ortyxelos meiffrenii
Please i want to know if if all species of quail eggs have the same importance as you indicated.
Please give me more clarifications.

[b][/b]SEMINAR! SEMINAR!!
This is an amazing opportunity for you!

JEROMPROJECT & ALTECH in conjunction with JEROM FARMS is organizing a one(1) day live practical training/workshop on GRASSCUTTER FARMING. A sure way to eradicate poverty, unemployment and a life-time investment opportunity.

Targeted Audience:
1 Aspiring agriculturists
2 Farm managers and owners
3 Business consultants/executives
4 Retirees
5 Students
6 Unemployed graduates
7 House wives, etc.

Training Benefits:
* To see and know how to handle the Grasscutter live.
*How to start your Grasscutter farming with what you have.
* How to design and build your own cages/pens, feeders and water troughs.
* A comprehensive manual for Grasscutter farming.
*Additional knowledge of catfish & snail farming.
*A certificate of participation.

Venue: Ocean Suites & Hotels,
1/3 Safuratu Sekoni Street,
Behind R-Jolad Hospital,
Gbagada Phase II, Lagos.
Date: Saturday, 5th Oct. 2013
Time: 10am prompt
Fee: N7,000 only

For more enquiry
Call 08095663885, 08035237436, 08068690005, 08093379449
email: jeromprojects@gmail.com
Visit www.jeromfarmprojects.com
Like us www.facebook.com/Jeromfarms
Twitter handle @jeromprojects
Pin: 22d59313

Support by: Kompensatn Krown Ltd, Suen Adex

We anticipate your presence and you'll go home smiling!

Amazing.....! Awesome.....! Its a new phase and a fresh start for someone to grab!

Taking farm business to its next level and providing immediate agro-solution to all self-employed is our priority.

JeromProject® is a private company in farm projects/agro-business service. We are Expert in Catfish production, Grasscutter rearing, pond designs/building, sale/supplies of Catfish and Grasscutter to Hotels, Bars, Fast food spots, Pepper soup joints, etc.

Are you a retiree thinking of a line of business, or you are struggling with your farm business or you are currently looking for someone to help you plan your agricultural business pursuit, design & build your fish pond, refurbish your old pond, plan your marketing strategy, maintain your pond water, train you on how to go into Catfish or Grasscutter farming for huge income generation, advertise and create market for your products? Or you are an unemployed graduate presently seeking a line of business? Then you are at the right place. At JeromProject, we give you maximum attention when it comes to farming business.

We also stand as consultant to agro-allied firms, executives and individual business owners... We are known for farm projects and training. With us, your challenges with agric business is a walk-over. Distance is not over problem as we are also involved in mobile training. We do our business from anywhere you are. We have a flexible team.... Don't forget that your farm business is our priority!

You can eradicate poverty, kill umemployment in your life and make your millions silently!

For enquiry:
Contact us on 08095663885, 08093379449, 08068690005
Visit: www.jeromfarmprojects.com
Email:jeromprojects@gmail.com;
Like us www.facebook.com/Jeromfarms
Follow on twitter @jeromprojects

dplk

Grass Cutter Farmers,
On the average how many months does it take to get grass cutters to table?

How many Kg live weight is considered table ready?


Thank you for your answer(s).

How to start grasscutter business in Nigeria
https://www.nigeriabusinessplan.com.ng/how-to-start-grasscutter-farming-in-nigeria/

Great