What are the methods for estrus and mating in hedgehog farming?
The hedgehog is a relatively precious animal. It not only has rich nutritional value, with tender and delicious meat, but also has many medicinal effects, so hedgehogs are deeply loved by many people, and abroad some people even keep hedgehogs as pets.
Methods of estrus and mating in hedgehog farming
The most obvious sign of sexual behavior in an estrous female hedgehog is the change in the external genitalia, along with strong restlessness and agitation. A male hedgehog in estrus shows a drooping scrotum, with the testes hanging very visibly within the scrotum, a pink scrotum, and the penis frequently exposed; while the female shows reddening of the external genitalia, swelling and opening of the vulva, and discharge of mucous secretions. Both male and female hedgehogs show decreased appetite, reduced food intake, restlessness and agitation, and the behavior of chasing the opposite sex.
Hedgehog reproduction is by natural mating. A well-matched pair of male and female hedgehogs chase and play with each other before mating and then achieve copulation. A few days after mating, the emotions of the male and female hedgehogs tend to calm down, the swelling and redness of the female's external genitalia subsides, and her food intake returns to normal; at this point the female enters the gestation period. After mating, the female begins to give birth at about 60 days of gestation. The length of the gestation period is negatively correlated with the number of young born, that is, those giving birth to many young per litter have a shorter gestation time, and those giving birth to few young have a longer gestation time. Under normal circumstances, a litter is 4 to 6 young, with the fewest being 1 young per litter and the most being 8 young per litter. About 35 days after mating, the female's body weight increases markedly and her abdomen becomes full; at 45 days of gestation, the female's body is heavy, her movements are sluggish, and there is mild edema of the perineum. Before giving birth, the female exhibits the behavior of carrying grass to build a nest. During gestation, the nutritional level of the feed must be high, the protein content of the feed must be high, and the supply of vitamins, trace elements, and mineral feeds such as phosphorus and calcium must be ensured, as this is beneficial to fetal development. During gestation, if the proportion of heat-providing feeds such as starch is too large, more acidic substances are produced after metabolism, which can easily cause miscarriage; especially if the feed supplied during gestation becomes moldy, the female may develop gastrointestinal disease after eating it, and if gastroenteritis diarrhea lasts 3 days it may trigger miscarriage.
The uses of hedgehogs
1. For stomach duct pain. This product has the effect of promoting the flow of qi and relieving pain, so it can be used for stomach duct pain caused by disharmony between the liver and stomach. It can be used alone as one ingredient, roasted dry, ground into powder, and swallowed one qian each time, two to two times a day; it can also be used in combination with Atractylodes macrocephala, white peony root, Cyperus rotundus, fingered citron peel, and the like.
2. For hemorrhoids with bloody stool, rectal prolapse and other conditions. Hedgehog skin can resolve blood stasis and stop bleeding, and has a specialty in treating hemorrhoidal diseases. When used to treat hemorrhoids with bloody stool, it is often used together with Sophora japonica flower, Sanguisorba officinalis, and the like; if used for rectal prolapse, it can be used together with qi-tonifying drugs such as Astragalus membranaceus.
3. For spermatorrhea, enuresis and other conditions. This product also has the effect of securing essence and reducing urination. For spermatorrhea and enuresis, it is often combined with drugs that secure the kidney and astringe essence, such as Alpinia oxyphylla fruit, oyster shell, Euryale ferox, and the like.
4. Stomach pain, vomiting. This product can resolve blood stasis and relieve pain. It treats those with long-standing stomach pain, qi and blood stasis combined with vomiting. It can be used alone, roasted dry and ground into powder, and taken with yellow rice wine; or used together with drugs such as Corydalis yanhusuo and Cyperus rotundus.
5. Resolve blood stasis and relieve pain, astringe and stop bleeding. Hedgehog skin has the effects of resolving blood stasis and relieving pain, and astringing and stopping bleeding.
Hedgehog farming techniques
1. When introducing breeding stock from nature, domestication must be carried out to make the hedgehog domesticated livestock. The number of wild hedgehogs decreases every year. Therefore, artificial farming can not only meet people's medicinal and food needs, but also protect the natural resources of hedgehogs. In addition, artificial farming requires simple equipment, breeding and management are simple and easy to carry out, and the economic benefits are relatively good, making it a very promising farming project.
2. Domesticated hedgehogs should be kept one male and one female in the same nest. They generally mate naturally in estrus from April to May, producing 1 to 2 litters per year. Hedgehogs from 2 to 4 years old all have reproductive capacity. The female hedgehog is restless and agitated during estrus, with secretions in the genital area. The gestation period is about 60 days, with 4 to 6 young per litter and at most 8. After 35 days of fertilization, the hedgehog's body weight increases; after 45 days its movements become sluggish, there is mild edema of the perineum, and before giving birth it seeks grass to build a nest.
3. When introducing breeding stock, attention should be paid to eliminating internal and external parasites. External parasites mainly include hard ticks, itch mites, and scabies mites. Hard ticks are dark brown and can be removed by hand; itch mites cause powdery small white spots and dander to appear on the body surface skin; scabies mites cause yellow scabs to form on the skin. For treatment, a 0.05% “Comite” bath can be used, 3 to 5 minutes each time, at an interval of 7 days, for 3 consecutive times; or ivermectin injection can be given regularly by intramuscular injection, with a dosage of 0.2 milliliters per kilogram of body weight, which, in addition to killing mites, is also effective against ticks and Physaloptera nematodes.
Prospects for hedgehog farming
1. Providing meat
Hedgehog meat has high protein content and low cholesterol content, has strong tonic functions, and has many medicinal uses. Because hedgehogs reproduce quickly, have a wide range of medicinal uses, and produce little meat, developing hedgehog farming is of great significance for enriching farmers' economy. With the improvement of living standards of residents in coastal open areas and large and medium-sized cities in the interior, demand is growing larger and larger. Hedgehogs have been heavily hunted and killed in the Yangtze River basin, and their numbers are extremely scarce; in northern regions indiscriminate hunting has increased year by year, and wild resources are becoming increasingly scarce.
2. Providing medicinal raw materials
The hedgehog is a treasure all over. Hedgehog spines, skin, fat, and meat are all precious traditional Chinese medicines, with effects such as lowering qi and relieving pain, and can treat stomach diseases, kidney diseases, breast diseases, hemorrhoids, burns, scalds, and stop bleeding and remove leakage. The hedgehog's brain, heart, liver, gallbladder, kidneys, and fat can all be used as medicine. The meat of the hedgehog (also called "yixiang") is a rare delicious delicacy. Testing with modern science and technology shows that its meat contains protein, fat, and carbohydrates, and also contains multiple amino acids such as amino acids, glutamic acid, and serine, trace elements such as manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), and copper (Cu), and macro elements such as K, Ca, Na, and Mg. Its main pharmacological effects are promoting appetite, improving digestive capacity, improving protein utilization, stimulating the hematopoietic system, and significantly increasing hemoglobin, hematin, and red blood cells. It is the best health food for patients undergoing chemotherapy, post-surgery, postpartum women, anemia, and gastrointestinal dysfunction, and is also the best nutritional food for frail middle-aged and elderly people and thin children and adolescents. It is a medicinal product for treating various chronic diseases and has great development potential. Develop the economy and earn foreign exchange through exports. Farming hedgehogs will surely become an important part of the special farming industry. It can not only satisfy the market and drive the local economy, but also be sold externally and exported to earn foreign exchange.
3. Can become a new type of pet
In the United Kingdom, keeping this strange little creature, only the size of a palm and covered in spines, as a pet has become a fashion among office workers. For British office workers who rush about busily all day and also love keeping pets, they are now increasingly inclined to buy a hedgehog as a pet. Because this animal is nocturnal, when the owner comes home from work, they happen to wake from sleep and regain their vitality. Moreover, they can be fed with cat food, and their food intake is only one-third that of a domestic cat, costing less. This fits the tastes of workplace professionals very well. It can thus be seen that hedgehog pets may trigger another new round of pet fever.
For hedgehog breeding, its estrus and mating are very important, as only in this way can hedgehogs reproduce the next generation well and create more profit. Secondly, its farming techniques are also very important. Only by having a clear understanding of all these can one better farm hedgehogs.