Porcupine Farming Techniques and 2019 Market Prospects Analysis

The porcupine has been an emerging farming project in the aquaculture industry in recent years. Its meat is nutritious and delicious, with a unique flavor, and it is not difficult to raise artificially. So, what are the porcupine farming techniques? What are the market prospects for 2019?

1. Porcupine farming techniques

It is also known as the arrow porcupine. Its body is brown, its weight is about 20 jin, and its body is covered with quills of varying lengths, with the longest quills reaching 34-35 cm. The porcupine is an animal that is easy to tame and simple to raise. Its farming techniques mainly consist of the following three points:

1. Rearing methods

Semi-free-range method: Choose a hilly slope with thick soil, facing south, good drainage conditions, and woodland to build the enclosure. The stocking number is most suitable at a male-to-female ratio of 1 to 3 or 1 to 4. The site area is determined by the number being raised. Simply place the breeding stock and feed into the enclosure, and they will dig burrows themselves to rest and forage.

Artificial pen rearing: Build a roofed shed, and the breeding pen is divided into inner and outer nest chambers. The inner nest is where they rest and reproduce, and it is paved with a sturdy cement floor (straw bedding is placed on the floor). The inner and outer nest chambers generally have a building area of about 3 m long, 2 m wide, and 1 m high; the outer nest chamber is mainly for them to play in, and a drinking water pool needs to be built beside the door of the outer nest chamber.

2. Feed selection

They mainly feed on plant tubers, and also eat fruits, seeds, and so on. Porcupines living deep in the mountains feed on wild plants. Porcupines living in mountain forests near crops, in addition to feeding on wild plants, also steal and eat common crops such as corn, sweet potato, soybean, and peanut. If raised artificially, in addition to the daily feed, some branches and tree roots can be provided. The total daily ration should be based on basically finishing it each night with a slight remainder. A small amount of unfinished feed should be completely cleared out of the enclosure the next day.

3. Nutritional aspects

Generally use easily digestible ingredients, add substances that can improve digestibility, and adjust the ratio among crude protein, energy, and amino acids; increase the dosage of health-care drugs and vitamins to reduce stress and maintain health; reduce the heat increment and indigestible protein content in the formula.

4. Food quality

Choose fresh ingredients: feed spoils easily in summer, and livestock and poultry mostly refuse to eat spoiled feed. Ensuring the freshness of the feed helps increase the feed intake of livestock and poultry.

Pay attention to changes in food intake: if their food intake is found to be far below the usual amount, the cause needs to be identified and corrected in time. We can start from aspects such as temperature, humidity, feed, and nutritional factors.

Maintain cleanliness and hygiene: after each feeding, clean the feeding buckets and other daily utensils. Every half month, all equipment should be disinfected once.

Prevent feed from becoming moldy: in humid seasons, the moisture content in feed also becomes higher, so mold inhibitors such as propionic acid and calcium propionate should be added. Once feed is found to be moldy, it should be disposed of promptly. If they are found to have accidentally been infected with mold disease, timely treatment should be carried out.

2. Porcupine farming prospects in 2019

1. Market size

According to statistics, at present, China's total porcupine inventory is about 60,000, the annual breeding volume is around 100,000, and the annual market supply is less than 60,000. If converted into fresh porcupine meat, the total weight is about 600,000 kg. Assuming each person eats only 200 g, the current porcupine meat would only be enough for 3 million people to eat one meal.

2. Edible value

People who have eaten porcupine know that its meat is tender, has a good taste, is high in protein, and low in fat. It can be steamed, boiled, fried, and also stewed, simmered, or roasted, and it fits the Chinese people's dietary habits very well.

3. Consumption prospects

At present, the domestic porcupine consumption market is mainly in the Guangzhou area, with annual consumption of about 40,000, accounting for three-quarters of the national consumption market. The porcupine markets in other cities have not yet been developed.

In summary, the current domestic market prospects for farming porcupines are still relatively considerable. For friends who want to invest in the farming industry, farming porcupines is indeed a good project not to be missed.