What do weasels eat?
The weasel is a small carnivore that inhabits plains, marshes, river valleys, villages, cities and mountainous areas. It is nocturnal and feeds mainly on rodents, though it occasionally eats other small mammals. It lives in mountains and plains, is found at forest edges, river valleys, shrublands and grassy hills, and often appears near villages. Let us take a look below at what weasels eat!
What do weasels eat?
A folk proverb says, "The weasel pays a New Year call to the chicken -- with no good intentions." In reality, weasels rarely feed on chickens. What weasels love to eat is rats, and they are skilled rat catchers. According to statistics, one weasel can eliminate three to four hundred rodents a year. Once a rat is caught in its bite, it can be swallowed in a few mouthfuls. If it finds a rat burrow, it can dig open the hole and wipe out the entire nest. Calculating that each rat eats 1 kg of grain per year, one weasel can snatch back three to four hundred kg of grain from the mouths of rats. So the weasel is by no means a chicken thief, but a good friend of humans.
The economic value of the weasel
The weasel preys heavily on rodents and is a natural enemy of pest rats. It is estimated that one weasel can eat 1500 to 3200 mice a year. The weasel's fur, after processing, can be made into fur coats, but its pelt is worthless in summer; only pelts taken after the start of winter, during the periods of heavy snow and light snow, are very expensive. In China, its tail hair is used to make writing brushes, known as wolf-hair brushes. The pelt and hair are traditional export commodity items of China's wild fur-bearing animals.
Feed formula for weasels
1. Mixed feed: The weasel's mixed feed should be as varied as possible, rich in nutrients and highly palatable. Animal feed includes livestock, poultry, rats, frogs, fish, birds, snakes, insects, etc. Grain feed includes cornmeal, bran, soybean cake, etc. Vegetable feed includes radish, cabbage, beet, etc., either fresh or dried and stored. Mineral feed includes salt, bone meal, etc.
2. Daily ration formula: During the non-breeding period, fish and meat 30%, offal 25%, grain 35%, vegetables 10%, plus salt 0.5 g, bone meal 2 g, yeast 2 g, cod liver oil 0.5 g. During the breeding period, fish and meat 40%, offal 25%, dairy 5%, grain 20%, vegetables 10%, plus salt 0.5 g, bone meal 1.5 g, yeast 2 g, cod liver oil 1 g. For adult weasels over 90 days old, the daily ration is 150 to 200 g for males and 130 to 180 g for females, preferably enough to satisfy them without leftovers.