A Comprehensive Analysis of Key Points in Muskrat Breeding Technology
The muskrat, also known as the musquash, is a very precious fur-bearing animal that looks similar to a rat in appearance. However, the value of the muskrat is far higher than that of a rat. The muskrat can secrete muskrat musk, which can be used both as a traditional Chinese medicinal material and as a basic raw material for making high-grade perfume. Moreover, the muskrat's meat is edible, and its protein content is similar to that of beef. So how should muskrats be raised? Below, the editor brings you the breeding technology for muskrats. Let's take a look!
1. Building Enclosures
Large-scale muskrat farming usually uses standard enclosures. When building the enclosures, we need to pay attention to planning, and at minimum ensure there are three parts: a rest room, an exercise area, and a water pool. Also, because muskrats have the habit of digging into the ground and gnawing, the enclosure construction materials need to use hard substances such as bricks. Reasonably control the farm area according to the number being raised, and divide the rest room into an inner room and an outer room. The inner room is mainly used for female muskrats to give birth, so the inner room should be relatively large. The specific form of the enclosure depends on your own construction techniques and breeding direction.
2. Selecting Breeding Muskrats
Breeding muskrats are selected in spring and autumn each year, because the temperatures in these two seasons are both relatively suitable for the growth of muskrats, and there are fewer problems during transportation. It is also the time when muskrats have the strongest growth and development capacity. When selecting breeding muskrats, we should pay attention to age; around half a year old is the best choice. Observe the appearance of the breeding muskrats and choose those with non-dry conjunctiva, bright eyes, great vitality, moderate body size, and smooth, neat fur. But when selecting breeding muskrats, you must clearly distinguish males from females to avoid selecting individuals of the same sex.
3. Feeding Management
Wild muskrats mainly feed on various aquatic plants, so when raising them, we can choose tender buds, leaves, branches, fruits, and other parts of plants. Muskrats also mainly rely on herbivorous feed and have little demand for meat-based feed. Usually, only during periods of insufficient green feed or during illness are small amounts of meat occasionally fed. Muskrats have different feed needs in different seasons. In winter, sufficient feed must be prepared, because muskrats will store large amounts of food in their enclosures. We should reasonably adjust the feed according to the muskrats' growth habits and seasonal changes.
4. Overwintering Management
From the end of October to the beginning of January of the following year is the recovery period for muskrats. This stage has a very large impact on the growth of muskrats. We should do a good job in cold prevention and heat preservation, ensure the enclosure is airtight, lay dry grass inside the enclosure, and avoid dampness in the enclosure. Drain the water in the pool completely to prevent frost cracking. Change feed feeding by adding succulent feed and green grass to the feed, but because muskrats have the characteristic of storing food, it is not necessary to feed every day. In winter, the disease incidence rate of muskrats rises sharply, which is also something we need to pay special attention to. Also, promptly trim the overly long incisors of muskrats to prevent injuries from fighting and biting.
The above is a brief introduction to muskrat breeding technology. Muskrat breeding is relatively troublesome. Because muskrats are very lively and like to gnaw and bite everywhere, bite-proof measures should be taken for items in the breeding enclosure. Also, management should be strengthened during the mating period, gestation period, and nursing period of muskrats. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only. If you want to learn more related information, please continue to follow us!