Nutria or marsh beaver. Feeding Nutria to Gain Weight Fast Nutria in a Different Way

The habits and appearance of the nutria are very similar to another rodent, the beaver. No wonder biologists gave her a second, quite official name - “ swamp beaver". But in the nutria family, it represents the only genus and species of the same name - “nutria”.

Description of nutria

Someone believes that the nutria looks extremely like a corroded rat, which is confirmed by the dimensions of an adult animal that grows up to 60 cm in length and weighs from 8 to 12 kg. Males tend to gain more weight.

Despite the weighted physique, the animal swims well, which is facilitated by interdigital membranes and a scaly, almost bald tail, which acts as a rudder.

The lifestyle also dictated other nuances of anatomy, for example, the presence of obturator muscles in the nose, blocking the access of water inside. And thanks to the divided lips, tightly closing behind the incisors, the nutria is able to gnaw underwater plants without swallowing water.

The mammary glands (4-5 pairs) are also adapted to life in water, which extend almost onto the back of the female: this is how nature took care of the cubs drinking milk right on the waves.

A massive head with a blunt muzzle is crowned with small ears. The eyes are also not striking in size, but the “spreading” vibrissae are surprising in length. The limbs are short, not particularly adapted for movement on land. Like other rodents, nutria incisors are bright orange.

The fur, consisting of a stiff guard hair and a thick brown undercoat, repels water well. The water beaver (aka koipu) sheds throughout the year. Moulting is less intensive in July-August and in November-March. The last period is considered optimal for skinning.

Lifestyle

In nutria, it is closely associated with the water element: the animal dives and swims excellently, keeping under water for up to 10 minutes. He does not like the heat, sitting in the shade and does not particularly favor the cold, although he tolerates 35-degree frosts. Koipu does not winter supplies, does not build a warm shelter and is not able to survive in freezing waters: it often dies without finding a way out under the ice.

Swamp beavers live in branched burrows in families of 2 to 13 individuals, which include a dominant male, several females and their children. Young males are left to their own devices. In addition, rodents build nests (from reeds and cattails), which are necessary for rest and the birth of offspring.

The coypu, prone to semi-nomadic behavior, is active closer to the night. With an abundance of provisions and shelters, it grazes in one place. The diet of nutria is:

• cattail and reed (their stems, roots and leaves);
• water chestnut;
• branches of some trees;
• reeds;
• pondweed and arrowhead;
• water lilies;
• shellfish, leeches and small fish (rare).

Nutria have good hearing, but weak sense of smell and vision. A suspicious rustle puts the rodent to flight. Nutria runs in leaps, but quickly exhausts herself.

Lifespan

Nutria, both in nature and in captivity, do not live very long, only 6-8 years.

Range, habitats

The swamp beaver is found in the south South America(from Southern Brazil and Paraguay to the Strait of Magellan). The settling of nutria on other continents is associated with purposeful efforts, not always, however, successful. In Africa, for example, the rodent did not take root, but got used to North America and Europe.

AT Soviet Union nutria (676 from Argentina and 1980 from Germany/England) were introduced in 1930-1932. In Kyrgyzstan, the regions of Transcaucasia and Tajikistan, the introduction was successful. The range of the koipu may "shrink" due to harsh winters. So, severe frosts of 1980 completely destroyed rodents in the northern states of the United States and Scandinavia.

Nutria prefers to populate near reservoirs with stagnant / weakly flowing water: on marshy coasts, lakes overgrown with cattails and alder-sedge swamps, where there are many plants. However, the animal does not like dense forests and does not rush into the mountains, therefore it is not found above 1200 m above sea level.

These large rodents are bred for two commercial purposes - to obtain (at no great cost) pork-like meat and valuable skins with water-repellent fur. Young animals are usually kept in 5 - 8 pieces, allocating separate housing for pregnant and lactating women.

Cage, aviary for nutria

The area under the cage / aviary is located away from any sources of noise, especially production, so as not to scare the animals. Enclosure is considered more comfortable, since in this case the nutria has a walking area and a place for swimming.

Rodents sitting in cages, in the summer it is better to take out on Fresh air. As a rule, the inhabitants of cells (especially those placed in several tiers) are deprived of a home reservoir. Some breeders keep pets in basements with electric lighting (without pools), which makes it possible to reduce the cost of live production.

Important! It is believed that only regularly swimming nutria gives high-quality fur. Nevertheless, many domestic nutria growers have learned how to get beautiful skins without using water bodies.

Swamp beavers need a lot drinking water, especially in summer. It is impossible to limit the fluid intake of pregnant and lactating females kept without pools.

Nutria almost does not drink only in bitter frosts: at this time, she burrows into the litter, content with moisture from vegetables. Nutria (unlike arctic fox) do not have a repulsive smell, but you still need to clean up after them, throwing out the remnants of food, changing the water daily and cleaning the cages of debris.

Nutrition, diet of nutria

Farmers whose farms are located in coastal areas with dense vegetation will be able to save on feeding. In this case, the nutria menu is as close to natural as possible.

On a day, 1 individual eats a different amount of food, but at the same time, the following is introduced into its diet (in spring / autumn):

• alfalfa and clover - 200-300 g;
• rye and barley - 130-170 g;
• makuhu - 10 g;
• fishmeal and salt - about 5 g.

In winter, the required components change somewhat:

• hay - 250-300 g;
• carrots and potatoes - 200 g;
• Makukha - 20 g;
• salt and fishmeal - 10 g.

In spring, rodents are also given birch twigs, young shoots of grapes, oak branches, corn shoots and weeds, avoiding ash, linden, hornbeam and bird cherry branches.

Important! Coarse vegetation is pre-soaked, and grain feed is boiled, adding chopped vegetables to the finished product. Algae will be a good supplement (20% of the daily volume).

They feed the animals in the morning, offering fruits / vegetables, and in the evening, focusing on grass. In the morning, the grain mixture accounts for 40% of the volume of food. Pregnant and lactating women receive 75% of the daily requirement in the morning.

breeds

Breeders have worked with nutria in two directions, growing some for tasty meat, others for colorful fur. As a result, those who experimented with color brought out 7 combined and 9 mutational types of nutria.

In turn, colored animals were divided into dominant (white Azerbaijani, black and golden) and recessive (white northern, albinos, pink, straw, smoky, beige and mother-of-pearl).

Nutria standard color(from light brown to dark red) are good because they do not require special care and an original diet that would maintain color. In addition, these rodents are highly prolific and always give birth to offspring of only the expected color.

According to the exterior, such animals are closer than others to their wild counterparts and rarely differ in large weight. As a rule, it ranges from 5 to 7 kg, but individual specimens gain 12 kg each.

Breeding

Fertility in domestic nutria occurs at 4 months, but it is better to start mating 4 months later. One male easily serves 15 mature females.

You can check if there is a pregnancy after a month and a half: with one hand, the female is held by the tail, and with the other hand, her stomach is palpated, trying to find small balls. Those who become pregnant are placed in segregated cages, ideally connected to a swimming pool and exercise area.

Gestation lasts 4-5 months: during this period, fish oil should be added to food. Before childbirth, which often occurs at night, the woman in labor refuses to eat. Childbirth takes half an hour, very rarely dragging on for several hours (up to 12).

Nutrients (in a litter from 1 to 10) immediately see well and know how to walk. Toothy newborns weigh 200 g each, gaining 5 times their mass by 2 months of age. On the 3rd day, the kids eat adult food and swim well in the presence of a pool.

If, after giving birth, the female does not feed the cubs and rushes around anxiously, she is temporarily sent to the cage with the male. Nutria with offspring are kept in a warm and clean house. Active growth of rodents lasts up to 2 years, and the fertility of females lasts up to 4 years.

Diseases, prevention

Salmonellosis (paratyphoid)

Infection occurs through feeders / drinkers, and salmonella carriers are insects, rats, mice, birds and humans. Young people suffer the most. To prevent an outbreak of morbidity, seriously ill nutrias are killed, biomycin, chloramphenicol and furazolidone are prescribed for those who are easily ill.

Prevention is a complex vaccine that guarantees protection for 8 months.

pasteurellosis

They become infected through food and water. carriers of the disease with high level mortality (up to 90%) are rodents, birds and livestock.

Antibiotics are used in the treatment, including bicillin-3, streptomycin and penicillin. The sick are also sent to be slaughtered. Prevention - passive immunization with anti-pasteurellous serum.

Tuberculosis

It is dangerous for its secrecy, infection occurs from diseased nutria or through infected cow's milk.

Symptoms:

• apathy;
• lack of appetite and marked exhaustion;
• shortness of breath and cough (if the lungs are affected);
• immobility.

Tuberculosis nutria is incurable, death is possible 2-3 months after infection. Prevention - compliance with sanitary standards, high-quality nutrition, boiling milk.

Still nutrias are threatened by colibacillosis (mortality up to 90%), ringworm, helminths, as well as non-contagious rhinitis and frequent food poisoning.

Buying nutria, price

If you are going to breed nutria, take young animals no older than 2-3 months. At this age, the rodent weighs approximately 1.3-2.3 kg. By the way, experienced breeders know that to get a large livestock it is not necessary to buy giants: you can simply select healthy nutlets, growing them in warmth and satiety.

For nutria, you need to go to farms, private nurseries and livestock farms. The conditions of keeping rodents and their appearance will tell a lot. It is preferable to take animals grown in enclosures with access to water, fed on natural food. Don't forget to inspect the nutriments and check their documents.

The price of a good grown nutria starts from 1.5 thousand rubles. You can take a very tiny one for 500. However, you rarely see the price in ads, since sellers prefer to negotiate it over the phone.

In order for the animals to as soon as possible have gained weight, they are put on fattening. Fattening is the feeding of animals in an enhanced mode in order to increase the quantity and quality of their products. Fattening is produced by properly selected, balanced feeding, saturated with energy feed, vitamins and micro-macroelements.

Brief information

By appearance nutria are similar to rats only ten times larger in size. They have a disproportionate physique: a massive head with small eyes and slightly protruding ears, short limbs, a rather long tail. On average, its body length ranges from 55-65 cm, tail length - 40-45 cm, live weight ranges from 4.5 to 11 kg. Nutria live not only on land, but also in water, so they have waterproof fur. Distinguishing sign nutria are bright orange incisors, they indicate a healthy state of the body.

Year-round ability to breed. In one litter, on average, females bring 4-5 puppies, 2-3 litters per year. They are susceptible to domestication. In the homestead, they are mainly bred for fur, but in recent times nutria meat has become a real delicacy.

Average weight indicators

At birth, small nutria puppies weigh on average 170-260 grams. In the event that a litter is born a large number of puppies, their weight decreases. The growth of young animals is rather slow, but with good conditions feeding and keeping puppies grow up strong and show a high daily gain.

Interesting fact! Growth intensity is observed up to 7-8 months, then growth slows down significantly, especially during the onset of puberty.

Adult females and males have a mass of 6-6.5 and 7-8 kilograms, respectively, but in some cases the weight can reach 9-10 kg. Table 1 shows the data on the growth dynamics of females and males in the period from birth to 1 year.

Briefly about the nutrition of nutria in natural conditions. Green food is the main component of the nutria diet and a real delicacy for them. They love reeds, cinquefoil, reeds, plant rhizomes, water lilies, cattails and other aquatic vegetation. In some cases, insects may be used as food.

Annual feed requirement of adults:

• green fodder - 45-55 kg;
• concentrated or compound feed - 55-65 kg;
• root crops - 90-100 kg;
• herbal flour - 9-12 kg;
• processed waste of cereals and legumes - 4-6 kg;
• table salt - 0.6-0.8 kg.

Feeding animals at home

When breeding nutria, the first step is to determine the type of feeding that is most suitable for them, as well as cost-effective for you.

In fur farming, there are 4 main types of feeding:

• dry feeding, the use of specialized compound feed brand K-91-1 is recommended;
• mixed feeding, frequency of feeding twice a day: in the morning - concentrated feed or compound feed (70% of the norm), in the evening - 30% of the norm with the addition of green fodder and root crops;
• separate feeding, different types feed is fed in different watches feeding;
• wet mixers, which are based on wet compound feed, root crops, crushed grain, grass flour.

When choosing a dry type of feeding, the following structure can serve as an approximate diet for nutria:

• barley - 44-47%;
• corn - 38-41%;
• sunflower meal - 7-9%;
• fodder yeast - 5%;
• chalk - 0.4%;
• table salt - 0.4%.

The diet must include a vitamin complex, which is most often found in vegetables. Nutria are very fond of carrots, boiled potatoes, cabbage, turnips, zucchini, Jerusalem artichoke, beets and rutabaga.
When feeding with green fodder, you can use garden vegetation, plantain, clover, dandelions, corn stalks, quinoa. If possible, add branches of trees: birch, willow, oak, spruce. But be careful, celandine, hellebore, hemlock, foxglove are poisonous crops for nutria.

What you need for fast weight gain

When fattening animals use a dry type of feeding. The balance of feed is taken into account in terms of energy, protein, fiber, glucose and minerals. Young animals are gaining weight well on concentrated rations with a ratio of 1: 4 or concentrated diet structures that contain up to 15% of digestible protein, 7% of animal proteins. The amount of fat in feed is 3.5-5.5%, approximately 5-10 grams per head per day. Include vitamins A, D, K, E, C and B vitamins in your diet.

Recommended in summer period soak grain feed in slightly salty water, and in winter - steam it, or give germinated grain. Most often, root crops are fed at noon, green food - in the afternoon, at night - roughage (hay). The quality of the feed is also taken into account, it must always be fresh. It is necessary to provide clean drinking water, or snow in winter period. With a sharp increase in the weight of the animal, it is necessary to reduce the consumption of starchy vegetables.

To achieve a more effective result in fattening, keeping technologies should be followed so that the animals do not experience stressful situations. Need to find the optimal temperature regime and lighting, create peace and tranquility in the room. Perform daily cell cleaning. It is worth noting that the use of tin feeders is prohibited, since when in contact with such material, harmful, toxic compounds arise.

With proper observance of feeding and maintenance technologies, the slaughter yield will be 50-53% of the live weight. The mass of an adult carcass especially is 2.2-3.2 kg, young animals at the age of 7-8 months - 1.4-2.1 kg.

Nutria is a semi-aquatic rodent, the only representative of its family. The animal is commercial and has valuable, warm and thick fur, tasty meat, and easily digestible, therapeutic fat. In our country, animals are found in nature in the southern regions.

The swamp beaver or nutria also has another, less famous name- koipu, and belongs to an extensive detachment of rodents. The scientific name of the mammal - Myocastor Coypus - originates in the Araucan language, which is spoken by some South American tribes of the Andean family. The ancestor of the marsh beaver lived on the territory of modern South America many millennia ago, and the modern nutria in its homeland is found everywhere from southern regions Brazil and Bolivia all the way to Tierra del Fuego.

The swamp beaver was brought to Russia many years ago, but to take root in vivo smog only in the southern and warm regions.

The appearance of a nutria is very similar to that of a rat, but it is much larger - the body length of an adult individual, including the tail, exceeds 100 cm, and the weight of individual individuals can reach 14-16 kg. Females are most often smaller than males and rarely reach a mass of 7-8 kg with a total body length of up to 70 cm. The body of the swamp beaver is quite heavy, with a massive and large head, the eyes of the animal seem disproportionately small. The ears are also small and close to the head. The muzzle is blunt, and the mustache is very long. The swamp beaver has several characteristic distinctive features. So the animal wears has special muscle valves that close during diving. The lips form a dense fold and close immediately behind the incisors. This allows the animal not to choke under water during feeding. The tail of a mammal is devoid of hair and acts as a rudder while swimming.

The nipples of female swamp beavers are located quite high on the sides. This allows puppies to feed even while swimming.

Lifestyle features

In nature, the swamp beaver prefers to live near water bodies. Most likely to meet this animal in reservoirs with stagnant water or in those where the current is rather weak, as well as along the marshy banks of small rivers, in reed lakes and sedge bogs. It is in such hard-to-reach places that the animal is safe and provided with a sufficient amount of food. Animals avoid open areas and large bodies of water, however, there are cases when nutria families lived along the banks of large deep rivers and even reservoirs. Nutria lives in its homeland and in mountain rivers at an altitude of up to 1200 meters, and on some islands even lives in brackish lakes.

The swamp beaver is resistant to heat and cold down to -35 degrees, but is not adapted to survive in cold climates. Thick fur saves from frost, but the paws and tails of animals are subject to frostbite.

Unlike the muskrat or the beaver, the nutria does not build winter burrows and huts, does not make food reserves in case of cold weather and winter, and also does not know how to navigate under the ice.

Nests of marsh beavers are most often located on high marsh hummocks and in dense coastal thickets of grass and reeds. If the reservoir has steep banks, animals are able to dig long and complex systems of holes.

reproduction

In nature, wild nutria is capable of breeding throughout the year. Estrus in females is repeated every 26 - 32 days. With an abundance of food, they bring offspring three times a year, and re-cover in the first two to three days after birth. Pregnancy in nutria lasts about 130 days, and there can be up to 10 puppies in a litter. Puppies are born already formed and from the very first days they follow their mother everywhere. Young nutria actively grows in the first 6-7 months of life, and is fully formed only by a year and a half. The female stops feeding the cubs when they reach the age of two months. Females can stay with their mother for quite a long time, but young males leave the nest at the age of 6-7 months.

domesticated nutria

The swamp beaver is unpretentious and shows good fertility at home. In Russia, nutria breeding is carried out mainly for fur, but in Europe and the USA, in addition to fur, nutria also produces delicious meat, which is higher in cost than lamb and beef.

If in nature the nutria is herbivorous, then at home both plant foods and foods of animal origin are used as food for these animals.

Pregnant females must be given dairy products and boiled fish, meat trimmings and even bones. Young animals for rapid growth and weight gain are also shown proteins of animal origin. In large farms, grain and mixed fodder are used to feed nutria; in private farmsteads, they are also fed the remains of soups, cereals, pasta, all kinds of root crops, fruits and vegetables.

They keep animals in cages, aviaries and even rabbit pits, where the conditions are closest to natural. How many nutria live at home depends largely on maintenance and feeding. Normal life expectancy is up to 7 years, but most often animals are slaughtered at the age of 4-5 years, when fertility decreases. The only exceptions are nutrias of valuable non-ferrous breeds.

The healing properties of fat

If many people know that marsh beaver meat is healthy, then the fact that nutria fat has medicinal properties is not known to everyone. Nutria fat is used in the treatment of diseases such as:

• Flu,
• Cold,
• bowel disorder,
• Diabetes,
• High blood pressure
• Urolithiasis disease,
• Pneumonia.

Nutritionists recommend nutria fat for regular use in food, because it contains rare and valuable acids - linolenic and linoleic. Animal fat is easily absorbed by the human body and has no negative consequences for digestion, blood or heart function. Another useful property fat - softening and healing effect. The skin of the hands or feet will never be dry if it is regularly lubricated with nutria fat.

The nature of the animal

Another interesting fact- sociability and good nature of the animal. Very often, at home, marsh beavers are kept not only in plots, but also in apartments. On the Internet, you can find quite a few photos where the nutria bathes in the bathroom or rests on the couch. Animals are able to respond to their name, quickly get used to the owner, can understand the simplest commands and are distinguished by cleanliness.

Bad habits

If you violate the conditions of keeping and feeding, nutria may appear bad habits. The most common of these is tail biting. Swamp beavers gnaw their tails and each other on occasion. if the food lacks vitamins and minerals. In order to cope with this unpleasant problem, it is enough to introduce “Nutria and Rabbit” feeding, as well as meat and bone or meat meal into the diet. Marsh beavers can gnaw their tails under conditions of constant stress, as well as with overcrowding in cages.

How is it different from a muskrat

Many people think that nutria and muskrat are one and the same. However, animals belong to different families and have more difference than similarities. If you look at the images of animals, you can see that the nutria is much larger, has longer and thicker fur. In what the muskrat looks like, there is more resemblance to the most ordinary rat.

Age determination

At home, determining the age of nutria is not so difficult when it comes to young animals. At birth, incisors and first molars are cut in nutria puppies. At the age of two and a half months, the second and third molars erupt. The last, that is, the fourth molars, erupt in animals at the age of 5-6 months. However, there is another way to determine the age of nutria. The older the individual, the more orange their teeth become. So in puppies they are almost white, and in a two-year-old animal they are red-orange.

Nutria manure

Swamp beaver droppings are rich in various nutrients and in terms of its useful indicators it ranks first among all other types of fertilizers. Litter contains phosphorus and calcium, is rich in nitrogen and magnesium, manganese and boron. Humus from the litter of nutria saturates the soil with microorganisms useful for plants. It is good to mix nutria droppings with manure from other animals - the value of such a fertilizer will only increase.

How to catch a nutria

When keeping a home, it is very important to know how to better and more correctly catch a swamp beaver. Usually, animals kept in cages are not willing to make contact with a person, and any touch on the back is regarded as a direct threat. They cannot be taken by the withers like rabbits. To catch a swamp beaver correctly means to carefully drive it into a corner, but in such a way that the animal does not feel threatened by a person, and gently lift it by the tail.

Rabbits or nutria

The question - which is more profitable: to breed rabbits or nutria - always causes debate. Rabbits are more familiar to our region and are more prolific. However, nutria better themes that are less susceptible to disease. Plus nutria before rabbits and in the cost of fur and meat. The number of puppies in a nutria litter depends on the breed and can reach 10-12. During slaughter, the weight of a young individual reaches 5-6 kg, and the net yield of meat is more than 50%.