Nutria or swamp beaver. Nutria or swamp beaver Feeding animals at home

In habits and appearance, nutria is very similar to another rodent, the beaver. It’s not for nothing that biologists gave it 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

Some people believe that nutria closely resembles an overfed rat, which is confirmed by the dimensions of an adult animal, growing up to 60 cm in length and weighing from 8 to 12 kg. More weight, as a rule, males recruit.

Despite its heavy build, the animal swims well, which is facilitated by the interdigital membranes and 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 that close tightly behind the incisors, nutria can gnaw underwater plants without swallowing water.

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

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

The fur, consisting of hard guard hairs and thick brown undercoat, repels water well. The water beaver (also known as the koipu) sheds throughout the year. Shedding is less intense in July-August and November-March. The last period is considered optimal for skinning.

Lifestyle

In nutria it is closely related to water element: The animal dives and swims excellently, staying under water for up to 10 minutes. It does not like heat, sitting in the shade and does not particularly like the cold, although it can tolerate frosts of 35 degrees. Koipu does not store winter reserves, does not build a warm shelter, and is not able to survive in freezing bodies of water: 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), necessary for rest and the birth of offspring.

Prone to semi-nomadic behavior, nutria is active closer to night. With an abundance of food and shelter, it grazes in one place. The nutria diet consists of:

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

Nutria have good hearing, but weak sense of smell and vision. A suspicious rustle causes the rodent to flee. Nutria runs in leaps and bounds, but quickly gets exhausted.

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 spread of nutria to other continents is associated with targeted efforts, which, however, are not always successful. In Africa, for example, the rodent did not take root, but it got used to North America and Europe.

IN Soviet Union nutria (676 from Argentina and 1980 from Germany/England) were imported in 1930-1932. In Kyrgyzstan, the regions of Transcaucasia and Tajikistan, the introduction was successful. The range of the coipu may be “shrinking” due to harsh winters. So, very coldy 1980, rodents were completely destroyed on the territory northern states USA and Scandinavia.

Nutria prefers to settle near bodies of water with stagnant/weakly flowing water: on swampy coasts, lakes covered with cattails and alder-sedge swamps, where there are a lot of plants. However, the animal does not like dense forests and does not rush to the mountains, so it is not found above 1200 m above sea level.

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

Cage, enclosure for nutria

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

It is better to take rodents sitting in cages outside in the summer. Fresh air. As a rule, the inhabitants of cages (especially those placed in several tiers) are deprived of a home pond. Some breeders keep their pets in basements with electric lighting(without swimming pools), which makes it possible to reduce the cost of live products.

Important! It is believed that only regularly swimming nutria produces high-quality fur. However, many domestic nutria growers have learned to obtain beautiful skins without the use of ponds.

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 swimming pools.

Nutria hardly drinks only in biting frosts: at this time she burrows into the litter, content with moisture from the vegetables. Nutria (unlike the arctic fox) do not have a repulsive odor, but you still need to clean up after them, throwing out leftover food, changing the water daily and clearing the cages of debris.

Nutrition, nutria diet

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.

1 individual eats per day different quantities feed, but at the same time the following is introduced into her diet (spring/autumn):

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

In winter, the required components change slightly:

• hay – 250-300 g;
• carrots and potatoes – 200 g;
• makukha – 20 g;
• salt and fish flour– 10 g.

In the 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! The coarse vegetation is pre-soaked, and the grain feed is boiled, adding chopped vegetables to the finished product. A good addition would be seaweed (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 food volume. Pregnant and lactating women receive 75% of the daily requirement in the morning.

Breeds

Breeders have worked with nutria in two directions, raising some for tasty meat, others for colorful fur. As a result, those who experimented with color developed 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, albino, pink, straw, smoky, beige and pearl).

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

In appearance, such animals are closer than others to their wild counterparts and rarely weigh more. As a rule, it ranges from 5 to 7 kg, but some specimens gain 12 kg.

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 whether there is a pregnancy after a month and a half: hold the female by the tail with one hand, and palpate her belly with the other hand, trying to feel the small balls. Those who become pregnant are placed in separate 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).

The chicks (from 1 to 10 in a litter) immediately see well and can walk. Toothed newborns weigh 200 g, gaining 5 times large mass by 2 months of age. On the 3rd day, the babies eat adult food and swim well if there is a pool.

If after giving birth the female does not feed the cubs and rushes about anxiously, she is temporarily sent to a cage with the male. Nutria and its offspring are kept in a warm and clean house. Active growth of rodents continues 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 include insects, rats, mice, birds and people. Young animals suffer the most. To prevent an outbreak of disease, seriously ill nutria are killed; those who are mildly ill are prescribed biomycin, chloramphenicol and furazolidone.

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 rates (up to 90%) include rodents, birds and livestock.

Antibiotics are used in treatment, including bicillin-3, streptomycin and penicillin. Sick people are also sent to slaughter. Prevention – passive immunization with anti-pasteurella serum.

Tuberculosis

It is dangerous due to its secrecy; infection occurs from sick nutria or through infected cow's milk.

Symptoms:

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

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

Nutria are also threatened by colibacillosis (mortality rate 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 in order to obtain large livestock it is not necessary to buy giants: you can simply select healthy guts, raising them in a warm and well-fed environment.

To get nutria you need to go to farms, private nurseries and livestock farms. The conditions in which rodents are kept and their appearance will tell you a lot. It is preferable to take animals raised in enclosures with access to water and fed on natural food. Don't forget to inspect the insides and check their documents.

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

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

The swamp beaver or nutria has other, less famous name- koipu, and belongs to a large order of rodents. The mammal's scientific name, Myocastor Coypus, originates from the Araucanian language spoken by some South American tribes of the Andean family. The ancestor of the swamp beaver lived on the territory of modern South America many millennia ago, and modern nutria in its homeland is found everywhere from southern regions Brazil and Bolivia all the way to Tierra del Fuego.

The marsh beaver was brought to Russia many years ago, but it was able to take root in natural conditions only in the southern and warm regions.

The appearance of nutria is very similar to that of a rat, but it is much larger - body length adult together with the tail, it 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 weight 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 pressed tightly to the head. The muzzle is blunt, and the mustache is very long. The marsh beaver has several characteristic distinctive features. So the animal wears special valve muscles that close during diving. The lips form a tight fold and close just behind the incisors. This allows the animal not to choke under water while feeding. The mammal's tail is hairless and acts as a rudder when swimming.

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

Lifestyle Features

In nature, the marsh beaver prefers to live near bodies of water. You are most likely to encounter this animal in bodies of water with stagnant water or in those where the current is rather weak, as well as along the swampy banks of small rivers, in reed lakes and sedge swamps. It is in such hard-to-reach places that the animal is safe and provided with sufficient 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 mountain rivers at an altitude of up to 1200 meters, and on some islands it even lives in brackish lakes.

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

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

Swamp beaver nests are most often located on high swamp 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 no.

Reproduction

In nature, wild nutria is capable of reproduction throughout the year. Estrus in females repeats every 26 - 32 days. With an abundance of food, they bear offspring three times a year, and are re-coated in the first two to three days after birth. Pregnancy in nutria lasts about 130 days, and a litter can have up to 10 puppies. Puppies are born already formed and from the very first days follow their mother everywhere. Young nutria actively grows in the first 6-7 months of life, and is fully formed only by one and a half years. 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 marsh beaver is unpretentious and shows good fertility at home. In Russia, nutria are bred mainly for fur, but in Europe and the USA, in addition to fur, nutria also produce tasty meat, which is more expensive than lamb and beef.

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

Pregnant females must be given dairy products and boiled fish, scraps of meat and even bones. Animal proteins are also recommended for young animals for rapid growth and weight gain. In large farms, grain and compound feed are used to feed nutria; in private farmsteads, they are also fed the remains of soups, cereals, pasta, all kinds of root vegetables, fruits and vegetables.

Animals are kept in cages, enclosures and even rabbit pits, where conditions are closest to natural. How long 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 exception is nutria of valuable colored species.

The healing properties of fat

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

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

Nutritionists recommend nutria fat for regular use in food, since 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 your hands or feet will never be dry if you regularly lubricate it with nutria fat.

Character of the animal

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

Bad habits

If the conditions of keeping and feeding are violated, nutria may develop bad habits. The most common of them is tail biting. Swamp beavers gnaw off their own and each other's tails 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 nutrition into the diet, as well as meat and bone or meat meal. Swamp beavers can gnaw their tails even under conditions of constant stress, as well as when their cages are overcrowded.

How is it different from a muskrat?

Many people believe that nutria and muskrat are the same thing. However, animals belong to different families and have more differences than similarities. If you look at the images of the animals, you can see that nutria is much larger and has longer and thicker fur. The way a muskrat looks is more similar to an ordinary rat.

Age determination

At home, determining the age of nutria is not so difficult if we're talking about about young animals. At birth, nutria puppies have their incisors and first molars erupted. 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 its teeth become. So in puppies they are almost white, but 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. The litter contains phosphorus and calcium, is rich in nitrogen and magnesium, manganese and boron. Humus from nutria droppings saturates the soil with microorganisms beneficial to plants. It is good to mix nutria droppings with manure from other animals - the value of such fertilizer will only increase.

How to catch nutria

At home care It is very important to know the best and correct way to catch a swamp beaver. Typically, animals kept in cages are not willing to make contact with humans, and any touch on the back is regarded as a direct threat. They cannot be picked up by the withers like rabbits. Correctly catching a swamp beaver means carefully driving it into a corner, but so that the animal does not feel threatened by humans, and carefully lifting it by the tail.

Rabbits or nutria

The question - which is more profitable: raising rabbits or nutria - always causes debate. Rabbits are more common in our region and are more fertile. However, nutria the better that they are less susceptible to diseases. The advantage of nutria over rabbits is 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 meat yield is more than 50%.

In order for animals to gain weight as quickly as possible, they are put on fattening. Fattening is the feeding of animals in an intensive mode in order to increase the quantity and quality of their products. Fattening is done through properly selected, balanced feeding, rich in 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, rather a long tail. On average, its body length is from 55-65 cm, tail length is 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. A distinctive sign of nutria is their incisors are bright orange; they indicate a healthy state of the body.

Year-round ability to reproduce. In one litter, on average, females give birth to 4-5 puppies, 2-3 litters per year. They are amenable to domestication. In the homestead, they are mainly bred for fur, but in Lately 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 occurs rather slowly, but when good conditions feeding and maintenance, puppies grow strong and show high daily growth.

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

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

Annual feed requirements of adults:

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

Feeding animals at home

When breeding nutria, you first need to determine the type of feeding that is most suitable for them, and also economically beneficial for you.

In fur farming there are 4 main types of feeding:

• dry feeding, the use of specialized 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 feed and root crops;
• separate feeding, Various types feed is fed at different feeding times;
• wet mash, which is based on wet feed, root tubers, crushed grain, grass meal.

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%;
• feed 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 green food, you can use vegetable gardens, plantain, clover, dandelions, corn stalks, and quinoa. If possible, add tree branches: birch, willow, oak, spruce. But be careful, celandine, hellebore, hemlock, and foxglove are poisonous crops for nutria.

What you need to gain weight quickly

When fattening animals, dry feeding is used. The balance of feed in terms of energy, protein, fiber, glucose and minerals is taken into account. Young animals gain weight well on concentrated diets with a ratio of 1:4 or concentrated diet structures, which contain up to 15% digestible protein, 7% animal proteins. The amount of fat in the 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 salted water, and in winter - steam it, or feed sprouted grain. Most often, root tuber crops are fed at noon, green food in the afternoon, and roughage (hay) at night. 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 more effective results in fattening, maintenance technologies should be followed so that animals do not experience stressful situations. We need to establish the optimal temperature regime and lighting, create peace and tranquility in the room. Clean cages daily. It is worth noting that the use of tin feeders is prohibited, since upon contact with such material, harmful, toxic compounds arise.

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