Many people hesitate to get a nutria for fear of its bite. This is prejudice. By nature, they are one of the most peaceful animals.
How to properly behave with nutria
If nutria was purchased in early age, then they quickly get used to the owner. Many even have quite successful experience of keeping these rodents as pets; they are also kept and bred in living areas in various establishments. Nutria have a lot of advantages: firstly, they are clean and friendly, they respond to a nickname and approach their owner with great eagerness, recognizing them not only by their voice, but also by their smell.
Important! Good results In breeding these animals can only be obtained with affectionate treatment.
Rough handling can lead to negative phenomena that will immediately affect appetite, weight gain, and a decrease in their productivity. It is important that nutria treat you without fear, because intimidated individuals often experience bruises and abortions. These animals must be dealt with calmly, without raising your voice; you must not make sudden movements or needlessly bother or cause pain. This can only make them angry.
How to catch, hold and transport
Catching nutria, for example, in order to transplant it to another place or inspect it, must be done carefully. The animal is driven into a house or corner. Next, take one hand in the middle of the tail, and the other near the front legs under the breast, while you need to grab a little skin. Next, the animal rises and hangs on its weight. Then the nutria's head rises slightly above the body.
You need to grab the animal by the tail while it is in a sitting position or moving slowly. Sudden jerks are not allowed. For example, a female’s uterus may fall out, and a male’s genitals may also fall out.
A nutria bite can be dangerous if the animal is in an angry state. The bite of this rodent is very fast and strong. The bite force of a nutria is enough to bite the phalanx of a finger.
If an individual behaves aggressively, then its head must be carefully held with a spatula. When transplanting, it is taken by the tail and carried in this position.
Another option is also practiced when the hind legs are taken with the other hand so that it does not have the opportunity to scratch. If you need to move the animal over a long distance, this can be done by placing it in a bag.
Young animals up to three months old are held by hand under the armpit and in this position they are examined, branded, or medical procedures are performed on them.
If you need to inspect the animal from the belly, then take it with both hands, you need to hold it near the tail and shoulder blades. Next, you need to act carefully and quickly, turning it over on its back and pressing it against a table or other surface.
Treatment of pregnant women
If a female nutria is pregnant, then you need to handle her with doubly care. For example, you should not grab it sharply and hold it vertically for a long time. If you do not adhere to these rules, then the nutria may have an abortion.
During cleaning, in order not to disturb the pregnant female once again, you need to clean the house when she is in the paddock, and clean the paddock when she enters the house.
You should not touch the animal's back unless necessary - this will irritate him. But stroking the belly is possible and even very useful.
Young individuals are tamed quite quickly and, when grown up, behave calmly and always trust their owner.
This video tells and shows how “terrible” the bites of these animals are. They also give advice on what to do in case of a bite.
Breeding nutria ( short course)
Not so long ago, no one even thought about breeding nutria on private farms; they had no idea about this fur-bearing animal. And now there are more and more adherents of nutria breeding. Some nutria breeders achieve amazing quality of skins; one cannot help but admire their smooth, silky and shiny pile of a wide variety of colors (III-18).
It is profitable to breed nutria, especially since, in order to provide material interest to the population in increasing the production and sale of skins of this animal to the state, purchase prices for them were increased on average by 2 times. In addition, “the USSR Ministry of Finance exempted citizens engaged in nutria breeding from paying taxes on the amounts they receive for skins if citizens sell them to procurement organizations. Tax is also not charged for meat sold on the market.
Nutria comes from hot South American countries. It lives near water, where it goes to wash its skin. Despite its southern origin, the animal is accustomed to a colder climate with long winters. He settled down in the Baltic, northwestern and central parts the European zone of the country, in the Volga region, Kazakhstan and even the Krasnoyarsk Territory, where winters are very severe. But there they build insulated sheds for nutria so that the “southerners” do not freeze.
Beginners have many questions about growing nutria, and one of the most common is whether they need to have a pool? Not required, but recommended. The quality of the skin of animals living in cages with a swimming pool is better, because the animal itself takes care of its skin, washing away dust and dirt. It has been noticed that the health of nutrias that use the pool is stronger than those of the “land” ones. Some fur farmers place a basin of water for the nutria and change it more often.
Nutria is not a carnivore, so it only needs plant foods. But it is a rodent and has strong incisors that easily gnaw through the wooden parts of the cage. They are covered with wire mesh, and in order to have something to sharpen their incisors on, just like rabbits, they put more branches with thick knots in the cages.
Special mention should be made of the main products of nutriculture - skins of various colors. They are not only beautiful, but also durable. In terms of wearability, unplucked nutria skin is close to mink skin, and is 10 times superior to rabbit skin. Hats, jackets, fur coats are sewn from natural and sticky skins, and collars are made. After slaughtering the nutria and removing the skin, what remains is a carcass suitable for food. Nutria meat is valuable food product with dietary properties, like rabbit meat.
Let's also say that nutria breeding is a very exciting and creative activity, especially if the fur farmer is engaged in breeding work and strives to obtain animals of the desired color.
So what is this furry animal? It can be quite large. As an adult, it weighs 5-7, sometimes up to 9-10 kg. Its length from the tip of the muzzle to the root of the tail is 45-60 cm. Males are usually more powerful. Nutria's ears are short, covered with fluffy hairs on the inside. Thanks to this arrangement of the ears, air is retained in the shells and to some extent prevents the penetration of water into them when the nutria dives into the water. The nostrils also have their own adaptations: in water, the muscles of the nostrils seem to block the entrance to Airways and prevent water from entering the nasal cavity.
Nutria have 20 teeth, and the incisors, which are mentioned above, play the most important role. In adult healthy animals they are bright orange, and in old, sick and young animals they are light with dark spots. Nutria needs to sharpen its incisors, so the animal is constantly given something to chew on. The friction of the upper incisors against the lower incisors causes the upper ones to wear away. However, this does not stop nutria from remaining a rodent in the full sense - the incisors grow all the time. Moreover, the animal’s mouth is designed in such a way that the lips close behind the incisors, so that nutria, diving into a pond, can gnaw plants under water.
It's funny to watch when an animal brings food to its mouth, holding it with both front paws, or combs its fur. Its paws are arranged interestingly: on the front there are four long toes and a fifth shortened one, which act almost the same as those of a human. On the hind legs, the toes are connected by membranes - another “device” for a waterfowl. Nutria moves slowly on the ground, but in case of danger it can run quickly.
Nutria was domesticated relatively recently, so it is not yet accustomed to eating as much green food as a rabbit. According to the type of feeding, it is rather closer to a pig. Nutria have a single-chamber stomach. For adults, it can hold up to 500 cm3 of feed. In the wild, they feed mainly on marsh plants (cattails, reeds, reeds, etc.), and also eat their rhizomes. At home, such plants are a treat for these animals. Nutria prefers root vegetables to all other foods. It also eats tree leaves and branch bark.
The feed consumption for one nutria per year is as follows (kg): compound feed - 57, legume grain, cake - 5, fish, meat and bone meal - 4, hay, grass meal- 10, legume-cereal grass - 38, root vegetables - 73, salt- 600 g. It will take 20 kg of bedding to maintain it.
Having acquired nutria, a fur farmer must first learn how to handle them. They are non-aggressive by nature and, if handled well, soon become tame and easy to care for. Beginners, sometimes, at first are even afraid to enter the nutria room - their incisors scare them. However, nutria never attack first, but only defend themselves, but they bite painfully. To avoid “conflicts,” you need to act calmly, without making sudden movements, try to stay near the animals longer, say something in a quiet, gentle voice, give food by hand (at first, you can wear mittens). Nutria are trusting of a kind owner and after a few days they come up for food without fear. Young nutria can be picked up, treated with treats, and taught to interact with humans.
Nutria are kept in cages and without them - on the floor of the room. This, some fur farmers believe, makes the animals more pliable, obedient and, in addition, makes them easier to feed.
If they want to examine the animal, they take it by the root of the tail with one hand, lifting it back the torso, and the other is passed between the front legs and held by the skin of the chest. The head should not be lower than the butt. You can catch babies too. by the tail. Press your left elbow towards you so that your front is most of body and tail. When taking measurements, it is better to do it together (an assistant holds the animal’s head).
It is better to purchase animals for adoption through the procurement offices of regional consumer unions, the society of rabbit breeders and fur breeders. State enterprises sell live nutria at the cost of a defect-free, large-sized, first-grade skin with a 10% premium depending on the color type. It is best to purchase nutria (and they are sold at least two months old) in the warm season, so that you can transport the animals in a closed basket or in a portable cage without fear of catching a cold. Sometimes they act simpler - they put you in a bag and take you away. In this case, more than three animals cannot be placed in one bag. Pregnant females are transported one at a time in a mesh cage cage. For transporting animals, you can also use a box with loose walls and a handle attached to the top.
Obtaining offspring and raising young animals. Nutria are precocious. Already at 4-5 months they are capable of reproduction. Females come into heat every 24-30 days. It lasts about 36 hours. At this moment, the animals are brought together for mating. During mating, it is better to let animals in more mature age, at approximately 6-8 months, and males at 7-9 months, when they weigh 3.5-4 kg. Mating at an early age leads to a decrease in the fertility of females, the sexual activity of males, and the appearance of stillborn cubs in litters.
Producers are placed in a school of females, which is formed at a time when the animals have not left the “adolescent” age (2-3 months). Females that are similar in development and have desirable characteristics are selected into the school. Animals are kept in jambs in common area or cage. When the females reach the same age - 6-8 months, a male not related to them is placed with them, with valuable qualities that they want to obtain from the offspring of this producer. A school can consist of any number of animals, depending on the size of the barn or cage, but it is not advisable to keep more than 20 females in it.
If the males are young, then the school should be smaller. It should be borne in mind that in crowded conditions the animals become hardened, become aggressive, generally feel worse, and bite each other. Adult females are the most pugnacious after finishing feeding their puppies. They have gone through a difficult period of motherhood and need a calm environment. When other animals scurry around, it irritates them. Experienced fur breeders place such females in separate cages. It is also better to keep those who have just whelped separately and for mating, allow them into the male’s cage in the first three days after birth (to be on the safe side, they allow them into his cage for several days in a row). This is done only with large, strong nutria. If, after giving birth, the female has lost weight and become weak, then mating is postponed.
It can be difficult to remember all the timing of reproduction for each female, so the hobbyist needs to keep records. Females bear offspring for 132 (from 127 to 137) days. Approximately two months of pregnancy can already be detected (with a certain skill - even within a month). The nutria is placed on a stand with its front paws, taken by the tail with one hand, and passed along the stomach with the other. If beads with a diameter of every 2 cm roll under your hand, the pregnancy is 7 weeks, large balls mean a longer pregnancy.
Nutria, like all domestic animals, prefer to give birth at night or early in the morning. The litter varies - 5-6 puppies, or even just 1. The highest fertility is up to 14 heads. If whelping occurs in cold weather, the female should be placed in a barn where the temperature is 15°C.
In a colder room, plenty of warm bedding is required. In any case, you should always keep in mind that puppies at sub-zero temperatures often die from hypothermia. That is why, on cold days, females for whelping are transferred to a warm room in advance or a lush “bed” is arranged for them on the spot. On average, an adult female requires about 500-700 g of dry litter per week.
The queens feed the offspring for about two months. The puppies are placed all together in a separate cage or combined with young animals of the same age from other mothers, but approximately equally developed. A stencil is attached to the cage or pen in the barn, on which the color type of the skin and the number of livestock of each type, the mother’s number, and the date of birth of the puppies are recorded. At 2.5-3 months, the young animals are marked and divided by sex into groups for subsequent rearing. Young animals left on the farm for breeding purposes are selected based on development, skin color and origin of the animal.
It is much more convenient to work with a herd if the group contains animals of the same color type. It can be easier to select the right male for the entire group to produce offspring with the desired color scheme.
When keeping young animals in groups, they monitor them daily to see if there are any skirmishes, fights, or bites on the skins among the puppies. The victims, as well as the most pugnacious individuals, are removed. The condition of young animals can be judged most accurately by weighing. Well-developing males at one month of age weigh 850 g, at 2 months - 1.5 kg, at 3 months - 2.3, at 4 months - 3.2, at 5 months - 4.2, at 6 - monthly - 5, at 7 months - 5.5 kg. In well-developing females these figures are slightly lower.
Winter content. The method of keeping nutria largely depends on how climatic zone fur farmer lives. Residents of the northern and middle zone, Where frosty weather costs several months. Nutria cannot tolerate cold, and at sub-zero temperatures they can get frostbite. Most likely, the tail, paws, ears are affected, that is, those parts of the body with sparse hair. In frostbitten areas, suppuration, ulcers, and tissue death occur, and eventually the nutria have to be discarded. It is better to amputate a frostbitten tail with a sharp knife between two vertebrae in a healthy area. The wound is cauterized with iodine and a tight bandage is applied. When the bleeding stops, the bandage is removed and the wound is sprinkled with streptocide.
For the winter maintenance of nutria in cold climate zones, it is advisable to build insulated rooms where the air temperature is maintained at 15°C. Here they place a cage battery of three or four cells measuring 110x70x40 cm. One cage battery can accommodate one female with offspring up to 5 months of age.
If animals are kept in cold, unheated rooms, the cages are made single-tiered with a mesh run and a well-insulated house. This cage design is also applicable for more southern zones countries. The cage is like a kind of homestead for nutria. This includes a house, a walk on the shore of the reservoir and the reservoir itself. Leaving the house, the nutria ends up directly on the shore and, if desired, can swim (of course, in the summer). House with total area 0.8 m2 (and a paddock of 1.8 m2) can be built from boards covered with wire mesh or sheet iron so as not to be chewed. The outside of the house is covered with roofing felt. You can build a “housing” from brick with plaster on the inside. In short, the house should be comfortable, warm and dry.
To save space and building material, the houses are connected in pairs with one common side wall. In the cold season, the house should become an “apartment with all the amenities” for the nutria. There are two compartments in it: in one there is a nest for rest, in the other there is a “dining room”. Here the animals are fed, and in warm weather through a hole (20x20 cm) they are released into the paddock.
If a pool is built, then a sloping descent from the paddock is made to it. It is safer to make a pond from concrete - stronger, more durable. But this one construction material not accessible to everyone. Amateurs each get out of the situation in their own way. For example, they put together a wooden box - a frame along the width of the paddock, 80 cm long, up to 40 cm deep. Covered with a double layer from below polyethylene film. A hole with a plug is made for drainage. To prevent nutria from gnawing on the walls of their pond, they often provide them with branches for this activity. Or, if there is a metal mesh, they cover the wooden walls with it. Since animals not only swim in the pool, but also drink from it, the water is changed more often - it is better to do this every day. To make it possible to renew water in all reservoirs at once, the cells are placed in one line along the grooves. Water poured from the end of the groove further fills all basins (III-19 - III-21).
Metal trays are placed under the mesh floor of the cages; leftover food and droppings fall here. They are removed daily and used to make compost. If the fur farmer's farm is kept clean, there will be no unpleasant odor.
In winter, nutria are fed with potatoes, root vegetables, grain feed, twig food, food waste, compound feeds. Hay, as well as hay and grass meal, replace grasses in winter, however, nutria do not digest this food well and eat little by little (10-20 g for young animals, 500 g per day for adult animals). Animals prefer mash made from moistened feed, chopped root vegetables, hay (flour, dust). The ratio of concentrates and root vegetables is 1:1 or 1:2.
The best feed for nutria includes (% by weight): crushed barley - 45, crushed corn - 40, sunflower meal, meal - 8, fish meal - b, feed chalk - 0.5, table salt - 0.5. Before feeding, root crops are cleaned of dirt, washed, cut, and sprinkled with animal feed. Bean-grain hay is placed in a feeder in the aft compartment of the house 2 times a week. The mixes are steeper than in summer, otherwise they eat poorly.
Nutria get used to a daily routine well, so it is advisable to feed them at a certain time.
Summer content. In summer, nutria are protected from overheating. And this happens in the heat of 30°C at open areas, not shaded by bushes, trees, and even when kept in cramped cages. IN extreme heat the animals are oppressed and in a daze. Having noticed this, you must definitely move the animals to a cool place and sprinkle their heads with water.
As already mentioned, nutria are herbivorous animals and in the wild they feast more on marsh herbs. They retained this passion in the home farm. However, nutria, tamed by humans, has also perfectly mastered forbs. She loves dandelion, coltsfoot, quinoa, plantain, fireweed, burdock (leaves and roots), sweet clover, white clover, buckwheat, duckweed. It also eats cut branches of garden crops - raspberries, grapes. While rabbits may experience bloating when eating wet grass, this does not happen to nutrias. You just need to make sure that you don’t get any grass in your armful. poisonous plants or sprayed with pesticides. In doubtful cases, it is better to wash the nutria grass.
Animals are usually given fresh grass once a day. Bunches of it are tied to the wall of the cage during the walk, and the remains are used for bedding. The grass is harvested for a day or two, no more. When stored in a pile for, say, 5-7 days, the vegetation can become warm and supportive. Nutria and limp grass eat poorly.
The following approximate daily diet for a suckling female is recommended (g): potatoes, root crops or grass - 300 g, cereal grain, mixed feed - 210 g, legume grain - 10 g, hay - 35 g, salt - 1.5 g. An adult female without puppies are given a smaller amount of food, and young animals separated at the age of 3-4 months are given even less.
Slaughter of nutria and primary processing skins. Usually, young animals aged 9-12 months weighing at least 3 kg are slaughtered, but sometimes 6-7 month old animals are also used. This campaign is usually carried out from November to March. The carcass is hung by the hind legs and the same operations are performed as when slaughtering rabbits: the carcass is bled, the skin is removed with a stocking, the tail is cut off, the skin is degreased on a blank and the skin side out is carefully pulled onto a straightener. The blanks and straighteners can be used the same as when processing rabbit skins.
The skins are dried at room temperature, during drying, wipe the inside with a rag, removing small droplets of released fat. Dried skins are stored in rag bags in a cool, dry place, but not for a long time: they must either be handed over to procurement organizations or subjected to further processing. Purchase prices depend on the color of the skin, its size and the number of defects.
Nutria is a semi-aquatic rodent sole representative of his 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.
Appearance and habitat of nutria
The swamp beaver or nutria has other, less famous name- koipu, and belongs to a large order of rodents. Scientific name mammal - Myocastor Coypus - has its origins in the Araucanian language, spoken by some South American tribes of the Andean family. The ancestor of the swamp beaver lived in the territory of modern South America many millennia ago, and modern nutria in its homeland is found everywhere from the southern regions of Brazil and Bolivia to Tierra del Fuego itself.
The marsh beaver was brought to Russia many years ago, but it has taken root in natural conditions was able only in 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, but there are cases where 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 difference 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 their useful properties, rank 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%.
Nutria are such animals. More precisely - animals. True, in the book about nutria it is written that they are animals, but they are animals. Such good ones. They can bite, but you have to try really hard for them to bite. A stranger will be bitten or scared, but they don’t bite. If you extend your hand, they become interested, come up and try - “Isn’t this a twig? Can’t I eat it?” When it turns out that the branch is moving and is not moving, they make an interesting sound and move away. Some don’t move away, but try to drag the branch further into a corner and deal with it there.
They don't like being touched unexpectedly. And if they hear a sharp sound, they freeze and begin to move their ears. They are listening. Their ears are small, very mobile and funny. When they wash themselves, they pay a lot of attention to their ears. They start to shake them to make them cleaner. And they wash themselves often. For example, a rat ate - they are also called rats, although some people don’t like this word, but they are rats and that’s all. Those who know them well, on the contrary, often call them rats. And rat is a very good word for such people. You even want to call those you like rats.
Well, she has eaten, sits on her tail and begins to move her paws near her nose, holds them for a while near her nose, breathes on them, and then begins to wash herself. First the muzzle, then he begins to wash his belly, then he turns around and cleans his sides. And then again. Sometimes, he will sit down and become like a barrel, hind legs arranges and combs hair. At the same time, he looks at you with such importance that you don’t know where to go.
And if you pour water on one of the nutria, then there’s no end to washing at all. Having thought about it, he sits down and sits. Or sleeping. Mostly sits or sleeps. Sometimes he walks, even jumps. He stands next to the wall and jumps along it. Why is not clear. And sometimes he begins to restore order. He will stand in the corner, scoop out sawdust with his front paws, and help throw them away with his hind paws. He will put things in order in the corner, sit there and fall asleep.
And those who live in cages do not restore order - they are already clean, everything falls through the bars, so some of them scoop out the porridge from the feeders. And the feeders are made in such a way that the porridge does not fall out of them right away. So such a lover of order has to study for a long time.
Rats easily become tame. They climb on your hands. He climbs in and sits. He tries to try buttons, get into pockets or climb further up. And if you give her a piece of bread, she’s generally happy. When it comes time to feed them, they are a model of obedience. All washed, fluffy, clean, with warm paws, those in the enclosure stand on their hind legs and beg. They make a movement that means: “Give me something.” If you give him an apple or a beet or a carrot, he will grab it and run away. So that others don't take it away. Therefore, it is necessary to distribute it to everyone at once, preferably to each one personally.
Well, they sit and eat. And some dropped them on the floor. Sometimes she will start searching on the floor, find it and eat again, but mostly she will approach the neighboring rat and take food from it. And she will go to take it from the other. This continues until one of the disadvantaged finds a half-eaten piece on the floor. If you distribute food to everyone, there will be silence. Everyone sits and crunches. They eat very carefully. If it’s a vegetable or a twig, they pick it up with their paws and eat it. They take a stick and, if it is fresh, they begin to gnaw off the buds from it, and then they peel off the bark and gnaw the tree. And all sorts of cucumbers and cabbage - you can’t tear them off so easily, they grab them and eat them.
It’s interesting that if you give her a piece, she eats it, and then she eats a second one. Then the problem of choice begins for her - she wants to take it, but there is no reason to leave it. Often he takes a new piece with one paw and holds the old one in his mouth. How do they eat cherries? He will take the berry in his paw, eat it, and then put what’s left into his mouth. She can’t chew the bone, she chases it around in her mouth and spits it out.
They don't like burdock. They gave one a piece of burdock. She turned away. Then again, right under your nose. She then took it with her paws, began to quickly knead it, and then threw it to the side. Since then they have not been given burdock.
Rats simply adore reeds. They can eat it all the time. Yes, and this is not surprising. After all, in nature they live in rivers and swamps. And in the swamp, what kind of food is there - reeds, different twigs, maybe when a fish comes across, and they eat leeches. He catches a leech and eats it. He probably won’t eat the turtle, although rats are cunning animals and can think of something.
Some people think they are dumb. But no. This is just how they behave. For example, you give a cucumber. She took it and dropped it on the floor, and she asks for more. She is not bad - then she will eat the second cucumber and the one that she dropped too. Or you take the feeder to wash. And she got into it, turned away and sat. You tap her on the back and say: “Let’s go.” But she doesn’t hear. You're driving away again. Zero attention. And as soon as you turn away, she pretends that she has urgent business. He begins to talk in his own way, look around and climb out of the feeding trough. Then you can take it.
One rat jumped on its neighbors and on people. You put your hand down, and it just jumps out. True, she didn’t bite. For example, he will jump on another rat, hiss, and even hit it in the side with his muzzle, but he will not bite. There are, however, bad rats. They bite each other. And then those who were bitten have to be treated. They don't like it if someone else's rat is nearby. They start to get angry, rush at her, and yell.
And how they argue with each other if they don’t share something. They stand against each other and yell. They even scream, it’s really scary what it’s yelling. And this is just a rat. If you shout at them, they will shut up.
Once a large rat was sitting in a cage. She sits with her back turned, I ask her: “Are you not a witch?”, and she turns around and says: “No.” So naturally it comes out to them as “No”. And when they swear, all you can hear is “Nooo.” It’s especially interesting when they eat porridge and swear. It turns out to be a conversation. My mouth is full of porridge, but I need to talk.
It's very funny to listen to them. They all love porridge, they eat it in different ways - with one paw, with two, and some directly with their muzzle, they also love water, drinking and swimming. One will climb into a feeder with water and sit. The other one wants it too and starts kicking her out. But she screams and doesn’t come out.
And then there is Misha. Misha is a rat, only a boy. Misha - because one of the rats was very interesting. To him: “Misha,” and he comes up. One time he got out of the cage and went into the garage. He crawled under the car and repaired it. Let’s go look for him: “Misha, Misha,” and he came and looked. And Misha by the tail and into the cage. Why by the tail? Yes, because otherwise he might bite out of fear. And their tail is convenient for such things. Moreover, they really need it for swimming - they steer it when they swim in rivers. Since then, Misha has been the name for all rats. We tried to call them Vasya and Adolf, but it wasn’t the same, Misha and that’s it.
And the rats were called Clever - this is the one who climbed into hands, Princess - she was very good, the calmest and smartest, there were also the Witch and others.
When a flock of rats and one rat are allowed into one enclosure, a family is formed. At first the rats scream, fight with their paws, huddle in a corner, they don’t let Misha near, but then they get used to it, become friends with him, and from this friendship they become little rats. They are very interesting. Before they were even born, they were already climbing. And they love to swim, but according to the book, when they get wet, they drown, but in reality they climb into the cup and climb around wet like fools. The rats don’t touch them, although they can accidentally run over them when they get mad.
Sometimes a rat cannot feed its pups. Then they need to be fed by hand. You take a syringe without a needle in one hand, draw milk, and a baby rat in the other. And he breaks out, turns out. The main thing here is to give him at least a little milk. He then freezes and starts drinking. And those who are used to it, they climb on their own, you can just sit him on the table, he will also grab your hand with his paws and try to tear him away from the syringe.
They took one home. They bathed me with shampoo, then they put me in a pot with sawdust and gave me food. He dried up, came to his senses and ran away. He hisses on some, but is not afraid of others. They put him back, transplanted him into an even larger pot, but he still runs away. He was one of nine rats, the rest died. Then he completely got used to it and began to eat. He especially loves apples. You give him an apple, he grabs it and gnaws it. Then, when he was placed in an enclosure with another rat, who brought rats, he became businesslike. The fluffy one is all round, like a hamster, and chases hands when food is given to them. Others run away, but this one chases. He also has a habit - he eats, wraps himself up and climbs on top of a large rat, almost sits on its head.
Even earlier, when he was the last one sitting in the cage with his mother, who was sick, other rats, fools, bit her, so he just sat on her. She will jump up, and he will plop down on the floor. He jumped off it in an interesting way - he would take aim, jump, but his paws would fall through the bars, he would hit the floor, and then he would go about his business. And the little ones wash themselves funny - they sit down important, but the tail - nothing to look at - does not support the little rat. You can still wash the face, but the sides - it will twist and fall on the floor, then again, until it doesn’t work out.
And sometimes they give rats a bath. You take it by the tail and into a bucket or basin. Some run away, and some even like it. And if a flock of rats escapes from the cage, their holiday begins. They will find a broom, tear it apart, turn over a bucket of lime, climb into something else, and generally have fun.
To help them grow better and not get sick, they are given vitamins and a premix. Then they feel better - and their teeth are dark orange - it's best for them when their teeth are like that. These are the rats. Nutria. You can even call them otters, although it’s better to call them rats. They live in cages or enclosures. They don't touch anyone. They eat porridge and love cabbage. They also eat grass and reeds. Sometimes they swear and bring little rats. Nice animals, funny and fluffy. And what kind of eyes do they have? Not like beads, mice have beads, but they have real eyes. And they all have the same look. Both the big ones and the little ones are equally childish. A defenseless and hopeful look. You give her something tasty, sometimes some bread or cookies or gingerbread, and she’s happy, she’ll take it, say something, and eat it. You can talk to them. You get the hang of it, say it a few times, they listen, and then they start talking to each other. They are still afraid when you blow into the pipe, and it hisses from there - then they bristle and also hiss, and some can be teased, however, then you need to make peace with them - you give an apple - that’s peace. Such good rats. And you can keep it in the yard - they will guard it and drive away strangers.
But I don’t like it when you take a piece of bread and attract a rat. She takes him, and her by the tail and into the bag. She won't understand what happened. He wants to get out. Or not in a bag, but in a cage. And she doesn't know what's going on. He thinks about going for a swim or something else. He looks with his childish eyes and asks: “What is it, why in the bag?” How to answer her? After all, she won’t believe that she won’t climb around the cage anymore, won’t clean up the enclosure. No more bathing in a cup or eating porridge. Never try an apple again and never throw away a burdock leaf. And she won't get any more cherries. How to tell her that in half an hour she will be grabbed by the tail again. She will habitually break free, still hoping and looking with her innocent, slightly frightened eyes at the unfamiliar world. IN last time she looks. A skin and a plastic bag of meat - that’s what’s left of it. And how to forget her, how to leave her...
But you can’t do anything, only the smart girls, Mishas, princesses and all the other beloved, good rats remain in your memory. What to do, how to change this world so that they are always with us, so that we don’t have to lure them in for the last time and, hating ourselves for being helpless, see them off last way. But you don’t have to go anywhere. Leave them at home. Let them live. Isn’t there enough food or space... It seems like there’s enough of everything, but it’s necessary. I wish I didn't have to. Never.
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