rearing and reproduction

A male and female grasscutter attains their sexual maturity at 5 and 7months respectively.  A male grasscutter can be paired with 3-5 females.  There are two methods of mating – permanent and controlled mating methods.  The gestation period is 152 day (5 months), meaning that with good management, the animal can litter twice in a year.  The average litter size is always 5.  The young ones can be weaned in about 4-6 weeks, after a resting period of about 10 days mother can be paired with the male again.  They are mature for food in 10-12 months, which raise their body weight to about 5-7kg.  They have the possibility of producing 2 times a year with good management and feeding, and they can constantly reproduce 4yrs before selling them out as old layer. Handling Grasscutter can be handled either by tails or by the limb.  For easy handling, wire mesh cages can be used to move animal from one place to the other. Feeds and Feeding Procedure