"three points" of Muskrat Culture

I. Construction of enclosures

The enclosure is composed of a nest, a sports ground and a pool. The length, width and height of the enclosure are about 1.5 × 1 × 0.5 meters, which can be raised in pairs. The floor of the enclosure (including nest, playground, pool) can be made of cement to prevent muskrats from digging and digging holes, surrounded by bricks and covered with barbed wire at the top, but leave a trapdoor for feeding. The nest chamber is divided into two parts, the inner and outer rooms are connected, and the opening of the outer chamber is connected with the sports ground. The floor of the chamber should be slightly higher than the sports ground, and the slope is 25 degrees upward from the pool to the sports field. Muskrats can feed and move at any time on the sports ground. The depth of the pool is about 20 cm, and a drainage hole should be left at one end of the bottom to facilitate drainage.

2. Feeding

Muskrat feed mainly consists of grass, vegetables, melons and fruits, plant roots, etc., supplemented by grain concentrate feed and a little protein feed. A muskrat can eat 250 grams of plant feed every day, mainly grass in summer, requiring fresh and tender forage, and vegetable food in winter, supplemented by hay, which is generally fed in the morning and evening. Concentrate with corn meal with a small amount of fish meal, soybean meal, salt mixed steaming and feeding, appropriate increase of feed in winter, daily feeding should be fixed time. Regular feeding can maintain muskrat's exuberant appetite and good digestive function. Feed should be clean and fresh to avoid feeding contaminated and deteriorated feed.

III. Reproduction

The muskrat reached sexual maturity after 100 days, and the 1-and 2-year-old adult mice weighing more than 500 grams, plush, glossy, good appetite and lively spirit were better paired. When pairing, a pair of breeding mice will be put into the same cage, separated by wire mesh. If there is no hostility after 1-3 days, they can be fed in the same room. Muskrats usually start mating in April, mostly in water. During the breeding period, the environment should be kept quiet and the pool should always be filled with water. The diet of muskrats during pregnancy should be mainly based on animal protein and calcium, so as to achieve greenish diversification. The general gestation period of female rats is 27-29 days. Do not lift the nest to check after giving birth, so as to prevent the mother rats from being frightened and causing the death of their offspring. The offspring grew very fast, generally began to feed on tender grass in 10-15 days, and then came out of the nest to swim in the water 20 days later. After 30 days, the offspring could litter in batches. After nesting, the offspring should be fed with more tender grass to facilitate their feeding and digestion, and a little concentrate, such as steamed nest head, should be given, but the food should not be moldy.