Create a "family tree" for the bamboo rat

Bamboo rats, pets, are quite familiar to the residents of the bamboo-rich, sugarcane-rich highlands. And, a bamboo rat breeding farm is establishing a "family tree" for bamboo rats, ensuring each breeding rat is of the best quality.

Ms. Tuyen and the adult bamboo rat

The bamboo rat breeding farm of Ms. Tran Thi Tuyen, Nam Hiep 1 village, Ka Do commune, Don Duong district, is built like other breeding farms. The farm is a simple, airy house, inside are bamboo rat breeding tanks made from ceramic tiles. Ms. Tuyen said that bamboo rat breeding houses can be used from any construction site. Bamboo rat breeding tanks, made from old ceramic tiles, discarded ceramic tiles, and substandard ceramic tiles from construction sites, are purchased at very cheap prices. However, Ms. Tuyen specifically numbers each breeding tank with the goal of managing the "genealogy" to avoid inbreeding. Ms. Tuyen said that bamboo rats, like other livestock, the farther they are crossbred, the better the quality of the breed. Therefore, establishing a "genealogy" for the bamboo rat herd is a very necessary activity to ensure healthy breeds.

Originally a resident of Ka Do vegetable land, in 2020, Ms. Tuyen decided to raise more bamboo rats after realizing that vegetable prices were unstable and farmers were suffering a lot. After learning from many breeding farms and the internet, Ms. Tuyen imported bamboo rats from a licensed farm. She said that from only five initial pairs, she now has two breeding farms, and the number is increasing day by day because bamboo rats reproduce very quickly. Her breeding farm sells bamboo rats for meat, however, mainly bamboo rats for breeding due to the high demand from customers. Not hybrid bamboo rats or large pink-cheeked bamboo rats, the farm's bamboo rats are native bamboo rats, small, weighing only 2 kg/each but eating little, easy to raise and growing quickly.

While dividing bamboo into individual cages for the rats, Ms. Tuyen said that the mother rats will start to reproduce after eight months. The rats are pregnant for 45 days, and after giving birth, they will continue to raise their babies for another 45 days. After the baby rats are 45 days old, they will be separated from their mother and live independently, and the mother rats will continue to mate. Therefore, a year, rats can give birth to 3-4 litters, each time from 2 to 4 babies. A mother rat can give birth to 8-10 babies in a year. Because rats reproduce very quickly, it is very important to keep detailed records of each parent rat. Ms. Tuyen numbers each cage, specifically monitoring male and female rats, mating dates, and birth dates... to avoid duplicate mating. She said that because rats live in individual cages, managing mating and avoiding inbreeding and inbreeding will be easier for the breeder.

“The bamboo rat eats very little, mainly a few pieces of bamboo every day, you can add a few pieces of sugar cane and a few corn kernels. It eats little, is easy to care for, reproduces quickly, grows quickly, this pet is really suitable for farming families with little land and little time” - Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyen commented. According to her, raising bamboo rats is clean and odorless, and does not affect the environment of the surrounding residents. Every day, she takes the time to cut bamboo around her living area, which is enough for the bamboo rat to eat. At the same time, she also plants sugar cane around the house, each bamboo rat cage only needs a small piece of sugar cane to provide enough nutrition for them. Therefore, raising bamboo rats costs very little in food costs. Importantly, it is only necessary to control environmental hygiene, clean the bamboo rat cage when the amount of waste increases. For her, she cleans the cage 3 times a week, ensuring that the bamboo rat cage is always clean.

“A female bamboo rat starts to reproduce after 8 months, and can give birth continuously for six years. After that, it is necessary to replace the female bamboo rat. Male bamboo rat needs to be replaced continuously, like in my family, we replace the male bamboo rat once a year to ensure there is always a new gene source. Non-inbred bamboo rat breeds will be healthy, easy to raise, raising bamboo rat meat or raising bamboo rat to provide breeding for people are both very effective,” Ms. Tuyen shared. At the same time, Ms. Tuyen always pays attention to covering the bamboo rat with nets to prevent mosquitoes from biting the bamboo rat, causing the bamboo rat to scratch, causing dermatitis. She said that bamboo rat has a face with little hair, making it susceptible to mosquito bites. When the sun has just set, the net must be covered very carefully to prevent mosquitoes from attacking the bamboo rat, helping the bamboo rat to stay healthy.

Currently, the demand for raising bamboo rats is very high. Ms. Tuyen sells bamboo rats for meat at 600,000 VND/kg, bamboo rats raised for breeding for 4 months, weighing 500 grams/rat are priced at 1 million VND/pair. Bamboo rats ready to breed are priced at 1.8 million VND/pair. Every month, she sells bamboo rats, which is a steady source of income for her family.

Mr. Huynh Van Quang - Secretary of the Party Committee of Ka Do commune, Don Duong district, assessed that although Ka Do is a land specializing in growing commercial mulberry trees, recently, farmers in Ka Do have also made many changes in production. People have chosen more effective crops and livestock to enrich agricultural production. The bamboo rat breeding model of Ms. Tran Thi Tuyen's family is also a successful model of Ka Do farmers, helping people have more choices to increase family income.

Source: http://baolamdong.vn/kinh-te/202406/lap-gia-pha-cho-dui-moc-29127f3/