I. Basic conditions
The conditions for building farms should adapt to the biological characteristics of raccoons, so that raccoons can grow, reproduce and produce fur products normally under artificial feeding conditions.
1. Feed conditions: wide sources, easy to obtain and transport, good quality and low price. The key point is to arrange the source of animal feed.
2. Natural conditions: The carcass yard should be built in Gao Shuang, with sufficient sunshine, ventilation, dryness and convenient drainage. The water source must be clean enough, preferably for human consumption.
3. Social and environmental conditions: The carcass yard should be selected in places with good traffic conditions such as roads, railways and waters, and the environment should be quiet. Raccoon farms should keep a distance of 500- 1000 meters from livestock farms and residential areas. Raccoon farm should be kept cool in summer to prevent heatstroke, and it should be leeward and cold-proof in winter.
II. Buildings and equipment
1. shed: it is a simple building to shelter from rain, snow and sun exposure. The roof can be covered with a herringbone or tilted on one side. It can be made of angle steel, wood, bamboo, masonry and so on. Can be covered with asbestos shingles, linoleum paper or barnyard grass. The canopy eaves 1.5-2m high and 2-4m wide can be flexibly controlled according to the size of the site or the number of feeding heads. The distance between the two sheds is 3-4m to facilitate operation and lighting.
2. Cage: Raccoon cages and cat litter boxes, with various specifications and styles. In principle, it is better not to affect the growth and development, normal activities and reproduction of raccoons and not to escape.
Raccoons are generally made of steel bars or angle steel, and barbed wire is also fixed with No.8 iron wire or wood square. The cage bottom is made of 12 iron wire, and the mesh is not more than 3× 3 cm; The periphery can use 14 iron wire, and the mesh is not more than 2.5×3 cm. Seed raccoon cages are generally 90×70×70 cm, and leather raccoon cages are generally 70×60×50 cm. It is better to have a bigger cage. The row spacing of cages should be 1- 1.5m, and the spacing should be 5- 10cm.
Catlitter boxes for raccoons are usually made of wood, bamboo or bricks. Generally, it is 60×50×45 cm, and it will be better to be bigger. The entrance and exit of the garbage bin should be 5 cm higher than the bottom of the box, and the diameter of the entrance and exit is 20-23 cm. It is best to provide a small wooden box for the raccoon to rest, generally 40×40×35 cm.
3. Fence: Raccoons can be kept in captivity. The ground of the pen house is paved with brick or cement, and the four walls can be made of masonry, or can be surrounded by iron sheets or smooth bamboo. Height 1.2- 1.5 meters, so as not to run away. There should be a cat litter box (the same as the cat litter box in captivity) in the enclosure for raising raccoons, which can be placed inside or outside the enclosure, and it is required to be 5- 10 cm from the ground.
During the breeding period, 1 raccoon pair or 1 female raccoon can be raised in a circle. Young raccoons can be raised in groups, and the feeding density is 1 per square meter, with a maximum of 10- 15 per circle. In order to ensure the quality of fur, it is necessary to cover it with a rain-proof and snow-proof cover. Otherwise, continuous autumn rain or manure pollution will cause plush tangles and seriously reduce the quality of fur. In order to prevent raccoons from competing for food, wasting feed and polluting plush, special round holes and fully enclosed feeders should be used to hold food.
4. Fence: In order to prevent raccoons from escaping and strengthen health and epidemic prevention and safety, a fence with a height of 1.5- 1.7 meters should be set around raccoon farms or cages. Fences can be made of masonry or surrounded by smooth bamboo, wooden sticks or iron sheets.
5. Other buildings and equipment: Raccoon farm should be equipped with feed storage and processing room, fur primary processing room, guard room, veterinary room, office, lounge and dressing and disinfection room. In addition, each cage should be equipped with drinking water and feeding utensils. Feed preparation and processing room should be equipped with scale, meat grinder, pulverizer, cooking, washing and feeding equipment. Raccoon farm also has catching, maintenance, cleaning, disinfection and other appliances.
Third, mating precautions
February-March every year, about 15, is the mating period of raccoons. Raccoons generally enter the estrus peak in late February, and mating begins to be busy. But the situation of 20 13 is somewhat abnormal. No matter in Tangshan, Qinhuangdao and other main breeding areas in our province, or Xingtai, Cangzhou and other non-main breeding areas, by the end of February, the number of estrus was very small, especially the raccoons who had just left, which made many farmers depressed or panicked, and some farmers in other places even gave up mating and breeding.
In fact, the mood of the breeder is understandable. The basis of special breeding income is breeding, and it is impossible to mate without estrus, which means the failure of breeding. But everything is constantly changing, and raccoon estrus is no exception. Due to the abnormal weather last winter and this spring, the average temperature is much lower than in previous years, and the key to promote raccoon estrus is timely temperature, which is the main external cause. Secondly, due to the sluggish fur market the year before last, the quality of breeding raccoons raised by farmers is generally not high, which leads to the "congenital deficiency" of the young raccoons produced, which is largely related to the slow estrus of the new raccoon (born in 2000) in 200 1 spring; Another factor is that in 2003, in order to pursue short-term benefits, some farmers blindly fed various additives with high hormone content, which led to changes in raccoon physiological system, such as estrus is not obvious or estrus is not obvious.
In view of the above situation, farmers need not worry too much. With the gradual warming of the weather, most raccoons can mate in estrus, but the time will be slightly delayed. As long as the mating is successful, the litter and its subsequent growth will not be affected. At the same time, in order to promote estrus, farmers can appropriately increase the food intake of raccoons (clear them in time after pregnancy), add 15g feed to each raccoon every day, and add vitamin E pills, one pill per meal, and feed more food such as green onions, instead of feeding once in the past, feed them twice a day. On this basis, the measures of heating and heat preservation should be strengthened. Raccoons that are not in estrus should be placed in a sunny nest, and the back, side and top of the nest should be covered with grass curtains or quilts as far as possible to increase the temperature of the raccoon and promote its estrus. In order to create a comfortable estrus environment for raccoons, farmers must not try and check the situation frequently, so as not to be counterproductive.
Finally, according to the weather trend in January, the deadline of 20 13 mating must be postponed, specifically, by 10 days compared with the normal year, that is, March 25th of 20 13. Therefore, farmers should make reasonable arrangements for raccoons to complete mating.
Four. Introduction and transportation of raccoons
The best time to introduce 1. is from 10 to 12.
2. Selection of improved varieties: the quality standard of breeding raccoons (Wusuli raccoon dogs) is that the male raccoon dogs are above grade 2 and the female raccoons are above grade 3, but the proportion of the third-grade female raccoons does not exceed 30% of the total, and the weight at the beginning of 10 is not less than 6 kg and the body length is not less than 60 cm; Being in good health, having been vaccinated against canine distemper and viral enteritis, and having obtained certain immunity; The male-female ratio of raccoons is1:2-3; Prepare the certification of raccoon species transfer.
3. Transportation: The main cause of death during transportation is continuous intense panic stimulation. Therefore, reducing panic stimulation is an effective measure to improve the survival rate during transportation.
Before transportation, you should prepare the cage for transportation. You can't transport them in sacks, because raccoons will bite sacks and run away. The transport cage can be made of wooden boards, barbed wire and bamboo cages; The transport cage should be suitable in size, easy to move and place, firm and durable, easy to observe outside the cage, provide water and food, and ensure air circulation. Its size is 50 cm× 25 cm× 30 cm, which can accommodate 1 raccoon. There should be a valve on one side of the cage for loading.
Before transportation, you should also prepare the feed, feeding and drinking tools used on the way; Raccoon catching, cage repair equipment, etc. During transportation, the light in the cage must be dimmed with black cloth or sacks to keep quiet and avoid strong noise stimulation. Don't visit on the way, and avoid staying in downtown or crowded places to avoid being scared. Provide proper feed and plenty of drinking water on the way, and be careful not to get wet by furry raccoons when drinking water to avoid catching a cold. On the way, there must be a special person to manage and care, pay attention to observation, and take measures immediately if any abnormality is found.
Market prospect of raccoon dog breeding;
At present, the raccoon industry is developing rapidly in China, especially in the three northeastern provinces, which are not only large in number and scale, but also collectivized, individualized and integrated with urban and rural areas. Shandong, Henan, Hebei and other provinces have also seen the "raccoon fever". However, in the current raccoon production, the body tends to get smaller. The main reason is that the relationship between input and output is unclear except for a few inbreeding degeneration phenomena. Most young raccoons grow up with low standards and low levels of food and vegetables. Due to the lack of necessary nutrition, young raccoons grow slowly, their bodies are thin, their back hair is inelastic and their colors and patterns are mixed. In this way, it presents a small and inferior raccoon dog, which has a bad influence on economic benefits and reproduction. In order to improve economic benefits and obtain high-quality large raccoons, we must attach importance to scientific feeding management.