Raise Micro-Livestock for Food and Sale
Guinea pigs are considered part of the micro livestock range of animals and are raised for their meat in Latin America, Asia and Africa. Raising Guinea pigs can be a profitable enterprise that can help to earn enough money to keep a small family out of poverty.
For centuries in the Andes region, the guinea pig has been a valuable source of animal protein and income (Morales 1994) for smallholder farmers. It has been estimated that there are 36 million guinea pigs in the Andean countries (Chauca de Zaldivar 1995). Emphasizing the traditional food value of guinea pigs, Vietmeyer (1984) reported that about 70 million guinea pigs are consumed each year in Peru alone. The rearing of guinea pigs on small farms in Latin America has even been shown to be more profitable than the rearing of either pigs or dairy cows (Huss and Roca 1982). With 20 breeding females and 2 males, a family of 6 can be provided with a year-round adequate supply of nutritious meat (National Research Council 1991). As farm animals for meat production, most of the research work on the breeding, feeding and other management techniques of guinea pigs has been carried out mainly in Latin America, especially in Peru.
In Latin America, mature guinea pig weights vary from 0.4 to 0.5 kg for the “Criollo” types, and up to 2.0 kg for the “Giant” or improved types (Chauca de Zaldivar 1995). Although guinea pigs have been successfully raised in many rural communities, they, like other forms of livestock, cannot be universally recommended. Instead, an effort should be made to assess their suitability under different ecological and socio-cultural settings.
Quality of guinea pig meat
The meat of the guinea pig is wholesome and delicious. It has a protein content of about 21%, which is higher than the protein content of poultry, pork, mutton or beef. Its fat content is about 8%, which is lower than that of each of the other meats mentioned above (Huss and Roca 1982).
In several countries, the traditional method of preparing guinea pig meat is to roast the whole eviscerated carcass over a low-burning fire with singed hairs being scraped off the skin with a dull knife. Alternatively, the entire body of the guinea pigs can be submerged in water that has been brought to boiling for several minutes. With the use of a dull knife, the hair can be more easily scraped off. With this procedure, the intestines are then removed and may be discarded or scrubbed clean and cooked separately or with the meat. The carcass is then cut into several pieces for cooking.
Under either method, there is very little waste: the skin, head, bones, lungs, liver and intestines are all consumed with the meat. Huss and Roca (1982) also estimated dressing percentage for farm-raised guinea pigs at 65%, while under improved experimental conditions, Cicogna et al. (1992) reported average dressing percentage of 76% at 15 weeks of age.
In some countries, the skin of the guinea pig is not an important by-product because it is often eaten along with the other edible parts. The guinea pig skins are sometimes used for the home manufacture of handbags, feed bags, knapsacks and house slippers (Huss and Roca 1982). The manure is useful as fertilizer or as a feed ingredient for other livestock. Regarding the latter, it is “naturally pelleted” and contains about 18% protein (Huss and Roca 1982).
Requirements of Guinea Pigs for space and equipment
Elaborate and sophisticated facilities are not required for rearing guinea pigs. Under most small farm conditions, guinea pigs are raised in the “country kitchens” or bedrooms of family compounds where they depend almost exclusively on kitchen scraps for their sustenance. The term “indoor livestock” has thus been coined to describe guinea pigs. Given its small size, the guinea pig is also often referred to as a “micro-livestock” (Vietmeyer 1984).
It has been found that guinea pig yields (reproduction and production) are normally much higher with more intensified production systems, but elaborate facilities are still not needed to achieve such intensification, especially since guinea pigs require very little space. Such low-cost intensification may involve the use of supplementary feeds and cages or pens. In Cameroon, Ngoupayou (1992) placed 10 females and 1 male in colony pens each measuring 1*0.3 m. In Latin America, pens are more commonly used for guinea pig rearing than cages (Huss and Roca 1982). Depending on the strain of guinea pig, about 10 to 15 reproducing females and 1 male, along with the nursing young, can be raised in one cage or pen measuring 1.5*1 m (Huss and Roca 1982). A wide variety of materials can be used for constructing pens for rearing guinea pigs. Solid walled pens can be constructed of wood, mud and cement bricks, and with mud or cement plastering. Cages can be constructed of wood, wire, metal or a combination of these materials.
Additional Information
“It is well known that Peruvians eat guinea pig. Foreigners are more reluctant to eat it as they see the animal as a pet,” said Gloria Palacios, director of La Molina National University’s project to promote guinea pig exports.
“I think if they become familiar with the cuisine, maybe suddenly they’ll give in and be tempted to try it,” she said. “It is really delicious.”
Peruvians consume an estimated 65 million guinea pigs each year. It is a dining experience that normally requires two hands to pick scant, sinewy meat from a bony carcass _ often with the head staring up from the plate.
But earlier this year, La Molina university started exporting the “Peruvian Breed” _ faster growing, plumper, tastier guinea pigs _ to the United States, Japan and several European nations that have large Peruvian immigrant populations.
The meat is high in protein and low in fat and cholesterol and has a distinctive flavor, similar to rabbit. Chauca and her team of researchers at La Molina’s National Institute of Agrarian Investigation started the super-size guinea pig project in 1970.
Archaeological evidence shows guinea pigs were domesticated in Peru as far back as 2500 B.C., and had deep cultural and religious significance. Guinea pigs are still a common tool of ritual healers, or “curanderos,” who use the animals to diagnose illnesses.
A 17th century native chronicler, Guaman Poma de Ayala, wrote that the Incas sacrificed 1,000 white guinea pigs along with 100 llamas in Cuzco’s main plaza each July “so that neither the sun nor the waters would harm the food and the fields.”
Additional Micro Livestock Animals
Chinchilla, long-tailed paca, jumping hare, Cavia porcellus, mara, New Guinea hamster rat, porcupines, South Sea rat, soft fur rat, Ratufa indica, squirrel, spider Myomorpha, Rattus coxingi, and Rhizomys sinensis.
Books Available
Micro Livestock-Little Known Small Animals With a Promising Economic Future by National Research Council
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2 Responses to “Raise Micro-Livestock for Food and Sale”
February 15th, 2008 at 11:03 am
I love this site. It is helping my family and I.
Thanks for the good work and informations.
We shall be here for a long time.
February 19th, 2008 at 6:39 am
I want to thank you for posting this article. As my husband’s social security check has gotten smaller, we’ve been looking for small animals to raise to extend our tight food budget.
We tried pot bellied pigs but we aren’t able to lift like we used to do.
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