Guinea Pigs

The Guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) is a rodent and is considered a very promising "micro-livestock" species for rural development because it requires little capital, equipment, space and labour. It provides an inexpensive, readily available and high quality meat. From prehistoric times, it has been raised for food in the central highlands of the Andes region of Latin America. Guinea pigs are now also reared for meat in a number of countries in Latin America, Asia and Africa.

Quality of the Meat Reproduction Management

Although Guinea Pigs contribute to the supply of protein in the diets of people in developing countries, they have largely been neglected as a livestock species. Most research reports on Guinea Pigs, for instance focus on their role as laboratory specimens.

The meat of the Guinea pig is nutritious. It has a protein content of about 21%, which is higher than that of poultry, pork, mutton or beef, and has a lower fat content, at about 8%.

The female reaches sexual maturity more quickly than the male, and can be mated as early as from one to three months, depending on the strain and on nutritional background or status. However, mating at such an early age is not generally recommended because it often results in weak offspring, high death rate and stunted offspring. For optimum and sustained production, it is considered that females should be at least 3 to 4 months, and males 5 to 7 months of age before breeding is initiated. While the guinea pig has a life span of 6 to 8 years, and some can remain fertile up to this age, the maximum productivity for females is between 3 and 18 months.

The guinea pig is a monogastric herbivore, able to adapt to whatever food is available. In addition to the need for a regular supply of clean water, they can be fed exclusively on fodder, on a mixture of fodder and concentrates and on concentrates alone (with the addition of necessary vitamins and minerals).

Guinea pigs are not labour intensive and, due to their docile nature, they can easily be managed by women and children. However, the successful production of these animals does require the development of specific husbandry skills which relate to breeding (to select superior stock and prevent inbreeding), feeding (including use of concentrates), housing and disease control.

Due to the limited space requirements, guinea pigs can relatively easily be produced in urban environments.