Guinea Pig question
 

I have a non-pet question here. Guinea pigs are from South America and were brought to Europe by the Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century. At that time, they were a major food source. I have heard that the pets we have today are smaller modified version of the 'food cavies'. I was wondering if anyone here has eaten guinea pig before, or knows where to get the larger meat variety, or what they are called? I have the ARBA books and such, but this specific info is not provided.
what I do know, is guinea pigs are alot easir to breed than rabbits.

Guinea pigs are not easier to breed than rabbits. They produce a whole lot less as well, having a gestation of 60-70 days and an average of 3 per litter. I raised them in the past and besides for show/pets, they are pretty useless.

Cavies are harder to keep, needing a solid bottom and dry shavings. Their nutritional requirements are more, as they are unable to produce their own Vit C as rabbits do. Both the vitamin C and the shavings add up. I can't produce a cavy for under $4, but i can produce a good sized rabbit, ready to eat for under $4. As for size, some show breeders are going for size. The oe that comes to mind is Jim McCorpin who raises black americans. His cavies are larger than most americans I've seen, especially the boars. The largest I've had was a lemon/agouti tri sow that weighed right under 4 pounds. Given she was a fat one, but abreeder none the less.

I do realize that they have less babies, but the babies are easier to keep alive. rabbits being born naked and helpless are hard to keep alive. the mother has them on the wire, or the open ground, the mother squashes them, or pees on them, or eats them. Ive had alot of rabbits over the years, and Ive had some good mothers, and some bad mothers, but overall, Ive lost twice as many babies as have lived, easy.
I also used to have guinea pigs as pets. The two moms always had 2 to 4 babies, and the babies, being born fully furred and ready to go, hit the ground running and always lived. back then, I kept them in wire cages, no shavings needed. they lived a real long time, but they were small. I wonder if they would do good in an outside enclosure?

http://www.echotech.org/technical/te...s/GuineaPi.PDF
This is a great article. On page 6 it goes over slaughter cavies and how to use cavy meat. I found it by doing a web search for cavy meat. It was #8 on my yahoo search.
Best wishes!
~Carrie C.

Cavies shouldn't be kept on wire. Their feet aren't furred, thus enabling them to blister very easily. Also, growing them to 2 pounds(with good stock) will take a good 12 weeks. If you have a single sow, she can give you about 5 litter a year back to back. At 3 each, thats 15 kits, LV at 30 pounds. A good doe will have 5 litters, at 6 each litter, and if you loose half(which is a real problem), you'd have the same 15 young,but X times th LV, at 60 pounds.

I honestly have never eaten them and don't want to, I'm just throwing the numbers out there to show that rabbi can out-perform GP's any day.

really not sure on weather or not GP's are smaller now than they were before but some how i doubt it, but who knows,

yes GP's can live in outside enclosures, you can also get some of thoughs big round livestock water troughs and keep them in there,
i dont know how thier burrowing skills compair to a rabbit but they do like to hide in tunnels and such, you could set up a colony and build them a matrix/warren for them to hide/give birth in,
get the biggest beeding stock you can find and selectively breed to a good size, i have seen grilled GP and it doesnt look like it is that much differint than rabbit just smaller,
but honestly if you are looseing half or more of your rabbits then something is going really wrong.

guinea pigs
 

I have rabbits and it has been years since I have have guinea pig, but if I remember right you have to keep them in a fairly warm place and they will die if they get chilled. I do remember their smell after a couple days when the cage wasn't cleaned out also. Sure some does are better moms than others, but those not so good ones go into the freezer. I like to have babies born during this time of the year and don't worry about freezing. I have one doe that 2 weeks ago had 9 which are all growing and doing fine and today had a doe that has at least 6. 15 rabbits plus a few that are already in the freezer will do us until late winter when they will be bred for early spring kits.

Yeah, I've talked with folks who've visited South America and guinea pigs are apparently still popular in some areas as a food source.

Bob Whitman, ARBA director in TX, recently imported some "giant" guinea pigs that weigh about 4 pounds as adults. They aren't on his website (www.rarebitsandpieces.com), but you could always email him.... :D

well, when a person first starts in rabbits, you learn the hard way about losing babies. I know now, that to find a good rabbit mother is not easy. one reason why I dont mess with purebreds anymore. I dont know how many times Ive wasted money on a young'in, or a pregnant doe to have them not even care that babies just fell out of themself. probably 4 of 5 does that Ive ever had over the course of 8 years either has the babies on the wire, or pees in the box, or cannibalizes the babies, or squashes them in the first 48 hrs. Ive had mini lops, regular lops, neatherland dwarfs, dutchs, french angoras, florida whites, californias, harlequins, and himalayans, plus my share of mixes. the angoras, and the regular lops were the best mothers. the florida whites were the worst. my best doe ever was a neatherland dwarf with only half an ear and 1 1/2 feet. she was given to me due to her deformities. she was mean as a wolverine. I would love to have full size satins and rexs, but unless I get them for free, or hit the lottery, I'll never waste my money on purchasing rabbits again.
thats why I thought Id look into guinea pigs instead.

VERY informative article, carrie c. thanks

Before you knock the animals, perhaps you should read up on rabbits and breeding. There are people here who can help. It's obvious it's something you are doing wrong. While I've had bad moms, I've had under 10%. A good, bred doe from a producing line will runno more than $20, less than two guinea pigs. If she doesn't work out, eat her and you'd just be out $12.

I breed both rabbits and cavies. Rabbits have heat cycles that are spurred by putting them in with the male. You can pretty much stick a male and female together and know you're going to have kits in a month. Not so with cavies. Cavies have regular heat cycles and it's impossible to tell when a cavy is in heat. You put a male in with the female and leave it there until she starts getting fat. Rabbits kindle in 30 days and have an average of 8 kits, which weigh an average of 4-6 lbs at 12 weeks. Cavies kindle in 63 days (once they're bred), have an average of 2 kits, and at 12 weeks, you'd need a whole lot of them to make a meal. Domesticated cavies have little to nothing in common with their south american Patagonian relatives. My biggest american boar weighs less than 2 lbs. Cavies are not hardy, can't tolerate low or high temps, aren't that great of mothers. Cavies are not livestock, they're pets, or in my case, a hobby to show at ARBA and ACBA shows.

i am glad someone else pointed out that the problems had with bad rabbit mothers is probably something that was in the managment of the breeders, and i second the motion,

i am sure lots of the folks here can help you figure out what is going wrong with your rabbit breeders just let us know what has been going on and we can help

I appreciate the offer of assisstance, but after 8 years of having rabbits on a large scale, I dont think management has much to do with it. (but hey, what do I know?) I think its just I am unlucky with rabbits. this is apt to be a little long, but since you asked, I will give a few examples as to why I think this.

when I first started in rabbits, my friends grandfather bred rabbits for Uncle Bills pet center here in indianapolis. he had neatherland dwarfs, lops, mini lops and harlequins. he had stack hutches in his garage. probably 30 of them. those rabbits lived in the most deplorable conditions you can imagine. the man was handicapped and was unable to put forth the time it took to clean cages and such. he did this for 7 years, and rarely if ever had a failed breeding or kits that died. he kept meticulous records. I spent alot of time learning things from him. despite his inability to keep things sanitary, the man was a breeding genius. when he died of a heart attack, I bought some of his equip. and breeders from his grandaughter. Cleaned it all up real good, and carried on. I had breeding success probably 98% and kits that lived, 50%. the mother almost always smashed them in the first week.
later on I got some angoras, which were very good breeders, no problems there. my last female angora just died last year of old age. she was maybe 10.
this wa all over the course of about 4 years, so I had many rotating generations.

So I moved a couple times, and sold most of my stock. then I bought some florida whites and californians from a guy that was selling out. most were horrible breeders. I have one doe left that I keep, becasue she is a good companion rabbit for younger does and has a permenantly dislocated knee. She was my old angoras companion until she died. I have bred her probably 15 times, and only once has she ever had a successfull litter (3). The only female in that litter only ever had one succesful litter of 4. of which I still have all 4. I realize I should probably ditch them, but the father was an ace in the hole, an these 4 babies are exactly what I want. The one female has yet to breed. I am hoping she left her mothers side of horrible breeding ability behind, since her father is off the winningest line of mini lops in the state. and he is dead now. If she doesn't I'll get rid of them. the californians never did have babies that lived, so I sold them and ate some.
There were plenty of others. except for now, Ive always had 30 to 60 rabbits. I gather that the meat rabbits my have just been a bad buy, but my aunt, who has a farm here has also had many a florida white and californian, as her kids show rabbits in 4-h. she has never had success in breeding. her problem is likely bad management.
the lops and neatherland dwarfs I had always had an average of 8 to 12 rabbits. I had a black dwarf that regularly had 10 to 14, and mostly all lived.

Ive had all manner of hutches, stack, strip, solid bottom, wire bottom, singles, inside, outside, and I have a ground harem now. the kit survival is no better. I've had 3 litters die on the open ground, and 2 or 3 litters live. other than the old florida white and her daughter, I have 2 dwarf mixes that are the ones breeding well. I also have the devil in the body of a dutch. I dont want to get rid of her until I see one breeding. it has been my experience that the meanest does make the best mothers. currently, though, I dont have a buck aggressive enough to take her. As some of you know, my main buck passed away this summer. :Bawling:
I know it sounds like I have practically none right now, but unfortunatly, those that have been born have been 95% male. Ive got plently of great bucks, I always have. (Well, none could ever hold a candle to old cookie. he was the best I ever had. The 3 sons I have off him now arent nearly as dominant as he was. He couldve bred the evil dutch doe I have now)
Last year, I sold everything I had, except for the old florida white, the old angora, and a few bucks. This spring I had given to me the 2 dwarfs, and the dutch. I really want to have rabbits on a large scale again, I am just very hesitant to buy anything, after all Ive been through.


most of the time in the past, when I have had kit death, it has been becasue the mom smashed them, or peed on them. I have 20 books on rabbits, I used to be an ARBA member. Ive used, new equipment, old equipment, all pellets, natural diet, cheap pellets, expensive pellets.
So, my conclusion, is except for in the very beginning, and not even then too much, I just have bad luck with rabbits.

I give every one of my females three chances to get the whole mothering process down. If they can't keep their kits alive after three tries, they're culled. Nearly every one of my rabbits lost their first litter, usually from inexperience. They just don't get it the first time. Rabbits aren't the brightest animals. They fail to pull hair, they have their kits outside the box, they step on them, they ignore them. Then, the next time, they have it figured out and all the kits are fine. My smaller rabbits, netherlands and dutch, prefered regular nest boxes with the slanted opening and a small roof, my large breeds all prefer dropped boxes so my cages for them all had dropped areas the box fit into. At least with rabbits that lose a litter, you can rebreed them immediately and give them another chance.

Lonelyfarmgirl, I know you have had some really disappointing experiences with rabbits and if you feel that you are going to be better off raising guinea pigs, there is nothing wrong with that.

BUT, this beng a rabbit forum, you are going to raise people's hackles... it's just human nature.

Personally, I feel that when raising rabbits for one's own use, some good mutts can't be beat. I had one first-time doe lose her whole litter of six... but other than that, losses have been no more than one kit dragged out onto the wire in perhaps half the litters kindled... compared to perhaps 60 or 70 healthy, bouncing kits that have fed us very well for the past eighteen months. (I'd have to comsult my records for a more accurate count, but that is a conservative estimate.)

Perhaps you have been unlucky in your breeding stock... or perhaps you are missing some essential detail of rabbit husbandry... or perhaps not. But it seems to me that other people here are not experiencing similar problems.

Go ahead and give the guinea pigs a try. If they do great, you'll know it was your rabbit breeding stock that was the problem. If they don't do any better than your rabbits, then you will want to review your management protocols.

No one here wants to dump on you because you have had bad luck with rabbits... but those who are NOT having these problems (myself includued) have to wonder WHY you are experiencing so many long term problems. One thing that springs to mind, in closing, is your water supply. Any chance it is the problem? You might want to have it analyzed!

the drop cage thing is a good idea. I saw one that a friend had once, and wanted it. I thought of building some, but it never happened.
maggie, I never thought of the water thing. I wonder how that would affect an animal internally as to cause kit care problems? I think I will look into that. thanks for the suggestion.

Certainly can't hurt to have the water analyzed... especially if it is the water you are drinking too!

Bad genetics is the first thing that usually comes to mind when people say they're having trouble with breeding, but with so many different breeds, probably not. How old were your does when you first tried breeding them?

The feed could be causing problems too...are you using a decent brand? Is the feed fresh?

:shrug:

something that springs to mind for me is what size and type is your nest box? if the does are squishing the babys is there enough room for her to get in there with them? do they put the nest far enough back in the box so that the nest is not right in front of the opening?
what is going on in side the rabbitry? is there outside stresses to keep the rabbits on edge?

This is kind of a cool site with information on how people raise a number of different types of small livestock in third-world countries. There's a rather significant section on guinea pigs. http://www.fao.org/ag/AGAinfo/subjec...s/contents.htm

Thanks for the link, Laura. That is a great site and I had it bookmarked once upon a time... but lost it somehow. I'll enjoy checking it out again.

well, the first few years I did it was probably a result of inexperience. I know I had good breeders then. When I sold and started again, Im sure the florida whites were just bad genetics. thats why I got rid of them all except the old doe. She has a messed up leg, so last time I bred her, I put her in a soft bottom cage with no box. the babies she had all stayed in one spot, but she still squished them. shes just a bad mom. no matter about her. I kept her for other reasons. The other doe that I have breeding was given with a litter on the ground. she is a dwarf mix. she does ok, and her daughter is only just now old enough. I want to get back into rabbits on a large scale again, but I thought Id investigate guinea pigs, because of the bad experiences and troubles Ive had the second time around.
Id really like to get angoras again. I had good luck with them, but I also want satins or rexs. how the heck do you determine if you are buying good breeders or not, especially if you buy them young? when I bought those florida whites and californias before, the guy had many generations of his own, breeding records, etc..and it clearly was a bogus buy.

currently all the rabbits are in a ground pen with warrens, no boxes. Ill be building some new boxes and caging them for the winter possibly.
And no, the food is not the problem. they have a wonderful diet.

Ill check out the link,thanks

It is very tough and dis heartening when things don't go well with any animal we own.But sometimes,a person just needs to change gears for awhile,take a breath,as it were,and then try again later...or maybe not.I detect tones of "burnout" in your thread,it does indeed happen with animals,as well as our jobs,ect.If your heart is happy by trying to do the pigs,I say go for it.This is your life,your hard earned money spent,and YOU who is cleaning cages,banging out ice from waters in the winter...and most importantly,YOUR heart that is affected by witnessing failed kindlings,and death when life was your intention.You should do what makes you smile,whatever that may be.Good luck to you !

u r not breeding guinea pigs for butcher!!!!!!

and why not??? they were found on dinner plates way before the idea of a pet mentality ever occured to anyone,

I had talked to hubby about Guinia pigs for meat after stumbling across the fact that they are livestock in Peru. He said "NO" he was afraid that the entire PETA would camp our house. lol. I'm quite sure you would find a market for them but I really don't know how cost efficient raising them for meet would be, perhaps maybe you could get a pet contract....

There are big guinea pigs out there, its a matter of looking for them.

as to their ease of raising, easy enough to raise them, they do have their own issues though.

and yes, the babies hit the ground running, but still need momma's milk for the first bit.

They can be raised outside quite successfully, in the winter I add a light and bring them under good shelter, and put them on guinea pig food. Just a 40 watt bulb seems to do the trick. In the summer I keep them out on the grass where they are THE MOST efficient lawn mowers around - and switch them to rabbit food.

I don't breed for winter litters with piggies though with the right set up I probably could.

Have I eaten one? no.
would it be doable? probably, they are chunky beasts. Biggest I ever got was 3.5 lbs. Most are 2-3 max.

Overall I find that colonies of three sows to one boar works really well. Removing the babies at three weeks. boys to one area, girls to another. (but that's when I sell them or turn them over to a pet store).

They aren't an easy buck by no means. If you had enough of them to buy feed cheaply and had a ready source to selling the offspring it could be financially feasible.

1 bag of guinea pig food costs $20
the babies sell for $10 each, with 1-5 pups per litter.
Takes a couple of months to get pups, you'll feed (for three sows, one boar) 2-3 bags of feed IF you are also supplementing with hay. so for $40-60 you'll get averaging 10 pups, $100. THAT"S if your boar doesn't suddenly drop dead on you (which happens more oft than you'd think). So it takes you three months to get $40.

I currently do better than that with the rabbits.

I raise piggies for one reason only...my son likes to sit and watch them. well..that and the wheeking they do. makes me smile. :)

The cavy that is raised for meat by other countries is called a Cuy guinea pig and it is illegal to import them to the US. Just so you know. There are a few cavies I've seen that have gotten to 3 and 4 lbs, but they are rare and the owners seldom choose to give them up.

they wouldnt be a LARGE source of meat, but there is no reason they couldnt be used to supplement a raw feeding diet for someones dogs or cats, or as a novelty treet for dinner,
my ex and i had a couple for a while, we ended up feeding them mostly a fresh diet of greens, weeds, grass, whole grain, guineapig food, hay and oranges, the male was neuterd though so we didnt get any litters, they did good though,

I would have no problem having piggie for a meal but for one problem...ever tried skinning one? NOT an easy task by any stretch of the imagination. makes me think that there is a reason why when I see pics of them they are often roasted over a fire with skin/fur intact. The logistics of that currently make me go...ah...no.

are the skins just on tight or ist it cause its such a small carcass?

i needed my fillet knife to get the skin off, plus they are difficult to hold.

interesting thread
 

I have seen a couple shows on satellite tv that showed folks eating them in china and Philippines, I believe, they said they tend to raise them without a pen under their houses, which were built up from the ground a foot or two, and feed them a little, enough to keep them there. then catch them to eat when needed. it showed them skinned cleaned, skewered and deep fried, looked scrumptious, they weren't spending money raising them. I don't know any body that ever had real good luck with litters when raising rabbits on the ground with underground warrens. I've herd several people do it because of one reason or another, but there is no control of breeding or anything for that mater so I don't believe this would work for me. I like a cage for each, so I can handle them alot and treat them as needed, best wishes, ray

in Chili down in South america where GuinePigs originated as a table item they keep them inside the house, saw documentary where this small family dewlling had a central fire pit lots of guineapigs running around and they just grab up one when they need one to eat,

as to the colony keeping of rabbits i am one of the few that do and it works just fine for me, but your right its not for everyone,

I started this thread more than 3 years ago..wow! have I come a long way! now I have some of the top tan lines in the country, know all about and keep rare breeds, and have rex good enough to compete with anyone who wants to step to the table.
Its amazing what a few years, and a bit of study can do to someone who is determined to succeed. watch out for what I'll bring to the arba convention in indianapolis in 2011!

top notch
 

heres what I agree with, When the world says, "Give up,"
Hope whispers, "Try it one more time."
~Author Unknown,best wishes, ray

I've eaten capybara while in Brasil - was 32 yrs ago so can't exactly describe how it tasted other than great! Capybara are related to guinea pigs.

hah! just saw your note, Amanda, about this thread being 3 yrs old. Feels kinda funny to have just replied! And congrats on the significant progress you've made. I thought your rabbitry looked quite fine when I saw it last summer.

thanks, you should see it now. I have a building. what a difference!

Anyone now raising guinea pigs for meat? I'd appreciate your feedback.

Mac_

raising guinea pigs for personal food? nope....
will raise them for the snake people though. :)