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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Guinea Pigs as Survival Livestock
  • Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2008 21:42:12 -0600


Guinea Pigs as Survival Livestock
http://www.alpharubicon.com/primitive/guineapigsaf.htm

Please read the link above. It explains a lot!!! It helps to see
what this farmer decided about raising guinea pigs for food.

Below this you will find more information.

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 &#147;Criollo&#148; types, and up to 2.0 kg for the &#147;Giant&#148;
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.

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 &#147;country kitchens&#148; or bedrooms of family compounds
where they depend almost exclusively on kitchen scraps for their
sustenance. The term &#147;indoor livestock&#148; has thus been coined to
describe guinea pigs. Given its small size, the guinea pig is also
often referred to as a &#147;micro-livestock&#148; (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

&#147;It is well known that Peruvians eat guinea pig. Foreigners are more
reluctant to eat it as they see the animal as a pet,&#148; said Gloria
Palacios, director of La Molina National University&#146;s project to
promote guinea pig exports.

&#147;I think if they become familiar with the cuisine, maybe suddenly
they&#146;ll give in and be tempted to try it,&#148; she said. &#147;It is
really
delicious.&#148;

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.

ut earlier this year, La Molina university started exporting the
&#147;Peruvian Breed&#148; _ 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&#146;s National Institute of Agrarian
Investigation started the super-size guinea pig project in 1970.

http://businessideaoftheday.org/34/raise-micro-livestock-for-food-
and-sale

http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=1831&page=241
online book to read on raising guinea pigs
Cooking guinea pig(one recipe below)
You will need:

one clean guinea pig
onion
ground chili pepper and ground red chili pepper (both very spicy)
cooking oil
parsley
oregano
mint
huaycatay (an herb that tastes and smells like a blend of black mint
and marigold)
walnuts
salt
butter.

The recipe, obviously not one for the beginning cook, instructs you
to open the guinea pig ventrally, then to salt and drain it. After
salting and draining, remove the organs and intestines, but do not
wash the cuy anymore. Parboil the innards separately, then pierce
them and dress them with onion, chili pepper, and oil. In another
container, prepare a finely chopped mixture of the parsley, mint,
oregano, huaycatay, walnuts, and salt. Combine the mixture with the
cooked organs and intestines and stuff all that back into the body
cavity of the guinea pig. Coat the guinea pig with butter and ground
red pepper. Place the critter in a roasting pan and cook it in the
oven until its done.





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