Guinea pigs as livestock

[jandor123]

didnt someone say GPs taste like squirrel? ... i dont know if that as here or elsewhere but i coulda swore someone said they tasted similar.

Naw, everything tastes like chicken.. so why not just raise chickens? cut out the middle man...
They really arent much more trouble, they can be free range...let em run...eggs n meat..much better than just skinny furballs....

[walkswithgoats]

Naw, everything tastes like chicken.. so why not just raise chickens? cut out the middle man...
They really arent much more trouble, they can be free range...let em run...eggs n meat..much better than just skinny furballs....

i cant even think of how much more difficult chickens are to keep then guinea pigs.

even just dealing with a rooster and incubating or worryin over a broody hen is more difficult then my GPs. plus alot quiter, not smelly, and a WHOLE lot easier to keep alive.

[Leon]

didnt someone say GPs taste like squirrel? ... i dont know if that as here or elsewhere but i coulda swore someone said they tasted similar.

Squirrel tastes nothing like cuy.

By the way, I had a look at the herd for you. We found a few copper coat ones maybe see if you like them

[walkswithgoats]

yes i saw i'm so excited. the coppers look great. those creamy color ones are neat too.
whichever you think is best. big and meaty is first goal, coat color comes in second. i'm really hoping to try out a few lil furs to try and tan. small as they are i still think they would be nice little carrier bags if skinned off the animal correctly. or sewn together like a patchwork quilt would be interesting.
hahaha too many ideas and not enough time!

[walkswithgoats]

leon,
i've been watching your videos.... and i'm really curious about something.
how do you handle breeding? do you have one boar in each female pen at all times and switch em out for another boar every month or so?
you say in the comments that you are currently limiting their breeding? would love to know how and why.


also some random thoughts...
if the SHTF tonight and you really had to start living on what you have, is there any changes you would need to make with the GPs? like with the setup or how you feed?
are you feeding them all self sufficiently? i thought you said somewhere that you get store produce that they throw out. what would you do without that produce to feed them?


i am hoping to grow/forage/pasture all the GPs feed this spring/summer. and would really love to be able to put enough away for winter to feed them but that depends on how the garden grows this year.

[Leon]

leon,
i've been watching your videos.... and i'm really curious about something.
how do you handle breeding? do you have one boar in each female pen at all times and switch em out for another boar every month or so?
you say in the comments that you are currently limiting their breeding? would love to know how and why.



also some random thoughts...
if the SHTF tonight and you really had to start living on what you have, is there any changes you would need to make with the GPs? like with the setup or how you feed?
are you feeding them all self sufficiently? i thought you said somewhere that you get store produce that they throw out. what would you do without that produce to feed them?


i am hoping to grow/forage/pasture all the GPs feed this spring/summer. and would really love to be able to put enough away for winter to feed them but that depends on how the garden grows this year.

Well we keep all the males and females separated or they won't have much interest in breeding. We will select a female and a male and put them in a cage after a month or two, you get the best results that way. We are limiting how fast we do it so we're not dealing with hundreds and hundreds of babies at a time. Trust me, those two whole pens of females all pregnant at once? That would be crazy in there. if the SHTF right now, we'd definitely start breeding more of them, we could probably put out quite a bit of meat with that operation. If I had to use another food source I would just go to the ditches on the sides of the roads and cut grass or probably start a fast growing plot of some wild grasses and cut that. We also still forget to feed them all the vegetable peels and table scraps from both houses, we could put out some extra feed that way too.

[walkswithgoats]

ahh. i think in one video, or the video comments, you said something about the males not getting on well with the females and babies? i was curious what your experience was with that. i'm going to be keeping my longhair pair together the whole time so i'm curious. of course if there is bad fighting or something i will seperate them though.

got a new video of my GPs. camera decided to die for no reason so i couldnt get the longhair pair in it. she is HUUUUUUGE though! hahaha.


also, did you find that first time moms always had 1? because all of mine are firt timers BUT i'm pretty sure the longhair sow has 3 (at least 2 for sure i can feel), and i'm feeling the same for 3 of my other sows! the last one is new and possibly bred with last owner but not sure about her yet, i dont feel babies.
i started putting ACV (apple cider vinegar) in all the rabbits water and since i use the same water jugs they get it too. if anyone else has read things on ACV then you know how some people swear by it.

[Leon]

They sound really happy and I see you have your own agouti- that's where ours got that size, him and the copper boar who sired the rest. And as far as the males going after their babies, we keep them apart because the males can trample the young because they are about ten times their weight and size. We could but those males are super big compared to the rest of the present colony. I have seen on average four babies per new mother, the smallest we have ever had is three pups per litter. Hank says the most he has seen is 15! That female with the crest we have looks like she's going to sling about 6 this is her first litter. Kudos on the pen, that will definitely do it.

[walkswithgoats]

They sound really happy and I see you have your own agouti- that's where ours got that size, him and the copper boar who sired the rest. And as far as the males going after their babies, we keep them apart because the males can trample the young because they are about ten times their weight and size. We could but those males are super big compared to the rest of the present colony. I have seen on average four babies per new mother, the smallest we have ever had is three pups per litter. Hank says the most he has seen is 15! That female with the crest we have looks like she's going to sling about 6 this is her first litter. Kudos on the pen, that will definitely do it.

:O 15!!! the most i've ever heard of is 6! where on earth did he see a litter of 15! my gosh... i cant imagine how HUGE the sow must have been before she gave birth!

glad to hear about the agouti being large in your herd. i hope her babies hold true to that for me (:

[cecollie]

Hmmm....interesting thread. I had never thought of eating guinea pig before, but I suppose in a SHTF situation, I could. I grew up a farm kid, so I always knew the animals I raised (except the dogs and cats) were going to be eaten, so I had that mindset even as a child. I had GPs as pets before, so I'd need to change my mindset to be able to do it. But I think if I weren't the one slaughtering them, I could try it. I know, really wimpy.