Alright guys: Guinea Pigs?

[MentalSquint]

I know a lot of you folks are from Aus., and can't raise rabbits. I know the Peruvians have raised guinea pigs for food, and continue to do so. So much that the market has taken off in the US. I know it's a sensitive issue to people who raise them as pets, just like rabbits, quail, fish, chickens, etc. Are they a viable meat option to rabbits? Are there any laws in Aus. prohibiting this?

From what I've read they can be kept on a well maintained diet without commercial pellets (although people with winters or a lack of a greenhouse or aquaponics system would have to resort to pellets or put up hay) , and a pair can yield up to 260 offspring in two years. I've also read that they don't dress out very easily, and that their fur is soft and lacelike. Unfortunately due to domestication the US, and I'd assume most of the world outside of areas in South America, don't have the larger breeds they usually use for meat production.

I'd assume that like rabbits their droppings can be directly applied to garden plants without burning them?

http://www.echotech.org/mambo/images...n/GuineaPi.PDF This is where I found most of the information.

[Dufflight]

Was reading an article about using fodder trays to grow feed for guinea pigs. Never thouth about why they needed so many. I've wanted to experiment with AP water and fodder production for generating mulch for other parts of the garden and feed for chickens. It could be one way of using AP to generate food for guinea pigs or rabbits, goats etc.

[grassroots]

Has anyone eaten guinea pig and if so what did you think of the preparation and taste?

Gwen

[Bidadisndat]

It's not the fact that they're normally considered pets that turns me off: It's all the flamin' work required for such a small ammount of meat! Then again, the same could be said about quail I guess, and they're a great barbeque item. Using the pelts to make a patchwork quilt would be a bit of fun too, wouldn't it?

[MarkEinOz]

Interesting article from a permaculture couple digging on the little swine!

http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/...27/2287792.htm

[GaryD]

Hi Mark,

You just took me one step closer to snacking on guinea pigs.

GaryD

[MarkEinOz]

Hmm likewise! Although my dear wife (who is a vego ) thinks I am becoming somewhat of a barbarian! Suppose I should take that as a compliment!

I have been poking around a few places online, and I think I have uncovered a "underground" GP breeders group that don't just keep them because they are cute. There is talk of a giant strain in Oz, which I will quantify and report back.

As an aside, we took the kids out to a wildlife funpark (former pheasant farm) - Gumbaya Park yesterday, and they had a 20'x20' pen with free ranging GP, and they had at one end which was split level a glassed in honeycomb maze underground for the critters to sleep in. Very cool, and those little guys looked about as happy as a GP can be.

[Bidadisndat]

Hey Barbarian, see if ya can collect a few recipes too!
Now, if Guinea Pigs could be upsized to the extent that rabbits such as these are......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f8y4SR9mjU

.....Bid...

[MarkEinOz]

Just to tempt you all, here is a episode of my most favourite barbarian - Andrew Zimmern - Bizarre Foods series
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuXKGuxB9Zc

This guy is awesome, how he traverses the globe immersing himself into the eating cultures of primarily lower socio economic folk - and helps to get the idea out of your head that you cant eat xyz critter because....

As his tag goes "If it looks good - EAT IT!"

[GaryD]

Hi,

I saw that Bizzarre Foods episode and while some of Andrew's adventures leave me cold, I remember thinking "why not?" when he ate the guinea pig......particularly when he likened the taste to shoulder pork.

Closer to home, I located this video on YouTube.....featuring Frank Fekonia from the Sunshine Coast. He and his partner Elisabeth eat guinea pigs.

I rang Elisabeth and she told me that, these days, Frank scalds the carcases in hot water to remove the fur (rather than skinning them).....and they've discovered that they prefer the taste with the skin on. Frank apparently only feeds the guinea pigs grass and legumes.

The benefits offered by guinea pigs (relative to farmed rabbits) include:

• Compact – a complete breeding and rearing system can be accommodated in a few square metres.
• Fit in nicely with a 30 day production cycle.
• Lean, nutritious meat .
• Easily processed – can be scalded and hair scraped off or skun like a rabbit. Use a sandwich maker to cook – use a marinade.
• No prohibitions – unlike rabbits.
• Readily integrated into a Microponics system.
• Hardy – don’t contract myxamatosis or calicivirus like rabbits.
• Able to be fed a home-grown diet – including the coarse grass that grows on our place.
• Housing – on wire or on the ground
• Multiplies rapidly – though not as fast as rabbits.
• Unlike rabbits, they don’t gnaw or jump……and nor do they bite (often).

The only real issue is the 'Bambi' Syndrome where people will see them as pets rather than food.....even though they were originally domesticated in South America as a food source.

GaryD