Abstract
The study evaluated the effect of the energy supplementation on the optimal culling age of guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) in the Peruvian highlands. Two hundred guinea pigs of 4 weeks old were distributed in fours treatments during 13 weeks: forage ad libitum (T0), forage ad libitum plus 10 g barley grain/animal (T1), forage ad libitum plus 7 g sunflower seed/animal (T2), and forage ad libitum plus 5 g barley grain and 3.5 g sunflower seed/animal (T3). A randomized complete block design, with initial live weight defining the block, and 5 experimental units of 10 animals each, was applied. The energy supplementation improved body weight gain and feed conversion index (p<0.05), whereas the combination of sunflower seed and barley grain had an additional effect on body weight gain (T3) and the inclusion of sunflower (T2) on feed conversion index (p<0.05). The energy supplementation had no effect on production cost, benefit/cost ratio or optimal culling age.
| Translated title of the contribution | Effect of the inclusion of barley grain and sunflower seed in a forage diet on the optimum culling age of Guinea pigs |
|---|---|
| Original language | Spanish |
| Pages (from-to) | 25-31 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Revista de Investigaciones Veterinarias del Peru |
| Volume | 24 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| State | Published - 2013 |
| Externally published | Yes |