Abstract

ESCOBAR-RAMIREZ, Felipe; ESPINOZA-OCHOA, Teodoro; HINOJOSA-BENAVIDES, Rene Antonio  and  DE LA CRUZ-MARCOS, Ruggerths Nilo. Partial and total substitution of fresh alfalfa for hay in the feeding of growing and fattening guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus): an alternative for the dry season. J.Selva Andina Anim. Sci. [online]. 2023, vol.10, n.1, pp.16-29.  Epub Apr 01, 2023. ISSN 2311-3766.  https://doi.org/10.36610/j.jsaas.2023.100100016.

During haymaking, fodder loses, among other things, vitamin C, to the extent that it is lacking in the daily diet of the guinea pig (Cavia porcellus). It is known that this vitamin is essential for guinea pigs because the guinea pig body does not synthesize vitamin C due to a lack of the enzyme L-gulono-1,4-lactone oxidase, resulting in a dependence on fresh or green fodder. In comparison to the information available on the use of fresh forage in guinea pig feeding, there is much less information based on experiences with hay feeding, a situation that motivated this study, with the purpose of evaluating the animal response to the total or partial substitution of fresh alfalfa (Medicago sativa) for hay, supplemented with commercial concentrate enriched with vitamin C. The trial was conducted with 27 male guinea pigs weaned at 3 weeks of age, and lasted 8 weeks. The animals were divided into 3 treatments with an equal number of replicates distributed according to a completely randomized design. The treatments were: T1 Fresh forage 15 % of body weight (BW), T2 Fresh forage 7.5 % BW + hay 1.5 % BW, T3 Hay 3.0 % BW, supplemented in all cases with commercial concentrate enriched with vitamin C administered at free choice. It was determined that by total or partial substitution of fresh forage by alfalfa hay, statistically similar results were obtained for dry matter intake level 3447, 3512 and 3738 g, body weight gain 790, 775 and 782 g, feed conversion 4.36, 4.53 and 4.64 and carcass yield 70.0, 68.2 and 69.9 %. It is concluded that alfalfa hay can totally or partially replace fresh alfalfa, taking care that another part of the ration (concentrate) provides a sufficient amount of vitamin C, a forage administration method that could be adopted as a new alternative for guinea pig feeding, mainly during the dry season.

Keywords : Cavia porcellus; consumption and weight gain per unit weight; carcass yield; muscle mass yield.

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