Someone said guinea pigs are probably the easiest animals to farm
They bread so much if you start with a few in 6 months you will have hundreds
You just have to have a place for them to keep warm, well insulated
They are much easier to fed than almost any other animals which is why in South America many households have a pig herd which they feed scraps and they are a good source of meat, you can also use the skins for all sorts of things
They literally run all around the kitchen floor, live underneath the cupboards and are fed veggie peelings and scraps. Once in a while they eat some of them.
They even slaughter them fresh in the restaurants.
I heard there is a Peruvian restaurant in London that started serving them? (Before lockdown)
If I wanted to eat them I would definitely Tey to farm them (on home scale), however I don't actually fancy eating them 😅
African Giant snails are even easier to farm at home - they will get fat on any fruits and vegetables you give them. And breed like locust.
I have kept locust in the past, as food for my exotic animals back when I was allowed to to that, I.e. living at uni (no mum) and not married (no wife)
I have tried eating locusts once - just like dry skinny shrimps - nothing special but a valuable source of protein in some areas (either you eat them or they eat all your crops. In Yemen they were selling them fried as snacks in a take away shop
As for the snails, again at uni, one student from African was trying to convince me they are delicious, you just have to scrape the slime, but the meat is yummy. So he said - still haven't tried them though
Thank you macro7
Very useful info
I want to find that restaurant in London after lockdown
Here is one info about guinea pigs
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Guinea pigs, or 'cavies', are short-tailed, rough-haired South American rodents (family Caviidae).
Why are guinea pigs one of my favorites? Here are 10 reasons guinea pigs make great free range farmed meat animals.
1. Guinea pigs are hardy. When cared for and fed properly, guinea pigs are generally very healthy animals. Also, since guinea pigs are from cool climates, they don't do well in hot, humid conditions. Keeping them outside with insulation from cold lessens the likelihood that they?ll overheat and/or dehydrate. As long as they always have somewhere for shelter and water they can forage for food themselves.
2. Guinea pigs are easy to care for. They require hay, fresh water, fresh vegetation and they will keep your lawn down so you don't have to cut your grass. They also need a fairly large cage lined with paper-based bedding. The cage needs to be spot-cleaned often and completely cleaned monthly. Add some daily attention and they are good to go. Just remember, unless you want to end up with several hundred little additional guinea pigs in no time at all, you?ll need to separate males from females even before they are a month old!
3. Guinea pigs are great animals for meat. Not as fragile or as lean as rabbits and generally less skittish than smaller rodents like hamsters and gerbils, guinea pigs are wonderful meat. You can see where they get their name from they really are similar to tiny pigs once you take the fur off. Just like pigs they can be eaten head to tow everything once you have gutted it.
4. Guinea pigs live long lives. While most hamsters, gerbils and rats live only two to three years, on average, most guinea pigs live five to seven years and some have even lived into their teens. This is why a handful of them can turn into hundred in a short time and then they multiply exponentially as they carry on breeding for much longer than say rats. You will find it hard to eat and give away faster than their numbers increases.
5. Food is cheap and easy for them. Pretty much any vegetation can be gathered for your pig herd. Grass or similar is perfect and add common veg sometimes for variety. If you can let them run on green land they will forage themselves.
6. Guinea pigs breed fast and often and as has been said carry on breading for long times. Which is why your herd can grow so much and the young are quite hardy soon after birth, females even look after each others young ones.
7. Guinea pigs are colorful. Short-haired, long-haired, even hairless - guinea pigs come in various breeds with fur of all lengths, colors and patterns. According to the American Cavy Breeders Association, there are 13 breeds and 10 basic colors of guinea pigs. This fur can be used for all kinds of craft projects and insulation.
8. Poop is amazing compost. Yes, you can compost guinea pig droppings & their bedding (assuming their bedding is something like paper, straw or woodshavings). As vegetarian animals, rabbit poop from healthy guinea pigsdoes not pose a significant health risk (unlike meat-eating animals like cats and dogs) so it can be added to the compostheap.
9. Preparing them for the plate is quick and easy. Just slit the throat to bleed it, drop it in boiling water which makes it easy to take the fur off. Then gut and wash it that's all you are ready to cook. It's very tasty and enjoyable to eat.
10. Guinea pigs make great first animals to breed. Given their low-maintenance care, overall hardy nature, easy to find food and generally long lifespans, guinea pigs make a terrific first animal choice for families who want an animal that is easy and rewarding but can't provide the degree of care that a larger animal requires.
A cuy pronounced cooey a South American name for guinea pig. This endearingly cute and tiny animal is highly regarded among South American indigenous cultures and is utilized in several ways, but primarily as a food source. Here, cuy serves as a good source of low-on-the-food-chain animal protein as some feel the higher up the food chain the higher the toxicity build up. It is also used in spiritual practices and healing ceremonies, performed on the patient by a healer. Many family?s keep a cuy farm in their backyard, where they raise about hundreds of these furry rodents to sell and to eat. They breed very fast and are easy to feed on almost any vegetation.
The preparation of the cuy was interesting, but gruesome. For this meal, most families need two or three cuyes to feed a modest sized extended family. They quickly slit their throats, while the animal is happy so no fear chemicals in the meat, dispatching their living essence in a method done for centuries. The cycle of life is so apparent there, this reflection carries through the rest of the meal preparation.
After killing the cuy by cleanly slicing it's neck, the cut is placed in boiling water to make it easier to pull off the fur. Whatever fur was left if any is burned or roasted off.
With all the fur gone, the cuyes are gutted, washed, and put into the stove. Normally, a cuy is grilled outside, but sometimes on a stove inside.