suggestions on a recipe for 18-20% protien?

[ohiogoatgirl]

so i'm one of the few people in the USA doing a small herd of guinea pigs as meat animals. well I've got a possible line on some real deal 3.5-4pounders from imports from peru. they cost a pretty penny but i'm thinkin down the line a bit I might invest in a few of them. person i'm talkin to that knows one of the extremely few USA breeders of them and told me the info they got from the breeder to pass on to me... well part of it is that these ones need more vit C then the common pet guinea pigs and they need feed with 18-20% protein.

I was wondering how you all might go about figuring a mix with protein % that high.

 

[Secuono]

Can they have rabbit food, just add separate vit c? If so, rabbit food in 18% is easy to find. Not sure how to add an extra 2%.

But you can use Calf-Manna to add extra protein with regular GP feeds, no?

 

[lissapell]

Gps r green eaters right? Can u feed the high protien fodder or forage?

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

in my area (ohio) it isn't easy to find 18% unfortunately. it seems most feeds at all are 15 or 16%. there was only one place around that even had the 18% goat feed I used. though I have given that to my GPs when I was about to run out of feed they didn't really like it at all. and that was only some mixed in with the regular feed mix. I don't think it would be the correct mix for the big GPs though either.
rabbit feeds are 15 and 16%. maybe i'll get lucky and find some good higher protein feeds after I move (VA).

I just started a while back adding calf manna to the rabbit feed (top dressing as needed). and when I think the GPs need it I add it to theirs as well. they eat it but I wasn't sure if feeding it regularly like as part of the feed mix would be ok or not.

guinea pigs eat very similar to rabbits but they have to have vit c, like humans their bodies don't make their own like most other animals do.

the only high protein thing I could think to add would be quinoa or duckweed. I have no experience with either though.

 

[Secuono]

Southern States and Blue Seal are both going to be near-ish to you, I just found a place with Blue and getting some this weekend. Both have 18% protein, Blue has all sorts of mixes and they have their own version of Calf-Manna.

I don't see why you couldn't feed rabbit or horse feed to GPs, they eat pretty much the same things. ONly real difference is their need for vit A and you can buy drops for their water.
TSC has a 25# bag of GP food, couldn't find it on their website, so not sure how much protein is in it...

__________ Wed Oct 30, 2013 7:52 am __________

Here's a list of foods high in vit a, GPs can eat some of these.

http://www.healthaliciousness.com/artic ... amin-A.php<br /><br />__________ Wed Oct 30, 2013 7:54 am __________<br /><br />From a GP site, list of food high in vit A they can eat for sure.
Leafy greens such as kale, parsley, spinach and chicory
Cabbage
Red and green peppers
Asparagus
Broccoli
Peas
Tomatoes
Dandelion Greens
Kiwi
Oranges



http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?A=2750
http://jackiesguineapiggies.com/fruitandveg.html

 

[MaggieJ]

What do they feed these Guinea pigs in their native Peru? I had the impression they raised GPs to have a homegrown source of protein. If they are having to provide a 20% protein diet for them, I can't see that is much of a help.

 

[Secuono]

I read the GPs over there have shrunk in size because they don't pellet feed. They had to use lab created larger ones they are sending them.

 

[MaggieJ]

I'm no fan of soy, but if GPs can eat it, it would be one way of increasing the protein content of their feed. Roasted ground soy beans are quite palatable to livestock; they smell a lot like roasted peanuts.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

I read the GPs over there have shrunk in size because they don't pellet feed. They had to use lab created larger ones they are sending them.

they used to be really big. but people started eating the biggest ones. just like with rabbits, you keep eating your biggest bucks what is going to happen? you pass on the lesser genetics over a long time things go downhill.

now there are people working on breeding them back up in size.

__________ Wed Oct 30, 2013 3:33 pm __________

What do they feed these Guinea pigs in their native Peru? I had the impression they raised GPs to have a homegrown source of protein. If they are having to provide a 20% protein diet for them, I can't see that is much of a help.

here is my playlist of GP videos. http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL ... re=mh_lolz
lots are videos of "farms" of them in brazil, peru,...
there are bowls of water, bowls of some powdery feed/mineral looking stuff, and fed corn stalks and fresh cut alfalfa tons of it.
also several sites I've found and very annoyingly translated that talk about and/or sell sprouting systems for grains/grasses.

here is one (in English! and this guy is so excited about it all its hilarious) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dSvtahE ... L&index=15<br /><br />__________ Wed Oct 30, 2013 3:45 pm __________<br /><br />

I'm no fan of soy, but if GPs can eat it, it would be one way of increasing the protein content of their feed. Roasted ground soy beans are quite palatable to livestock; they smell a lot like roasted peanuts.

ack.. and if they get wet they smell like a vat of urine been there, done that.

i'd also like to stay away from soy if at all possible. read some studies about soy in particular being of the top GMOs and the top for making the test rats sterile in three generations and causing other things I want to stay away from let alone feed to what I want to eat later on.

I was thinking of going for things like alfalfa and quinoa and duckweed for the protein.

 

[MaggieJ]

I was thinking of going for things like alfalfa and quinoa and duckweed for the protein.

Those should work. I'm not wild about soy, but here it is possible to get a Certified Organic rabbit feed with soy. If it is Certified Organic in Canada, then it cannot be genetically modified. I know that things are not so clear cut in the United States.

The downside is that the organic feed is frightfully expensive. I used to buy it for my chickens, but we found that it was just too far to drive to get it. By the time you added the cost of gas to the cost of the feed, it just was not workable.

 

[Secuono]

they used to be really big. but people started eating the biggest ones. just like with rabbits, you keep eating your biggest bucks what is going to happen? you pass on the lesser genetics over a long time things go downhill.

now there are people working on breeding them back up in size.

Brainfart, yes, you're right. That's what it said.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

haha that's fine secuono


ya in the USA certified organic can still be GMO, and use up to certain amount/brands of chemicals. and there is literally a whole novel book thickness of paperwork to fill out every month and fees etc. so the people who have real, honest to god organic and nonGMO and all that... they cant do the paperwork all the time and face all the fees and crap.