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United States Depa:''tment of Agricnlture 

 Bureau of Biological Survey 



Wildlife Research and Management Leaflet BS-52 



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MAR2( 1S48 



V/ashington, D. C. 



April 1936 



BAlSirO- GUINEA PI GS 



Prepared in Section of Ii\ir Resources, Division of Wildlife Research 



G-uinea pigs are raided as pet ard fancy stock and for scientific purposes. 

 This limited outlet naturally r'estricte the poscihility of large profits from 

 quantity production. The inrititutions that require g^ainea pigs piirchase animals 

 that have never "been used for e-xoeriments and ai-e known to "be sruitahle. f or the 

 purpose. iPanciers producing guinea pif!-- are no'v/ organized in a national associa- 

 tion, knoTvn as the Airsrican Rahoit and Oa\ y li'^eeders Association, with the 

 secretary's offices located at 7408 l<J^oimi,l Avenue, Chicago, 111. Persons de- 

 siring to raise purebred guinea pi^s, or cavies as thuy are technically knov.m, 

 should vrite to that office for information regarding registration, shows, and 

 disTDOsal of stock. 



Guinea pigs are of various solid colors and milled "broken colors. They 

 may "be long or short haired omooth or rough coated. The short-haired, smooth- 

 coated varieties are in the grea/oest demaixdj and from a sanitary standpoint are 

 the most satisfactory to ra.i3e. A full-grov/n cavy in good flesh should xv^eigh 

 nearly 2 pounds at 18 months of age. 



Housing 



To reduce the cost of eq^iipment and th^ la"bor in feeding and care, some 

 producers have adopted the colony system of raising guinea pigs. In this system 

 30 to 50 mature animals are kept in one group, and sufficient T^en space is pro- 

 vided to give the aniTials ample frecdora of e:xercise. The compound-tier hutch, 

 however, proves more s-=,tisfactory under average conditions. The num^ber of such 

 hutches, or even of tiers to the hutch, depends entirely u-pon the num'ber of 

 guinea pigs to "be kept. With each corapartinent 50 inches deep "by 36 inches long 

 and 18 inches high, there is sufficient floor s-oace for 4 or 5 "breeding females 

 with their litters. The one large door closing all tiers should "be made of l/2 

 to 3/4- inch-mesh wire netting. In a dark cornor a shelf a'bout 4 inches high 

 should "be provided for the g-ainea T)igs. The &:iimals usually sleep en the top, 

 while the ppace "belov/ is a safe retreat for the female. 



Peeding 



Guinea pigs should he fed twice daily on regular schedule and without 

 waste. They require ahout the sajne kinds of feed as do rah"bits, A mixture 

 of eq.ual parts of oats, wheat,, and Darley, and then soy"bean meal, peanut mc»al, or 

 linseed meal, making 10 percent of the total, proves satisfactory. Good qua.lity 

 legume hay should he supplied freely. A salt spool and fresh v/ater should al- 

 ways "be availahle. Green feed ^uch as garden vegetables or lawn clippings is 

 an excellent conditioner. 



