Quote:
Originally Posted by The Dark
Something I ran across today - if you start with a herd of twenty guinea pigs, based on their birth rate and maturation rate, you can harvest an average 12 pounds of meat per month and maintain the size of the herd. As long as you have enough grass and something to provide Vitamin C (since cavies are the only non-human mammals susceptible to scurvy), that's a decent amount of protein for a minimal investment in time and energy.
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Lessee, 20 guinea pigs= 12 lbs of meat/month, or 3 lbs of meat per week; that could easily make 3 heavily proteinaceous--1/4 lb meat per serving per meal-- meals for a family of 4 per week. moreso if the meat is used to flavor leguminous dishes/soups, which would allow the family to stretch their protein a bit further, or shift some of the meat over to smoking whole pigs, making dried sausage,or otherwise preserving for future hard times or for trade.
That "trade" could also involve giving breeding pairs of guinea pigs to nearby families or settlements, as an "enlightened self-interest" act that will assist neighbors to self-support, become strong and more self-reliant, be avaialable for mutual area defense against marauders, be markets for you surplus products and sources or connection for items your group may require.
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