Getting a few guinea pigs for the kids was originally a good way of diverting the kids repeated requests for a dog. They have sporadically enjoyed having guinea pigs but the one problem seems to be the prolific breeding cycles that these creatures like to maintain if left unchecked. To manage this situation we have had to separate the boars from the sows.
Male guinea pigs are called boars, females are sows and babies are called pups. So aside from being the cute (oversized rats) that kids seem to love, we have been looking for any sort of additional use for guinea pigs. While we did think about eating them, the idea of it just doesn’t sit right with us. One of the uses we have recently been researching is the idea of feeding them on a bigger diet of leafy greens and grain then using their manure pellets as fish food in an aquaculture setup.
The other design element that we have recently been constructing is a new guinea pig enclosure being created around the bird runs. The idea is that by putting a population of guinea pigs around the bird enclosure the fence will provide for even stronger protection of the birds while also displacing any other small animals that would otherwise come close to the runs in search of food.
Over the years, we have also sold guinea pigs to visitors who have a kid just beginning their animal journey who we can assist in getting them started with learning how to care for small creatures.