Modeling production functions and economic weights in intensive meat production of guinea pigs

[EN] A profit function for a typical commercial farm of intensive guinea pig production was designed. The simulated farm contained 86 cages with a ratio of 7:1 females/males, with continuous mating. Kits were weaned at 15 days of age and slaughtered for meat production at 90 days of age. The absolute (EW) and relative economic weights of the main traits were calculated. The highest EW were kits produced per kindling (US$25), kits weaned per kindling (US$22), kits born alive per kindling (US$20), and the number of kindlings per female and year (US$12). Profit, returns, and costs per female and year were US$15, 68, and 53, respectively. Returns came from the production of young guinea pigs and discarded reproductive adults for meat production, 90 and 10% of the total returns. The highest costs were feeding and labor, 44 and 23% of the total cost. The EW and profit did not substantially change when simulating variations of ±20% in the prices of kilograms of fattening feed and kilograms of live weight of guinea pig, showing their robustness to future variations in market prices or to variations in prices between countries. The results obtained highlight the importance of the feeding costs in the guinea pig meat production. Pascual, M.; Cruz, DJ.; Blasco Mateu, A. (2017). Modeling production functions and economic weights in intensive meat production of guinea pigs. Tropical Animal Health and Production. 49(7):1361-1367. doi:10.1007/s11250-017-1334-4 Cartuche, L., Pascual, M., Gómez, E. and Blasco, A., 2014. Economic weights in rabbit meat production, World Rabbit Science, 22, 165–177. Chancay, 2015. Venta de cuyes. http://www.ventadecuyes.com . Accessed 20 Jun 2016. Chirinos, O., Muro, K., Álvaro, W., Otiniano, J., Quezada, J. C. and Ríos V., 2008. Crianza y comercialización del cuy para el mercado limeño, (Esan University, Lima, Peru). Chupin, D., 1995. Rearing unconventional livestock species: a flourishing activity, (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy). Espinoza, J., Furushio, E. and Rodríguez, A., 2008. Propuesta de un plan de negocio para una empresa dedicada a la crianza tecnificada de cuyes ubicada en Ñaña y su comercialización al mercado local, (MSc thesis, Peruvian University of Applied Science, Lima, Peru). Humberto-Rodriguez, L., Mabel Palomino, T., Victor Hidalgo, L. and Gustavo Gutiérrez R., 2013. Efectos de factores fijos y al azar sobre el peso al nacimiento y al destete en cuyes de la costa central del Perú. Re