Comportamiento productivo de Cavia porcellus en la fase de engorde con la inclusión de niveles de Curcuma longa.

Abstract

This study evaluated the inclusion of Curcuma longa meal in the feed of guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus). The treatments were: T1 (0.67 g C. longa meal + Forage 105 g/day/animal + 44.33 g of feed), T2 (1.35 g C. longa meal + Forage 105 g/day/animal + 43.65 g of feed), T3 (2.3 g C. longa meal + Forage 105 g/day/animal + 42.97 g of feed) and control T0 (Forage 105 g/day/animal + 45 g of feed). Sixty mongrel male guinea pigs, 21 days old and weighing an average of 355 ± 0.15 g, were studied under a completely randomized design. Data were entered into Excel 2003-2007 spreadsheets and checked with a normality test. They were then analyzed using SAS v.9.4 statistical software. Multiple comparisons between means were performed when differences between treatments were detected using a Tukey's test. In terms of results, T2 (3% Curcuma longa) showed higher final weights (698 ± 1.7 g) compared to T1 (1.5%) and T3 (4.5%) which averaged 644 and 695 ± 1.7 g, respectively. On the contrary, when comparing the average final weight of the Control group (498 ± 1.7 g) versus those of the different proportions of Curcuma longa (T1 and T3), significant differences were observed. Furthermore, in economic terms, values between 0.23 and 0.24 cents per dollar were obtained when including Curcuma (T1 and T3), respectively in the guinea pig diet, which is significant compared to that reported for the control treatment (0.14 cents). In conclusion, the inclusion of 3% Curcuma longa in the diet of Cavia porcellus proved to be sufficient to obtain positive productive responses and higher economic income when compared to feeding only forage.