Niveles de Saccharina en cuyes (Cavia porcellus) en etapa de engorde en El Carmen - Manabí.

Abstract

The present study analyzes the effects of the use of saccharin on the productive behavior of guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) in El Carmen, Manabí, during the fattening stage. Five treatments with four replications were used. The results showed that the use of saccharin did not significantly affect meat production, specifically in feed conversion and weight gain, compared to guinea pigs fed conventional diets. In addition, treatment 3 (T3) presented the best performance in terms of weight gain. Surveys of producers indicated that while some noticed improvements in animal efficiency, few perceived a change in meat quality. However, in the sensory evaluation, the T3 treatment showed a small relevance in terms of taste and texture. These findings suggest that saccharin in guinea pig diets could improve production efficiency, although more studies are needed to improve production efficiency.