Caractérisation de la reproduction des cobayes locaux (Cavia porcellus L.) élevés à Kipushi et Lubumbashi (RDC)

The objective of this work was to study the reproductive and growth characteristics of local guinea pigs. Sixty-six (66) guinea pigs were divided into 2 lots (Lubumbashi and Kipushi) of 30 females subdivided by lot of ten (10) reared in a 1 m2 cage and 6 males with a sex ratio of 1 male versus 10 females and natural projections. The results obtained showed that the fertility rate was high for Kipushi females (86.67%) compared to that recorded in Lubumbashi (80.00%). Moreover, the weight of the females at birth and at weaning was not influenced by their origin. At the level of the litter at birth, Lubumbashi presented a higher number (58%) than Kipushi (53%) for born babies. Therefore, the average individual weight Kampemba et al., 2020 Journal of Animal & Plant Sciences (J.Anim.Plant Sci. ISSN 2071-7024) Vol.43 (2): 7415-7427 https://doi.org/10.35759/JAnmPlSci.v43-2.2 at birth (70.4g) the average individual weight at weaning (167.4g) the average weight per litter at birth 71.3g and at weaning 168.03g were higher for the Kipushi animals (p˂0,05). While the litter at weaning, the number of pups per weaning was similar between sites (P˃ 0.05). In addition, numerical and weight productivity was high for Kipushi females (1.57) and low for Lubumbashi females (1.17). The evolution of the weight of the guinea pigs varied according to the site. These results on reproductive parameters reveal the existence of great variability between these two local populations, which creates an opportunity for the genetic improvement of local guinea pigs.