Palatability of nine fodders species used by guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus).

Nine fodders commonly offered to the guinea pigs by the breeders in Lubumbashi (Democratic Republic of Congo) were compared for chemical composition and for both daily dry matter intake and palatability indices by using 13 three-month-old guinea pigs. Four different plant families were provided to each guinea pig, and each animal was exposed to all the experimental diets studied for 8 consecutive days. The fodder species were three grasses: Trypsacum laxum, Panicum maximum, and Pennisetum purpureum; three trees or bushes Moringa oleifera, Leucaena leucocephala, and Bauhinia variegata; and three flowering plants Bidens oligoflora, Bidens pilosa, and Commelina diffusa. Dry matter content varied from 14 to 44/100 g FM, and CP from 13 to 28/100 g DM. B. variegata and P. purpureum showed the lowest CP value and L. leucocephala the highest. The grasses and the Commelina had higher levels of hemicelluloses than the tree fodders, especially P. maximum (45/100 g DM). High levels of K were found in the grasses and Bidens, and high Ca in the tree fodders and Bidens. The guinea pigs preferred, in a descending order, P. purpureum (0.79), B. pilosa (0.78), C. diffusa (0.78), T. laxum (0.77), P. maximum (0.76), B. oligoflora (0.75), M. oleifera (0.45), L. leucocephala (0.37), and B. variegata (0.33). The DMI and the palatability index were strongly correlated to the ash (r = 0.82; p ˂ 0.05) and the potassium (r = 0.88; p ˂ 0.05) contents in fodders.