Performance and nutrient digestibility of rabbits fed urea treated cowpea husk

Abstract

The study was conducted to investigate the effect of varying levels of urea treated and untreated cowpea husk on the performance of weaner rabbits. Thirty-two mongrel weaner rabbits of both sexes, 6 – 8 weeks old with an average weight of 822g were randomly distributed to four dietary treatments with four rabbits per treatment. The experiment lasted for a period of six weeks. Four diets were formulated in which cowpea husk was included at 40% untreated control, and 40, 50 and 60% urea treated cowpea husk at 4%, designed as diets 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively. The rabbits were weighed at weekly interval to observe body weight changes. Fresh clean water was supplied ad libitum and 100 g of feed were offered to each rabbit on daily basis. Growth performance, nutrient intake and their digestibility were not affected by dietary treatment. The result indicates that urea treatment of cowpea husk does not enhance the performance or confer any economic advantage on rabbits and therefore not recommended.

Keywords: Performance, nutrient, digestibility, urea, cowpea husk, rabbits

> Animal Production Research Advances Vol. 2 (4) 2006: pp. 213-216