Performance, Carcass and Internal Organ Charactristics of Grower Rabbits Fed Diets Containing Graded Levels of Congronema latifolium Leaf Meal

Abstract

A study was carried out to evaluate the performance and carcass characteristics of grower rabbits fed diets containing graded levels of Congronema latifolium (CLLM). Four experimental diets were formulated such that diet 1 (control) contained 0% CLLM, while diets 2, 3 and 4 contained 10%, 20% and 30% CLLM, respectively. Each diet was fed to a group of 9 grower rabbits for 49 days. There were no significant differences (P>0.05) for average final body weight gain and average daily feed intake. The feed conversion ratio was not significantly (P>0.05) affected by treatments.Also, there were no significant differences (P>0.05) among treatment means in dressing percentage, and percentage weights of some internal organs (hearts, lungs and pancreas). However, dietary levels of 20% and 30% CLLM significantly (P<0.05) increased the weights of livers and kidneys. This is indicative of presence of stress factor(s) in the diets. The overall result of this investigation suggests that up to 20% dietary level of CLLM could support normal growth performance of grower rabbits.

Key words: Grower rabbits, performance, carcass and organ characteristics, Congronema latifolium