Performance of crossbred weaner rabbits fed diets formulated from mixtures of legume and grass

Abstract

Twenty four (24) crossbred weaner rabbits aged between 5-6 weeks with an initial weight ranging between 587.8g and 658.8g were used to investigate the performance and nutrient digestibility of rabbits fed diets containing mixture of grasses and legume. Three experimental diets were formulated, Diet T₁ was the control fed concentrate feed without forage, Diet T₂ contained a mixture of Gliricidia sepium and Panicum maximum while Diet T₃ contained Gliricidia sepium and Brachiaria brizantha, mainly in substitution for the maize of the control diet. The animals were randomly distributed into three treatment groups of 8 rabbits each with each serving as a replicate in a completely randomised design experiment. The experiment lasted for eight weeks. The type of forage used in this study did not have effect on the nutrient intake of the rabbits and except the dry matter and ash digestibilities, other nutrients were not affected by the dietary treatments. It was observed that final weight, weight gain and daily feed intake are not significantly (P>0.05) affected by the experimental diets. The highest final weight (1193g) was observed in T₃ though similar to T₂ (1111.20) and the lowest final weight (1036.20g) was observed in T₁ (containing no forage). Average daily weight gain followed the same trend with 9.54g, 9.35g and 7.6g in recorded for T₃, T₂ and T₁ respectively. The best feed efficiency was observed for T₃ (8.41). It can be concluded that incorporation of legume/ grass mixtures, as substitutes for maize in rabbit diets will give better results when compared with diet without forages.

Keywords: legume/grass mixtures, Concentrate, weaner rabbits, feed efficiency, nutrient digestibility