Performance evaluation of New Zealand white rabbits fed Alchornea cordifolia leaf meal as replacement for soya bean meal

摘要

The Twenty-four weaned rabbits were fed graded levels of Alchornea cordifolia leaf meal (ACLM) at different inclusion levels in the diet. A control (0%ACLM) and three other diets containing different levels of ACLM (5%, 10% and 15%) as partial replacement for soya bean meal in the diet were fed for six weeks with the aim of evaluating the effects of ACLM on the growth performance and carcass characteristics of the rabbits. The study revealed a decrease in the growth rate with the highest level of inclusion i.e treatment D (15%ACLM). The highest mean weight gain of 1.36±0.04kg and feed intake of 131.94±7g were recorded in treatment C (10% ACLM inclusion in the diet) and the lowest mean weight gain of 1.14±0.04kg was recorded in the treatment A (0% ACLM) and the lowest feed intake of 94.44±10g was recorded in the treatment D. There was no significant difference (P>0.05) in feed conversion ratio (FCR) across the treatment groups. Carcass characteristics showed that live weight of rabbits fed 15% ACLM diet was lower (P<0.05) than other experimental diets with lower percentage of ACLM which implies that 15% ACLM diet possibly depressed the final weight of the experimental rabbits. This could be attributed to the higher percentage of the anti-nutritional factors in ACLM in treatment D which has been implicated for reduced weight gain. This study concluded that the use of ACLM may be recommended as protein source for rabbits but at 5-10% inclusion levels.