A note on the chemical composition and feeding characteristics of diets containing Leucaena leucocephala and Arachis pintoi for growing rabbits

摘要

Feedingcharacteristicsofdietscontainingleucaena(Leucaenaleucocephala)orarachis(Arachispintoi)leafmealweredeterminedwith32CaliforniaxNewZealandrabbits.Fourdietswereformulatedtocontain30and40%ofeitherleucaenaorarachisfoliagemealandwereofferedadlibitumduringelevendaystogrowingrabbitsweighingonaverage0.98kgaccordingtoarandomizedblockdesign.Thepatternoffeedintake,asdeterminedduringthefirsthourafterofferingthemealinthemorning,showedthatrabbitsspentmoretimeeatingthedietcontainingleucaenathanarachis.Dailyfeedconsumptionwashigherontheleucaenadiet(73.6gDM/day)ascomparedtoarachis(60.7g/day).Dailyfeedconsumptionwasdirectlyrelated(R2=0.87)tothenumberoftimestherabbitswereobservedtobeeatingduringthefirsthourinthemornningafterreceivingfreshfeed.