Nutrient Digestibility, Haematological Indices and Carcass Measurements of Rabbits Fed Graded Levels of Goat Rumen Content

摘要

A ten-week trial was conducted to assess the digestibility, carcass components and blood parameters of growing rabbits fed graded levels of goat rumen content (GRC). The GRC were included at 0,tO,20,30 and 40% levels in diet 1,2,3,4 and 5 respectively. The GRC replaced maize and groundnut cake in the diets. Thirty cross bred rabbits (Dutch x New Zealand white) between 5 and 7 weeks of age were randomly allocated to the 5 dietary treatments in group of 6 and allowed unlimited access to feed and drinking water throughoui the experimental period. The crude protein, crude fibre, ether extract and ash digestibility were similar (p>0.05) among all the treatments. The carcass components and organ weights expressed as percentage of slaughter weight were also similar in all the treatments. The packed cell volume (PCV) haemoglobin concentration (Hb), red blood cell (RBC) count, white blood cell (WBC) count, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) did not differ significantly (p>0.05) among the treatments. Therefore diets containing up to 40% of GRC could be tolerated by growing rabbits without adverse effect on their nutrient digestibility, carcass components and blood parameters.