Growth Performance of Weaner Rabbits Fed Cowpea Based Rations as Protein Source
Journal Title: Journal of Animal Production Advances - Year 2015, Vol 5, Issue 10
Abstract
The study was conducted to investigate the effect of varying levels of cowpea in maize diets on the performance of weaner rabbits. Twenty-four mongrel rabbits of both sexes, 4 – 5 weeks old with an average weight of 624g were randomly distributed to four dietary treatments with six rabbits per treatment for 42 days. The four diets were formulated using cow peas which had been dehulled and fermented for 24 hours as a way of reducing antinutritional factors. The control Treatment 1 contained 18% CP from soybean while Treatments 2, 3 and 4 had 10% CP, 15% CP and 20% CP respectively based on cowpea. Clean cool water was offered ad libitum and feed offered and eaten was recorded daily. The rabbits were weighed weekly to determine body weight changes. Rabbits fed on diet 2 had significantly (p< 0.05) lower feed intake compared to other diets. Rabbits fed on diet 1 gained significantly (p< 0.05) more weight (500g) than rabbits fed on diet 2 (180g) after 5 weeks. The results indicate that cowpea can be used safely as a protein source in rabbit diets at inclusion level of up to 20% CP provided it is well processed.
Authors and Affiliations
G. H. M. Matondi , G. B. Nyamushamba , V. E. Imbayarwo-Chikosi , Z. Chimurenga , E. Masama , T. Marandure
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP153744
- DOI -
- Views 109
- Downloads 0
Superficial Bacterial Contamination of Bovine Carcasses at Blida Slaughterhouse (Algeria)
The purpose of our work is to evaluate the superficial bacteriological quality of bovine carcasses at Blida slaughterhouse; quantitatively, by counting the total coliforms, fecal coliforms and Escherichia coli and qualit...
Studies on Process Standardization of Cow Milk Ujani Basundi
A study on the standardization of Ujani basundi was carried out by using cow milk. Milk was standardized to 4% fat and 8.5% SNF (Solids Not Fat). The attempts have been made to study the effect of different levels of sug...
Comparative Effect of Different Organic Acids (Benzoic, Acetic and Formic) on Growth Performance, Immune Response and Carcass Traits of Broilers
An experiment was conducted to study the effect of benzoic, acetic and formic acid supplementation on growth performance and carcass characteristics of broilers. One hundred fifty, a day-old broiler chicks were procured...
Effects of Energy/Protein Levels on the Performance of Sudan Goat Ecotypes
This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of feeding varying energy/protein levels to different Sudan goat ecotypes (Nubian, Desert and Swiss Nubian). Nine male goat kids (2-3 months and average weight 9.23kg...
Relationship Between REDD and Livestock Production Systems: Multinomial Choice Analysis
This paper assess the relationship between reducing emission from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) regulation and farmers’ choice for livestock production systems using a multinomial choice model fitted to dat...