Performance of rabbits fed diets containing different levels of orange waste meal as energy source during the reproductive phase

Abstract

The study assessed the reproductive performance of rabbits fed different levels of orange waste meal (OWM). The orange waste was gathered, sun-dried, and milled before feed formulation. Four experimental diets were formulated to supply 18% crude protein and 2600 ME (Kcal/kg). Diet 1 was the control, while OWM replaced maize at 20, 40, and 60% in treatment diets 2, 3 and 4 respectively. Forty (40), eight weeks old rabbits (32 does and 8 bucks) of a cross between American Chinchilla and New Zealand white rabbits used for the experiment were weighed and distributed into four groups with ten rabbits (8 does and 2 bucks). Groups were randomly assigned to one of the four dietary treatments in a completely randomized design. Animals were fed the diets and raised under the same experimental condition until sexual maturity at five months. At sexual maturity, does and bucks of the same treatment groups were crossed, and does kindle within thirty-two (32) days. Four parities were obtained during the experiment. Data collected were subjected to analysis of variance and significant means separated by Duncan’s multiple range test. Rabbits fed control and treatment diets recorded similar (p>0.05) values for the average daily feed intake, average litter size at birth and average litter size at weaning. The average weekly weight gain and the average litter weight at weaning were significantly (P<0.05) influenced by the treatment diets. It was therefore concluded that orange waste meal could replace 60% of maize in the diets of rabbits without adverse effects on reproductive performance.