Voluntary Feed Intakes, Feed Preferences and Growth Performance of Growing and Fattening Rabbits Under Tropical Coastal Climate of Benin.
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Abstract
Good knowledge of tropical animal species requirements is required to improve their productivity. The paper describes voluntary
dry matter intakes in growing and fattening rabbits as affected by tropical climate. This study aims at determining the levels of concentrate
feed
consumed alone or
in association with fodder.
Thus, two
commercial
concentrate
feed
(pellet and
mash) and two
fodder
(Elaeis
guineensis
or Panicum
maximum)
currently
used in Benin were
tested.
A total
of
192 young
rabbits
were
used (96 young
rabbits,
35
± 2 days
old at
the
growth
stage
and
96
young
rabbits,
70
± 2 days
old at the
fattening
stage). The
amounts of
single
feed
intake
and of the
association feed
concentrate-fodder
were
recorded
daily
on dry matter
basis.
The daily
quantity of
feed
ingested
by
growing
rabbit
was
106g of
pellet
alone;
81.3g of
pellet +
6.7g Panicum
maximum;
84.6g of
pellet +
8.1g of Elaeis
guineensis;
63.6g
of
mash
alone; 42.5g
of mash
+ 7.4g of Panicum
maximum;
41.1g of
mash + 12.9g of
Elaeis
guineensis.
The fattening
rabbits
ingested
129.9g
of
single
pellet; 112.8g
of
pellet
+
15.2g of
Panicum
maximum;
98.6g
of
pellet
+
14.3g of
Elaeis
guineensis;
78.6g
of
single
mash;
72.9g
of mash + 20.1g of Panicum
maximum;
66.7g of mash + 26.0g of Elaeis
guineensis.
The
pellet diet
was
better
appreciated
and the
better
growth
and
Daily
Weight
Gain (DWG)
was
obtained with
the
pellet diets
than mash
and the addition of fodder
mostly
improved
the
ingestion of the mash diet in fattening
rabbits.