Optimal level of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) pods in feed of growing rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus): Digestibility study and growth performances

Abstract

An experiment was carried out to evaluate the digestibility and to define the optimal rate of cowpea pods in growing rabbits’ diet. In total, 80 weaned rabbits (six week old) were divided into 20 repetitions of 4 rabbits each. The 5 repetitions of each dietary treatment were randomly divided into 5 groups. During eight weeks, rabbits were fed with 4 balanced diets containing 0% (F0, control), 5% (F5), 10% (F10), and 15% (F15) of cowpea pods. Per treatment, 6 rabbits were sampled for the digestibility study at the end of the growth experiment period. The daily feed intake was significantly high in rabbits fed F10 and F15 (P<0.05). The digestibility of dry matter, organic matter and crude protein decreased in F10 and F15 diets compared to F0 and F5 but the difference was not significant (P>0.05). At the age of 14 weeks, the average live weight of rabbits was 1865.37±209.97 g, 1644.33±11.07 g, 1596.88±58.52 g and 1515.00±140.4 g in F10, F15, F0 and F5 respectively. Mortality rate of rabbits was lower in F0 than in F15. Compared to control diet (F0), the feed conversion ratio, feeding cost and economic feed efficiency were better in rabbits fed F10 diet but not significant (P>0.05). The results demonstrated that up to 10% of cowpea pods can be included efficiently in growing rabbits’ diet.