Abstract
Forty (40) weaner rabbits with an average weight of 390-590 g obtained from College of Agriculture and Science Mando, Kaduna State were assigned to eight (8) dietary treatments such that their ages, sizes and group weights were balanced as much as possible. The animals were allowed to adjust to the test diets and cages for 7 days before the start of the experiment. During the period of acclimatization, the rabbits were dewormed with Ivermatin injection. Each of the treatments contained five (5) rabbits in a Completely Randomised Design (CRD). All cages were supplied with feeders and drinkers. The study lasted 63 days. The diets were formulated to contain 18% crude proteins and fortified with minerals and vitamin premix in accordance with NRC nutrient requirements for rabbits. Proximate analysis and carcass characteristics of weaner rabbits fed Delonix regia meals were determined. So also feed intake, efficiency and cost per kg live weight were calculated using the prevailing market price of that season. The result showed that both the duration of cooking and the level of inclusion had a significant (P<0.05) effect on the proximate composition of Delonix regia seeds. However, above 60 minutes of cooking, the level of protein in the seed reduced. The result of the carcass evaluation showed that the slaughter weight of rabbits increased as the concentration of Delonix regia increased in their diets. Rabbit fed 40% Delonix regia had the highest carcass weight of 496.67g.
Highlights
Efforts are being made by animal nutritionists to explore the possibilities of incorporating unconventional proteins feed stuffs in rabbits feed in order to reduce the cost of feed and maximize the return to rabbitary
One of the methods that have been utilized for some time in alleviating this problem is the replacement of a percentage of grains and cakes in rabbitary diets with agro-industry by products the present trend in the annual increase in the cost of feed products coupled with the increasing attention on their utilization by the confectionary and baking industry has necessitated the need to conduct investigation into the utilization of unconventional feeding stuffs for livestock, that is free of competition from other industries
Large quantities of the pods were collected and soaked in a pool of water batch by batch for 3 days to ensure splitting of pods, since Delonix regia seeds are dispersed by explosive mechanism
Summary
Efforts are being made by animal nutritionists to explore the possibilities of incorporating unconventional proteins feed stuffs in rabbits feed in order to reduce the cost of feed and maximize the return to rabbitary. One of the methods that have been utilized for some time in alleviating this problem is the replacement of a percentage of grains and cakes in rabbitary diets with agro-industry by products the present trend in the annual increase in the cost of feed products coupled with the increasing attention on their utilization by the confectionary and baking industry has necessitated the need to conduct investigation into the utilization of unconventional feeding stuffs for livestock, that is free of competition from other industries. This study was meant to evaluate proximate and carcass characteristics of rabbits fed Delonix regia and cost benefit of using Delonix regia as an alternative to Ground nut
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