COMPARATIVE EFFECTS OF THREE PLANT PROTEIN CAKES ON PERFORMANCE, NUTRIENT DIGESTIBILITY, HAEMATOLOGY, SERUM BIOCHEMISTRY AND PRODUCTION ECONOMICS OF WEANER RABBITS

Abstract

This research was conducted to compare the effects of feeding three plant protein cakes, groundnut cake (GNC), cottonseed cake (CSC), and palm kernel cake (PKC) on performance, nutrient digestibility, haematology, serum biochemistry, and production economics of weaner rabbits. Twenty-four six weeks old, mixed-breed rabbits of both sexes were allotted into three groups randomly containing eight rabbits each. The treatment groups (T1, T2, and T3) were fed for five weeks on three different diets containing GNC, CSC, and PKC as protein sources respectively. Data generated were analyzed using one-way ANOVA. It was revealed that majority of the performance parameters were not affected (p>0.05) except final body weight which differed significantly (p<0.05) across the treatment groups. The ash contents of the diets also varied significantly (p<0.05) amid other parameters of nutrient digestibility. The diets had no adverse effects on hematological and biochemical parameters, but total bilirubin, creatinine, and sodium were affected (p<0.05). This study also revealed that CSC compared favorably with GNC in terms of growth performance and economics of rabbit production, while PKC had poor economic values for production. It was therefore suggested that the three cakes are non-toxic to the muscle, kidneys, and liver of rabbits at 17.43% inclusion level. This indicates that groundnut cake, cottonseed cake and palm kernel cake can be used as sources of protein in the diet of weaner rabbits without affecting the blood and serum biochemical parameters of weaner rabbits because the enzyme levels continued within the reference range of healthy rabbits.