Abstract
The study aimed to investigate the partial substitution of starch with fibre on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility and select blood indices of growing rabbits. One hundred-twenty 28 d-old male rabbits were equally distributed into four groups in a 2×2 factorial design. Four diets were formulated wherein starch was partially replaced with two different levels each of acid detergent fibre (ADF) at 23.6 and 29.2% and neutral detergent soluble fibre (NDSF) at 14.5 and 15.5%. At the end of the experiment (90 days of age), the weight gain and feed conversion increased in rabbits fed a high level of NDSF. However, rabbits fed low level of ADF showed a significant improvement in the digestibility of DM and CP. Feed intake was increased by 3.5% with lower level of ADF. Carcass traits and blood indices did not show significant differences among the treated groups. It may be concluded that partial substitution of starch with (15.5%) NDSF and (23.6) ADF had beneficial effects on the performance and nutrients digestibility without any adverse effects on health status of rabbits.
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