Abstract
Feeding accounts for about 70% of the total cost of non-ruminant animal production in Nigeria. A ninety-one day feeding trial was conducted using thirty (30), 6-7 week old mixed breed weaner rabbits at the Federal University of Agriculture Makurdi, Nigeria from October 10, 2015 to January 9, 2016. The objective was to determine the potential of filtrate from rumen content mixed with water, to improve the nutritive value of Sweet orange ( Citrus sinensis ) peel by fermentation in rabbit production. The filtrate was obtained from the rumen content of cattle and drinking water mixed in equal ratio of 1:1. The filtrate was added to 5kg each of freshly collected sweet orange peel in ratio 1:5 (T1), 2:5 (T2), 3:5 (T3), 4:5 (T4) and 5:5 (T5). Each was mixed thoroughly, put in polythene bags and sealed on top, left under shade of tree to ferment for 24hrs, and thereafter sun-dried. Each of these was milled and used to replace maize in a practical rabbit diet (D) at 30% level. Five rabbits each, individually housed in a rabbit hutch and each serving as a replicate were randomly assigned to and fed diets D, T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5. The experimental diets had significant effect (p 0.05) on percent live weight of liver, kidney, lung, heart and spleen and, on the coefficient of digestibility of dry matter, crude protein, crude fibre, ether extract, nitrogen free extract and total digestible nutrient. Of the carcass yield indicators; dressing weight, fore limb, hind limb and loin, the experimental diets significantly affected (p<0.05) only the loin, with the rabbits in T5 having a comparatively higher weight. The result obtained showed that, rumen filtrate obtained from a mixture of the rumen content of cattle and water at ratio 1:1, when mixed with sweet orange peel atratio 5:5 can be used to ferment sweet orange peel to improve its nutritive value for maize replacement at 30% in rabbit feed.
Highlights
The demand for food due to increasing population is a major challenge to the livestock and poultry industry in several developing countries including Nigeria, because of the often scarce and unpredictable supply of the major feed ingredients especially the energy and protein sources
This mixture was stirred with a wooden stirrer and sieved to collect rumen filtrate (RF)shown in Figure 2 which was added to 5 kg each of sweet orange peel in ratio 1:5 (T1), 2:5 (T2), 3:5 (T3), 4:5 (T4) and 5:5 (T5)
The proximate analysis of the bovine rumen filtrate treated and fermented sweet orange peel showed that it contained 7.76-8.54% crude protein (CP), 12.17-13.24% crude fibre (CF), 2.91-3.29% ether extract (EE), 9.8410.95% ash and 64.27-67.32% nitrogen free extract (NFE), and 2756.01-2826.49kcalME/kg [10]
Summary
The demand for food due to increasing population is a major challenge to the livestock and poultry industry in several developing countries including Nigeria, because of the often scarce and unpredictable supply of the major feed ingredients especially the energy (maize, guinea corn) and protein (soybean, groundnut, fishmeal) sources. This situation is inimical to adequate supply of farm animal products like meat, milk, egg which are essential for body growth and development, and maintenance of physiological processes. Studies on the utilisation of agro-allied by-product in animal feed have
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