Preliminary study on the performance of rabbit bucks fed sole forage, concentrate and their mixtures
Thirty five rabbit bucks of mixed breed of 7 weeks of age, weighing 519±5.00 g were used to investigate the potentials of two common weeds, Aspilia africana (Aa) and Tridax procumbens (Tp) as forages. The rabbits were divided into 5 groups in a completely randomised design. Group 1 was placed on sol...
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| Published in: | Archivos de zootecnia Vol. 62; no. 240; pp. 615 - 618 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
01-12-2013
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | Thirty five rabbit bucks of mixed breed of 7
weeks of age, weighing 519±5.00 g were used to
investigate the potentials of two common weeds,
Aspilia africana (Aa) and Tridax procumbens
(Tp) as forages. The rabbits were divided into 5
groups in a completely randomised design. Group
1 was placed on sole concentrate feeding;
concentrate feeding was skipped for 1, 2 and 3
days in groups 2, 3, and 4 respectively with ad
libitum mixed-forage Aa and Tp feeding. Group 5
was fed on a mixed-forage diet of 250 g Aa: 250g
Tp. The daily pellet intake decreased linearly as the
number of days that concentrate feeding was
skipped increased. Rabbits in groups 2 and 4
reached puberty at 13.8 and 14.0 weeks
respectively, which were longer (p<0.05) than
12.8 and 13.1 weeks for groups 1 and 3. None of
the rabbits on the sole forage diet reached puberty
at the end of the experiment. Supplementation of
the test forages with 23-43 g of a balanced
concentrate feed per rabbit per day could give
satisfactorily performance.
Treinta y cinco conejos de raza mezclada de
7 semanas de edad con peso de 519±5,00 g,
fueron empleados para investigar el potencial de
dos adventicias comunes, Aspilia africana (Aa) y
Tridax procumbens (Tp) como forraje para cone-
jos. Los conejos fueron divididos en 5 grupos con
un diseño completamente al azar. El grupo 1
consumió solamente concentrado. El concentra-
do fue omitido por 1, 2 o 3 días en los grupos 2, 3
y 4 respectivamente con alimentación ad libitum
de una mezcla de Aa y Tp. El grupo 5 fue alimen-
tado con mezcla de 250 g de Aa y 250 g deTp. La
ingestión diaria de gránulos, disminuyó linealmente
al aumentar el número de días en que el pienso era
omitido. Los grupos 2 y 4 alcanzaron la pubertad
a 13,8 y 14,0 semanas respectivamente, tiempo
que fue mayor (p<0,05) que las 12,8 y 13,1
semanas que tardaron los grupos 1 y 3. Ningún
conejo de la dieta exclusiva de forraje alcanzó la
pubertad al final del experimento. La suplementación
del forraje con 23-43 g por conejo y día de un
concentrado balanceado podría permitir un rendi-
miento satisfactorio. |
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| ISSN: | 0004-0592 |
| DOI: | 10.4321/S0004-05922013000400017 |