Growth performance and nutrient digestibility of growing rabbits fed diets containing pawpaw (Carica papaya L.) leaf protein concentrate

AbstractThis experiment was carried out to evaluate the growth performance and nutrient digestibility of growing rabbits fed diets containing pawpaw (Carica papaya L.) leaf protein concentrate as partial replacement for soybean meal (SBM). Five dietary treatments were formulated such that SBM was replaced with pawpaw leaf protein concentrate (PLPC) at 0, 15, 30, 45, and 60% weight-for-weight. Twenty-five composite growing rabbits of mixed sex and approximately seven weeks of age (736 ±90 g) were randomly allocated to five dietary treatments of five replicates in a completely randomized design. The rabbits had access to water and the experimental feedad libitum for 12 weeks of feeding trial after one week of adaptation. Results showed that the growth performance and nutrient digestibility of rabbits recorded in this experiment were not significantly affected (p>0.05) by the replacement of SBM with PLPC, indicating that PLPC can be used to replace soybean meal up to 60% weight-for-weight without causing any adverse effect on the growth performance and nutrient digestibility of rabbits. The average water-to-feed ratio was 2.54, indicating that rabbit under this condition of experiment requires an average of 2.54 mL of water for every 1 g of feed consumed. The flesh-to-bone ratio of rabbits recorded in this study was between 3.06 ±0.36 and 3.22±0.22. Rabbits on diets in which 60% SBM was replaced with PLPC resulted in the highest savings in terms of cost differential (₦90...
Source: Tropical Animal Health and Production - Category: Veterinary Research Source Type: research