PERFORMANCE AND CARCASS CHARACTERISTICS OF WEANER RABBITS  FED WITH VARYING LEVELS OF SUN-DRIED SHEEP RUMEN CONTENTS AS A  REPLACEMENT FOR MILLET OFFAL

I. Saidu; S. T. Mbap; M. M. Abubakar; K. M. Bello; N. Yakubu; S. M. Muazu; M. Sa’id; U. Yusuf

doi:10.51791/njap.vi.8571

Authors

I. Saidu Bauchi State College of Agriculture, Bauchi
S. T. Mbap Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi
M. M. Abubakar Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi
K. M. Bello Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi
N. Yakubu Bauchi State College of Agriculture, Bauchi
S. M. Muazu Bauchi State College of Agriculture, Bauchi
M. Sa’id Bauchi State College of Agriculture, Bauchi
U. Yusuf Bauchi State College of Agriculture, Bauchi

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51791/njap.vi.8571

Keywords:

Weaner rabbits, millet offal, rumen content, Performance, Carcass

Abstract

The research was conducted to evaluate the performance and carcass characteristics of weaner rabbits fed with varying levels of sun-dried sheep rumen contents (SDSRC) as replacement millet offal (MO). Fifty weaner mongrel rabbits of mixed sexes between 5 and 7 weeks of age were allotted to five dietary treatments replicated five times with two rabbits per replicate in a completely randomized design with SDSRC replacing MO at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% designated as diet 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively. Total, final, daily weight gains and feed conversion ratio were significantly influenced by treatment effects and all other growth performance parameters were similar. Live and carcass weight varied between 990.67-1580.00g and 737.00-1184.67g and were also affected (P<0.05). Pelt, head/legs, kidney and large intestine depicts significant difference among the diets. It can be deduced from the study, that SDSRC could replace MO at 75% level without placating performance and carcass attributes of growing rabbits. It was therefore recommended that rabbits keepers should incorporate when formulating diets in order to reduce cost of production.