NUTRIENT DIGESTIBILITY AND haematological RESPONSE OF WEANER RABBITS FED REPLACEMENT LEVELS OF SOYBEAN CURD RESIDUE FOR GROUNDNUT CAKE

Abstract

The Experiment was conducted to determine the performance of weaner rabbits fed soybean curd residue-based diets. In Experiment 1, a total of 30 weaner rabbits (8 weeks old) with average initial weight of 534.7g arranged in a completely randomized design (CRD) were used. Soybean curd residue (SCR) was added at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 % to replace groundnut cake. The results indicated that nutrients digestibility coefficients were not significant (P>0.05) for all the parameters except crude fibre which differed (p<0.05) significantly. Values obtained from haematological studies varied significantly (P<0.05) for Haemoglobin (Hb), Red Blood Cell counts (RBC), Packed Cell Volume (PCV), White Blood Cell counts (WBC), Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin (MCH) and Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin Concentration (MCHC), while Total Protein (TP) and Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV) were not affected. It was therefore concluded that SCR can be used to replace groundnut cake at 100% in diets of growing rabbits without deleterious effect. Thus, SCR can be use in place of groundnut cake as a cost saving alternative and for better performance.