Research Article Open Access

Growth Performance, Nutrient Digestibility and Cost of Production of Weaned Rabbits Fed Processed Unripe Plantain Peel Meal Based-Diets

Authors

A.N. Robert
Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Wildlife Resources Management, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria
|
A.A. Ayuk
Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Wildlife Resources Management, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria
|
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
P.O. Ozung
Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Wildlife Resources Management, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria
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B.J. Harry
Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, Moore Plantation, Ibadan, Nigeria
Published on: May 15, 2020
DOI 10.3923/pjn.2020.303.308
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Abstract

Objective: This study evaluated the effect of processed unripe plantain peel meal (UPPM) based-diets on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility and cost of production of weaned rabbits. Materials and Methods: Twenty five weaned rabbits of both sexes with an average initial weight of 670.60±2.71 g rabbit–1 were used. The rabbits were assigned to five experimental diets in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). The diets were formulated using various processed forms of UPPM (sun-dried, toasted, fermented and urea-treated) to replace maize at 50% level each for T2, T3, T4 and T5, respectively. The control diet (T1) contained 100% maize without UPPM. Data on growth performance, nutrient digestibility and production cost were determined and analysed using one-way ANOVA. Results: The results showed that final body weight, total feed intake, total weight gain and feed conversion ratio in the treatment groups were significantly (p<0.05) lower than corresponding values in the control treatment. The fermented UPPM showed significantly (p<0.05) higher digestible dry matter, crude protein and crude fibre than other diets. The cost of feed was the highest in T1(₦103.89) and least in T2 (₦ 85.10) but the cost per kilogram weight gain was least in T4 (₦450.10) and highest in T1 (₦475.05). Although, the control diet performed better in terms of final body weight and total weight gain, it was however cheaper to produce 1kg of meat with the fermented UPPM. Conclusion: The study concluded that replacing maize at 50% with fermented UPPM could enhance growth performance and nutrient digestibility without compromising economic gain in rabbit production.

Keywords:

Animal protein, growth performance, malnutrition, plantain peel, rabbit

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Robert, A., Ayuk, A., Ozung, P., & Harry, B. (2020). Growth Performance, Nutrient Digestibility and Cost of Production of Weaned Rabbits Fed Processed Unripe Plantain Peel Meal Based-Diets. Pakistan Journal of Nutrition, 19(6), 303–308. https://doi.org/10.3923/pjn.2020.303.308
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