Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Utilization By-product Research Department, Animal Production Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center.
2
Poultry Nutrition Research Department, Animal Production Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center.
3
Poultry Nutrition Research Department, Animal Production Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center
Abstract
The study aimed to investigate the impact of anise seeds (Pimpinella anisum L.) and red roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, carcass characteristics, caecal fermentation, and blood parameters of weaned rabbits. A total of 90 male New Zealand White (NZW) rabbits, aged 5 weeks and weighing between 594 to 610 grams, were randomly assigned to six groups of 15 rabbits each in a completely randomized design, with each group further divided into three replicates of five rabbits. The first group (T1) received a basal diet containing 16.51% crude protein (CP) and 2865.96 Kcal/Kg DM without any additives, serving as the control group. Anise seeds were incorporated into diets T2 and T3, while dried red roselle was added to diets T4 and T5 at concentrations of 0.5% (0.5 gm/kg) and 1% (1gm/kg), respectively. Diet T6 included both 0.05% of anise seeds and 0.05% of dried red roselle. Results indicated a significant (P<0.05) increase in body weight, body weight gain, feed intake, and improved feed conversion ratios across all experimental groups, except for T5, when compared to the control group. There were no fatalities in the rabbit groups fed with diets T2, T4, and T6. Additionally, diets T2 and T6 led to a marked (P<0.05) rise in dressing percentage, while the supplemented diets resulted in a notable decrease (P<0.05) in abdominal fat proportion. The proportions of liver, kidneys, heart, and lungs did not show significant differences among the treatment groups. Furthermore, the supplemented diets T2, T3, T4, and T6 caused a quadratic increase in the CP proportion of the rabbit meat when compared to T1. The weight of caecal contents (BW%) and NH3-N concentrations in rabbits on the supplemented diets significantly (P<0.05) decreased compared to the control group. Conversely, the total volatile fatty acids were significantly (P=0.008) higher in T2, T3, T4, and T6 than in T1 and T5. The supplemented groups, except for T5, showed significantly increased levels of total protein, albumin, and globulin concentrations. On the other hand, there were significant reductions in glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol, and urea concentrations compared to the control group. No significant differences were observed in serum creatinine, AST and ALT concentrations among the experimental and control groups. Additionally, improvements were noted in net revenue, economic efficiency, and performance index for the T2, T3, T4, and T6 groups, with the T6 and T2 groups achieving the highest values. It can conclude that of anise seeds and dried red roselle can be considered as potential feed additives in rabbit diets, potentially enhancing their productive performance, hematological values, and biochemical parameters. Supplementing the diet with 0.05% anise seeds or a combination of 0.05% anise seeds and 0.05% dried red roselle may be an acceptable approach to achieve optimal rabbit performance.
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