PERFORMANCE AND COST BENEFITS ANALYSIS OF WEANER RABBITS FED AFRICAN LOCUST BEAN (Parkia biglobosa) LEAF MEAL BASED DIETS

Abstract

A study was conducted at the Rabbitry unit of the Teaching and Research Animal Farm of the Federal University of Kashere to determine the performance and economics of production of weaner rabbits fed African locust bean (ALB) leaf meal based diets. A total of sixteen (16) weaner rabbits were allocated to four dietary treatments in which ALB leaf meal replaced ‘Full-fat’ soya bean at 0 (control), 2.5, 5.0 and 7.5% tagged as diets 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively. The four treatments were replicated four times with one rabbit per replicate in a completely randomized design (CRD). The experiment lasted for five (5) weeks. The results of the proximate analysis of ALB leaf meal showed that, it contains 12.02% crude protein, 3.02% ether extracts, 20% crude fibre, 0.60% Ash and 81.00% carbohydrates. The results of the performance showed that both initial weights (437.50g - 850.00g) and final weights (1012.50g - 1325.00g) were significantly (P<0.05) affected, with diet 4 having the highest value while the lowest was in diet 2, while all other parameters measured were similar. The cost benefits analysis showed that diet 4 had a lower feed cost ₦/kg gain when compared to control with the lowest value. This study, therefore, revealed that African locust bean leaf meal can be utilized up to 7.5% level as partial replacement for ‘Full-fat’ soya bean as dietary protein source without adverse effects on the performance and with corresponding reduction in feed cost.