A Research on the Use of Mash and Pelleted Feeds with Fresh Alfalfa in Rabbit Diets

Authors: Sahibe ÇALIŞKANER, Yıldız AKIN, İbrahim ÇİFTÇİ, Mevlüt GÜNAL

Abstract: The effects on the fattening performance and carcass characteristics in New Zealand White rabbits fed pelleted or mash commercial diets with supplementary fresh alfalfa were investigated in this research. The research was conducted in 6 weeks with 96 New Zealand White rabbits in 3 replicates of 8 rabbits (4 female, 4 male) in the 4 groups. The 4 experimental diets were respectively formulated on the basis of pelleted feed, mash feed, pelleted feed plus fresh alfalfa and mash feed plus fresh alfalfa. As the end of the experiment no significant differences were found among the groups in live weight, feed consumption, feed efficiency and livability (P>0.05). The rabbits which had the highest weight gain consumed pelleted diet plus fresh alfalfa resulted in more weight gain (P>0.01) than that of group consumed only mash diet. As the result of the carcass characteristics only in the values of crude fat P<0.01) and nitrogen-free extract (P<0.05) were obtained statistically significant defference.

Keywords: Rabbit diets, Mash feed, Pelleted feed, Fresh alfalfa, Fattening performance