Productive behavior and carcass characteristics of rabbits fed with Moringa oleifera fl our

Abstract

36 California and New Zealand White rabbits with an average live weight of 554 g and 37 days of age were used in a completely randomized design with the objective to evaluate the eff ect of inclusion of Moringa oleifera leaf meal (MOLM) in rabbits feeding on the productive behavior, carcass characteristics and gastrointestinal tract morphometry. The treatments were: T1 commercial concentrate (CC); T2 CC with 16% of MOLM and T3 CC with 19.64% of MOLM. It was found that the best (p <0.05) LWG and FCI were obtained with T1 (19.22 g/animal/day and 5.69) and T3 (20.49 g/ animal/day and 5.57), which diff er statistically (p <0.05) of T2 (15.61 g/animal/day and 7.13). For live weight at slaughter, carcass yield, loin and chest weight, no statistical diff erences (p> 0.05) were found between T1 and T3, but these diff ered signifi cantly (p <0.05) from T2. In conclusion, the inclusion of 19.64% of MOLM in the concentrate for rabbits, does not aff ect the productive behavior, the characteristics of the carcass and the morphometry of the gastrointestinal tract, being a viable alternative for its use in farms of small producers.