Abstract

An experiment was conducted in New Zealand White breed of rabbits to study the growth performance of rabbits on feeding tree fodder included complete extruder feed. Twenty four weaned New Zealand White breed of rabbits aged between six to seven weeks were randomized into 4 treatments with 6 replicates (one male and five females) in each. The treatments were extruder feed with Desmanthus virgatus, concentrate feed 85 parts with desmanthus 15 parts (T1), extruder feed with Subabul (Leucaena leucocephala) concentrate – 83 parts with 17 parts of Subabul (T2), extruder feed with Kalyana Murungai (Erythrina indica) concentrate – 75 parts with 25 parts of Kalyana Murungai (T3) and extruder feed with Jack Fruit leaves (Artocarpus heterophyllus) concentrate – 85 parts with 15 parts of Jack Fruit leaves (T4). The trial was conducted for ten weeks period. The overall average daily gain (ADG) observed in the treatment groups of T1, T2, T3 and T4 were 14.44 g, 12.51 g, 14.77g and 13.25g, respectively. The growth performance of rabbits on Erythrina indica tree fodder was found to be better than the leguminous green fodder Desmanthus virgatus. The Leucaena leucocephala and Artocarpus heterophyllus fed groups also showed a comparable growth performance. The feed conversion ratio in Erythrina indica fed group was lower than the Desmanthus virgatus group (4.27 vs. 4.59). The dry matter intake and feed conversion ratio in Leucaena leucocephala and Artocarpus heterophyllus fed groups seems to be found higher; on cost of production it was economical. This study reveals that the complete extruder feed with tree fodder can be effectively utilized as fodder source for broiler rabbits to reduce the production cost.

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