EFFECT OF REPLACEMENT OF BARLEY GRAINS AND SOYBEAN MEAL BY DISTILLER'S DRIED GRAINS WITH SOLUBLES WITH OR WITHOUT SUPPLEMENTED SEAWEED IN GROWING RABBIT RATIONS ON: 4- Nutrients digestibility, nutritive values and some caecum fermentation.

Abstract

Twenty seven New Zealand White (NZW) rabbits with an average live body weight (LBW) of 2.07 kg ± 0.062 and 12 weeks old were divided into nine similar groups (3 in each). The experimental groups were fed randomly on one of the nine formulated experimental rations used. The 1 st ration (R1) was used as a control, which contained: 10 % yellow corn +[ 10 % barley + 13.7 % soybean meal +20 % wheat bran +40 % clover hay + 3 % molasses + 1 % dicalcium phosphate + 1.2 % limestone + 0.5 % sodium chloride + 0.4 % premix + 0.2 % methionine]. The substitution was equal parts of barley and SBM by 10 % and 20 % DDGS for ration 2 (R2) and ration 3 (R3), respectively. The supplemented seaweed (SW) for these rations was at two levels. The first level was by 0.5 % seaweed of the total mixed ration for ration 4 (R4), ration 5 (R5) and ration 6 (R6). The second level was by 1.0 % seaweed of the total mixed ration for ration 7 (R7), ration 8 (R8) and ration 9 (R9). All rations were in pelleted form and nearly isonitrogenous and isocaloric. The results of the present study revealed that the dry matter intake was increased (P < 0.05) when feeding on R8 (10 % DDGS + 1 % SW) (128.91 g/h/d) and R6 (20 % DDGS + 0.5 % SW) (126.67 g/h/d) than the other rations. The highest TDNI (g/h/d) (P < 0.05) values were obtained in groups fed on R6 (20 % DDGS + 0.5 % SW) or R8 (10 % DDGS + 1.0 % SW) being 90.18 and 91.40, respectively. The DEI (kcal/h/d) had also, the same trend as TDNI, but DEI increased (P < 0.05) with feeding on R3 58 EAD et al. than feeding the other experimental diets, while the lowest value was observed with feeding on R1. The digestible crude protein intake to digestible energy (g/Mcal) value was higher (