Performance of crossbred weaner rabbits fed diets formulated from mixtures of legume and grass

Twenty four (24) crossbred weaner rabbits aged between 5-6 weeks with an initial weight ranging between 587.8g and 658.8g were used to investigate the performance and nutrient digestibility of rabbits fed diets containing mixture of grasses and legume. Three experimental diets were formulated, Diet T1 was the control fed concentrate feed without forage, Diet T2 contained a mixture of Gliricidia sepium and Panicum maximum while Diet T3 contained Gliricidia sepium and Brachiaria brizantha, mainly in substitution for the maize of the control diet. The animals were randomly distributed into three treatment groups of 8 rabbits each with each serving as a replicate in a completely randomised design experiment. The experiment lasted for eight weeks. The type of forage used in this study did not have effect on the nutrient intake of the rabbits and except the dry matter and ash digestibilities, other nutrients were not affected by the dietary treatments. It was observed that final weight, weight gain and daily feed intake are not significantly (P>0.05) affected by the experimental diets. The highest final weight (1193g) was observed in T3 though similar to T2 (1111.20) and the lowest final weight (1036.20g) was observed in T1 (containing no forage). Average daily weight gain followed the same trend with 9.54g, 9.35g and 7.6g in recorded for T3, T2 and T1 respectively. The best feed efficiency was observed for T3 (8.41). It can be concluded that incorporation of legume/ grass mixtures, as substitutes for maize in rabbit diets will give better results when compared with diet without forages.Keywords: legume/grass mixtures, Concentrate, weaner rabbits, feed efficiency, nutrient digestibilit