EFFECTS OF VARYING LEVELS OF MORINGA (Moringa oleifera) LEAF MEAL ON THE GROWTH PERFORMANCE AND CARCASS CHARACTERISTICS OF WEANER RABBITS

Abstract

Performance of weaner rabbits fed varying levels of Moringa oleifera meal (MOLM) was investigated using sixteen mixed breed weaner rabbits of average weight of 400-600 grams (5-7 weeks) old. The rabbits were randomly allotted to four dietary treatment groups in a completely randomized design (CRD) and each treatment was further sub-divided into four replicates, each having one rabbit per replicate. They were fed growers ration supplemented with Moringa oleifera leaf meal at varying levels of 0%, 5%, 10% and 15%. Results obtained showed that rabbits on 10% Moringa Oleifera Leaf Meal diet achieved the highest weight gain (1575g) while T2, T1 and T4 recorded weight gains of 1500, 1400 and 1066.67g respectively. The result of the mean effects of the treatment on the feed intake revealed that treatment 1, 2 and 4 has significant effect on thefeed intake but  there was no significant difference between 2 and 3 as well as treatment 3 and 1. The carcass evaluation revealed a very strong, positive and highly significant relationship between dressed weight and carcass length (0.98, P ≤ 0.01). The result of this experiment revealed that MOLM at 10% level of inclusion can support the growth of rabbit without any deleterious effect on growth performance and health status of weaner rabbits.