DefinePK

Abstract

Background and Objective The increased cost of major protein concentrates has hindered the growth of animal production in the tropics. The study aimed to ascertain the effect of feeding Moringa oleifera leaf meal MOLM on growth response, carcass value and economic indices of growing rabbits. Materials and Methods Forty-eight growing rabbits were randomly divided into four dietary groups T1-T4 of 12 animals each, with four rabbits making a replicate. Rabbits in each treatment were allocated to one of the diets having MOLM at 0, 10, 20 and 30 in a completely randomized design. Results The MOLM was observed to be abundant in essential nutrients. Rabbits on T4 diet had a significantly higher intake 89.84 gday. Rabbits on T3 and T4 diets had the best ADWG and FCR. Cost benefit was influenced p0.05 with T4 animals yielding a higher income of N6.85 per N1 invested. The ADWG 21.99 gday, ADFI 90.19 gday, FCR 4.06 and dressing percent 69.63 were optimized at 35.96, 48.755, 32.71, 32.83 and 31.95 MOLM, respectively. Conclusion It is, therefore, concluded that optimizing MOLM level in the diet of growing rabbits could be helpful in improving their productivity.