Growth performance, carcass traits and muscle fatty acid profile of weaner rabbits fed complete feed blocks with different unconventional roughage sources Bhatt R.S.*, Sharma S.R., Sarkar Srobana, Soni Arvind, Sahoo A. ICAR-Central Sheep and Wool Research InstituteAvikanagar-304501, India *Corresponding author: bhatt_rs@yahoo.com
Online Published on 23 January, 2023. Abstract Bhatt, R.S., Sharma, S.R., Sarkar, S., Soni, A. and Sahoo, A. 2023. Growth performance, carcass traits and muscle fatty acid profile of weaner rabbits fed complete feed blocks with different unconventional roughage sources. Animal Nutrition and Feed Technology, 23: 119–130. Eighty Chinchilla rabbits were divided into four equal groups and fed complete feed blocks containing 25% each of Vigna unguiculata hay (CFB-1), Vigna mungo crop residue (CFB-2), Stylosanthes hamata hay (CFB-3) and Morus alba leaves (CBF-4) along with 75% common concentrate, up to 3 months of age. Rabbits in all groups had similar growth performance. Lower thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) value of meat in CBF-4, CBF-3 and CBF-2 revealed better keeping quality. Proportion of C16:0 and C16:1 fatty acids were lower while C18:2n6c and C20:3n3 were higher in Longissimus thoracis muscle of rabbits fed CFB-2 and CFB-3. The fatty acid desirability in CFB-2 and CFB-3 was due to lower values of SFA, n-6/n-3 ratio, thrombogenic index and higher polyunsaturated fatty acids and n-3 values. Hence, it is concluded that V. mungo crop residue and S. hamata hay at 25% can be an economic feeding strategy for improving keeping quality and fatty acid profile of meat in rabbits. Top Keywords Carcass traits, Fatty acids, Growth, Rabbit, Roughage, Shelf life. Top |