BIBLIOGRAPHY BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL ...
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013. Preference and Acceptability of Stale
Bread as Feed for Rabbits. Benguet State University, La Trinidad, Benguet.
Adviser: Sonwright B. Maddul, Ph.D.
ABSTRACT
The study was conducted to determine the palatability and acceptability of stale
bread as feed for rabbits. Five New Zealand white rabbits were distributed using the
completely randomized design to the following treatments: T1 = broken stale bread, T2 =
crumbled stale bread, T3 = fine stale bread. The mean dry matter content of the
experimental diets was 47.37%. Palatability and acceptability by rabbits did not differ
among the dietary treatments. Crumbled stale bread was the most preferred with
palatability index of 97.07%. Of all the three the diets offered (broken, crumbled and fine
stale bread), acceptability index ranged from 12 – 17%.
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
INTRODUCTION
Rabbits have enormous reproductive and growth potentials which have yet to be
harnessed in developed countries in the form of a profitable rabbit meat industry. Rabbit
production is a means of utilizing small rural holdings in a profitable manner and as a more
efficient means of converting low quality feed ingredients into meat for human
consumption. Rabbit production can also be a family hobby for semi-rural and urban
families and at the same time give the families a supply of very nutritious meat, with all
amino acids for human requirements, that is low in cholesterol and high in Omega-3 fatty
acids (McCroskey, 2000).
The cost of commercial feeds usually accounts for about 70% of total cost of rabbit
production and therefore, to reduce the cost of commercial feed there is a need to use
locally available feed resources. According to Cheeke (1986), one of the advantages of
rabbit production in tropical countries is that rabbits can be fed forages and agricultural by-
products that are not suitable for human consumption. In addition, rabbits do not compete
for feedstuffs used for traditional livestock.
Current feeding practices vary widely in the tropics, depending on the types of feed
material that are available locally. In Africa and Southeast Asia, feeds commonly given to
rabbits include grasses, legumes, groundnut haulms and cowpea haulms, root crops, water
plants and various herbs Aduku and Olukosi (1990). The feeding of stale bread and tortillas
in Mexico has been reported by Lopez et al. (1999) and in the backyard system of rabbit
production in Mauritius by Ramchurn and Dullull (2001).It is reported use as feed
supplement for rabbits; however, stale bread is not fully utilized as another feed resource.
In the locality, it is not known whether stale bread is being fed to rabbits.
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
There are no published data or information available on the utilization of stale bread
as rabbit feed. Consequently, knowledge on palatability and acceptability of stale bread by
rabbits is either inadequate or lacking.
Palatability refers to perceptions of a food’s taste, smell, and texture. Palatability is
important since there is nothing less nutritious than a food an animal will not eat. Although
certain flavours, smells and textures of food are known to appeal more than others, the only
way to assess the palatability of a particular food is conduct Palatability trials in the type
of animal for which the food is intended. These usually involve offering the food to a
sizeable number of animals in their normal environment, over several days, and assessing
their level of consumption and enjoyment.
Stale bread is readily available from local bakeries and bread shops. Its utilization
as rabbit feed is a means to avoid wastage of resources and to convert this waste into
nutritious meat and income. To fully utilize such waste, it would need research that will
demonstrate the potential of stale bread as feed supplement in order to improve rabbit
production.
One of the solutions to the problem of rabbit raisers on how to cut feed cost is to
use locally found materials that meet the daily requirements of the animals. The result of
this study may help the rabbit raisers to lessen their expenses as well as add to their income.
Furthermore, the findings of the study will provide necessary information on the preference
of rabbits for stale bread.
The specific objective of the study was to determine the palatability and
acceptability of stale bread by rabbits. The study was conducted at lower Tomay, Bahong,
La Trinidad, Benguet from September 1 to September 17, 2012.
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Commercial feeds are usually fed to rabbits but these are too expensive especially
in developing countries. Therefore, to reduce the cost of feeds, alternative resource
materials are exploited. Food wastes have been tried as a diet for rabbits by many
researchers as an attempt to reduce the high cost of rabbit feed. For example, tomato skin
and seeds (Alicata et al., 1988), dried orange and lemon pulp (Leto et al., 1984) were used
for feeding meat rabbits. Unthreshed inflorescence or seed heads of mature grain amaranth
plants as feed ingredient of concentrate diets of rabbits was examined by Bamikole et al.
(2000).Feeding experiments have been done to prove the possibility of using stale bread
for rabbit feeding and resulted in the reduction of feed costs.
Utilization of Bread as Rabbit Feed
In Saudi Arabia, Al-Shami and Mohammed (2009) investigated the effect of
Wasted Bread Crumbs (WBC) or Rejected Dates (RD) as replacement of barley grains on
growth performance and carcass traits of growing rabbits.Their data revealed that WBC
was more efficient, resulted in good and higher growth performance and rabbits utilized it
better than RD. Both WBC and RD reduced dressing % and increased head and viscera
relative weights when compared with the control while, WBC reduced (p>0.05) abdominal
fat relative weight and RD increased (p>0.05) abdominal fat relative weight. Both WBC
and RD had no effect on chemical composition of rabbit’s meat. The data indicated that
WBC posses good energy source at different levels for rabbit feeding while RD were less
fit and require further investigation.
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
According to Jenkins (1975), a 250 g of bread per day could supply 800 calories
and 30 g of protein. This amount can also supply 30% energy requirement and 10% of
dietary fiber. By weight, dry or stale bread has about the same feeding value as cereal
grains. Jamora (1978) reported that stale bread has a protein content of about 9%, and can
be used to provide up to 40% of the total ingredients.
Ramchurn and Dullull (2001) used 32 crossbred rabbits which were randomly
allocated to four dietary treatments: ad libitum commercial rabbit pellets, 75% pellets and
stale bread ad libitum, 50% pellets and stale bread ad libitum, and only ad libitum stale
bread. No obvious health problem was encountered during the experiment. The parameters
measured were feed intake and digestibility (dry matter, organic matter, crude protein,
crude fibre and energy).Average feed intake was the highest with 100% commercial
pelleted diet (128 ± 2.04 g DM/day) and lowest on 100% stale bread (58.5 ± 2.45 g
DM/day), reflecting a 54% decrease in dry matter intake. The dry matter, organic matter
and protein digestibility were higher on stale bread than on commercial pellets.
Palatability
Palatability is a measure of how readily animals will eat a food, and how much they
will consume. There are two ways to test and measure the palatability of foods. The first
palatability is called first bite preference. The measure of the animal’s first impression of
foods aroma and appearance. Because the novelty of a new diet can cause highs and lows
in the first bite test. The second test is called the Total Volume Measurement. It determines
the staying power or ability of diet to maintain the animal interest over time. This is the
animals overall choice of food based on taste, texture for entire period (Phillip-Donaldson,
2003).
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
Acceptability
The measure of whether an animal will consume enough of a food to meet its caloric
needs. To determine whether a food's acceptability changes with time of day and degree to
which a food is appropriate for a given mealtime, preferences will be obtained in the
morning Twenty-nine laboratory taste tests were conducted, each with from 27 to 38
consumers. During each test, one or more food products were tested for
preference/acceptability and then rated for their appropriateness in 10 different use
situations. Additional tests were conducted to assess any biasing effect of collecting the
appropriateness data on the obtained acceptance ratings and the applicability of
appropriateness scaling to conceptual foods. It is concluded that appropriateness ratings
can be obtained in taste tests without jeopardizing the validity of preference/ acceptability
judgments. In addition, appropriateness judgments obtained as part of routine sensory
evaluation can provide valuable information to guide product development and to
maximize food utility in the intended use situation by Ayala et al. (1998).
Effect of Particle Size on Performance
Physical form of forage may influence productive performance through the
influence on mastication, microbial fermentation in the rumen, and the rate of passage and
digestion in the gastro-intestinal tract Lu et al., (2005). The method of processing the feeds,
such as chopping, is also a factor which effects feed intake. When feed is chopped into
short pieces, the length of the long fibers is decreased and the animals have less opportunity
to select between the different parts of the feed. This leads to increased feed intake and
reduced time for eating. However, when grass or hay is offered in long, unchopped form
the animals have more opportunity to select between stem and leaf, which leads to
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
increased nutritive value of the feed consumed and increased time for eating. Omokanye
et al. (2001) found that chopping of browse species before offering enhanced intake by
around 60%.
Do Thi Thanh Van (2006) cited the research work of Kenney and Black (1984) who
found that reducing the length of forage particles increases intake rate and preference for
the short material. This principle appears toehold irrespective of the DM content of the
forage.
Rabbits seem to perform better when fed pellets than when they are fed mixed
grains or textured feeds, primarily because the animals are not able to sort out preferred
items. For example, Jackel (1952) who reported that pelleted dehydrated alfalfa is preferred
to alfalfa in its natural form. Rabbits, like most other animals, will select only the alfalfa
leaves and leave the stems uneaten. This feeding practice results in a low-fiber diet and
potential enteritis. Pellets need to be hard and durable, because rabbits prefer not to eat the
fines. If an animal does eat too many fines or if the particle size is too small, there will be
an increase in retention time in the gut, reduced gut motility, and enteritis. Large
indigestible fiber particles are needed for normal cecal-colonic motility. Hypo motility of
the gut predisposes an animal to enteritis. Feeding pellets of small diameter (<0.25 cm)
will lower intake and ultimately weight gain due to increased feeding time (Maertens and
Villamide, 1998). Feeding larger diameter pellets (>0.5 cm) results in greater feed wastage.
Maertens and Villamide (1998) recommend a pellet length for rabbits of 0.8 to 1.0 cm
because longer pellets will cause greater breakage and production of smaller pellets.
McNitt et al. (1996) suggests that a solid and firm pellet of 0.63 cm in length and 0.47cm
in diameter is optimum for rabbits.
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
Motedayen et al. (2001) concluded that the use of crumbled pellets for lactating
rabbits having litters of 20–50day old result to minimize the feed waste by 12.4 % in control
group and 0.7 % in experimental group without any adverse effects and it also cause an
increase in growth rate of young rabbits by 13 %.
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Experimental Materials
A total of five rabbits, approximately 3 months old and of the New Zealand White
breed was used in this experiment. The rabbits were purchased from a single source to
minimize variations. The animals were treated against endo-and ecto-parasites following
recommended practices. The rabbits were housed individually in elevated cages made of
metal framework and wire screen.
White loaf bread, which is about 4 to 5 days from the expiry date, was collected
from a selected bake shop in La Trinidad, Benguet. The stale bread were either broken into
pieces and crumbles, or ground into fine particles to produce three forms by which the
bread was offered to the experimental animals.
Experimental Procedure
The form of stale bread served as dietary treatments:
T1 = Broken stale bread
T2= Crumbled stale bread
T3 = Fine stale bread
Preference and acceptability of stale bread were determined by feeding the rabbits
with the dietary treatments in two experiments as follows:
Dietary Palatability Test
The experimental animals were given a choice from several diets of stale bread. The
relative intakes of the diets were measured quantitatively to represent the response of the
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
animals. The cafeteria-style was used in which rabbits are given a selection of different
food items presented in equal amounts simultaneously.
The preference trial lasted for 10 days in two phases: protocol conditioning and
preference testing. A 5-day conditioning phase served to familiarize rabbits with each test
diet. Following the protocol conditioning phase, a preference trial was conducted over 5
days. Data on the amount of feed offered and leftovers were gathered during the last phase.
Each dietary treatment was weighed and offered simultaneously in separate
containers. Rabbits were offered 100 g of the test diets twice daily at 6:30 AM and 6:00
PM. Sufficient feed was placed in each container so that feed would not be depleted and
force the rabbits to eat other feeds. Feed remaining from the previous feeding were weighed
to determine amount consumed before the containers was refilled. The location of the
containers in the cages was randomized at each feeding to prevent bias due to position.
Drinking water was supplied ad libitum in earthen containers or crocks.
Dietary Acceptability Test
The dietary acceptance trial made use of the single choice selection in which
experimental animals were not given a choice of diets. Only one test diet was offered to
the experimental rabbits at a time for a period of 30 minutes. The same dietary treatments
were tested in this trial involving the same experimental animals used in the palatability
trial. Drawing of lots was used to determine which diet would be offered in sequence.
Each rabbit was offered 100 g of fine stale bread at 6:30AM for two days. The diet
was withdrawn from the animals 30 minutes after this was offered and weighed for
leftovers. At this time, the animals were fed with camote leaves and stems (not included in
the test) for the rest of the day.Broken stale bread was offered in same amount and period
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
of time over two days. The last test diet, crumbled stale bread, was offered in same amount
and period for the last two days of the experiment. The orders by which the test diets are
offered were determined by drawing lots.
From each test diet, 50g of samples were taken for dry matter content
determination. Samples were dried at 60 °C for 24 hours in a Memmert convection oven.
The following data were gathered from both experiments
1. Amount of feed offered daily (g). The amount of each test diet given to an
experimental animal was measured daily using a feed scale.
2. Amount of feed leftover (g). The amount of feed not consumed by each
experimental animal was weighed before a new feed was given in the morning.
3. Weight of feed samples. Samples of the test diets were weighed before and after
oven drying.
From the data gathered, the following indicators were computed:
1. Amount of dry matter in feed. The amount of dry matter in the test diet was
computed as: %Dry Matter =Weight of Feed Samples after Drying X 100
Weight of Feed Samples before Drying
2. Total feed intake, fresh basis. This was obtained by getting the difference
between the amount of feed offered to and feed refused by each experimental animal.
3. Daily feed intake, fresh basis. The daily feed intake was calculated as:
Daily Feed Intake = Total Feed Intake
Duration of Test
4. Total feed intake, dry matter basis. This was computed by multiplying the Feed
intake, fresh basis, of each animal with the DM content of the test diet it consumed.
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
5. Relative palatability index. This was calculated as:
Relative Palatability Index = Daily Feed Intake X 100
Highest Feed Intake
6. Relative acceptability index. This was calculated as:
Acceptability Index = Amount of Feed Consumed X 100
Amount of Feed Offered
Data Analysis
Data on feed intakes, palatability index and acceptability index were subjected to
one-way analysis of variance for completely randomized design of an experiment.
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Dry Matter Content of Test Diets
The dry matter content of the test diets is presented in Table 1.Crumbled and fine
stale bread has 47.86% and 47.42% dry matter, respectively. Broken stale bread has adry
matter content of 46.57%. The mean dry matter content of the experimental diets was
determined to be 47.37%.
Palatability of Stale Bread
Feed intake. Table 2 shows the feed intake in fresh and dry matter basis of the
experimental rabbits. Analysis of variance shows no significant difference among
treatment means. The low feed intake of stale bread in palatability trial may due to the basic
ingredients such as (yeast) used in preparing this product.This can be explained partly by
the fact that rabbits adjust their feed intake according to the energy concentration of the
feed. In the study of Ramchurn and Dullull (2001), the digestible energy of stale bread was
14.9 MJ/kg DM compared with 10.1 for the commercial pellets.Al-Shami and Mohammed
(2009) also found that the relatively high carbohydrate and high digestible energy value
may be related to lower daily feed intake by rabbits.
Table 1. Dry matter content of test diets
TREATMENT % DRY MATTER
________________________________________________________________________
Broken stale bread 46.57
Crumbled stale bread 47.86
Fine stale bread 47.47
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
According to Samuel (2000), the low palatability of stale bread may be due to the
ingredients used in preparing this commodity. Breads are treated with chemical
preservatives for longer shelf life. Another factor involved is that bread is slightly acidic
with a pH level of 5.3 to 5.8. Acidity of diets may result in low acceptance of the test
diets.
Another associated lower feed intake of stale bread may due to the sizes of the test
diets offered to the rabbits. According to Bath (1982), the factor that affect the feed intake
by the animal include the size, and texture of the food. Feed quality and physical
appearance such as dry matter and particle size may affect the feed intake of the animals
Inoue et al. (1994) as cited by Samuel (2000).
Table 2 also, shows the dry matter intake of experimental rabbits. Analysis of
variance shows no significant difference between treatment means. Rabbits fed under
broken and crumbled stale bread have a dry matter intake (DMI) of 64.89 and 70.03 grams,
respectively. Rabbits fed fine stale bread have a dry matter intake of 68.30 grams. These
data are in agreement with Ramchurn and Dullull (2001) who observed that rabbits fed a
sole diet of stale bread had an intake of 58.5 ± 2.45g/kg DM in air dry.
Table 2. Feed intake of the experimental rabbits during the palatability trial
FRESHINTAKE (g) DM INTAKE_ (g)
TREATMENT TOTAL DAILY TOTAL DAILY
________________________________________________________________________
Broken stale bread 133.60 26.72 64.89 12.97
Crumbled stale bread 146.0 29.20 70.03 14.10
Fine stale bread 138.40 27.68 68.30 13.67
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
Palatability index. Table 3 shows the relative palatability of stale bread by rabbits.
Analysis of variance shows no significant difference among treatment means. Based on
the preference for the three test diets, crumbled stale bread was the most preferred by
experimental rabbits, followed by fine stale bread and broken stale bread.
Acceptability of Stale Bread
Feed intake. Table 4 shows the amount of feed intake of experimental rabbits in the
acceptability trial. Statistical analysis shows no significant difference among treatments
means. The feed intake by rabbits in this experiment was lower compared to those in the
palatability trial because of the shorter duration. Lower feed intake can be explained partly
by the fact that rabbits adjust their feed intake according to the energy concentration of the
feed.
Ramchurn and Dullull (2001) found out that the reduction in intake of stale bread
increased as duration of study and the proportion of the stale bread increases. According to
Atkins and Smith (1997), as cited by Ramchurn and Dullul (2001), the low intake in stale
bread may be due to energy requirement by the animals. If the energy, protein and fiber
content different widely from the animals requirement for energy, protein and fiber,
Table 3. Relative palatability index
RELATIVE PREFERENCE
TREATMENT PALATABILITY RANKING
________________________________________________________________________
Broken stale 89.07 3
Crumbled stale bread 97.07 1
Fine stale bread 93.50 2
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
feed intake would be depressed. The imbalances of protein, calcium and phosphorus,
relative to energy in the stale bread are the most likely explanation of low feed intake when
only this feed was supplied.
Another associated reason for the lower acceptance by experimental animals is the
size of test diets and baking process. Gidenne (1992) reported that the size and type of the
fibre of the diet can affect the feed intake. McNitt et al. (1996) suggested that a solid and
firm diets or a pellet of 0.63 cm in length and 0.47cm in diameter is optimum for rabbits.
According to Maertens and Villamide (1998), feeding of small diameter (<0.25 cm) will
lower intake and feeding larger diameter pellets (>0.5 cm) results in greater feed wastage.
Table 4 also shows the dry matter intake of experimental rabbits. Analysis variance
shows no significant differences between treatment means. A rabbit fed under crumbled
stale bread with dry matter intake (DMI) of 16.79 grams and rabbits fed under broken and
fine stale bread with dry matter intake of 11.96 grams 14.32 grams, respectively.
Table 4. Feed intake of experimental rabbits during acceptability trial
FRESH INTAKE (g) DM INTAKE (g)
TOTAL DAILY TOTAL DAILY
TREATMENTS__________________________________________________________
Broken stale bread 25.0 4.17 11.96 2.03
Crumbled stale bread 35.0 5.83 16.79 2.80
Fine stale bread 29.0 4.83 14.32 2.39
Relative acceptability index. Analysis of variance shows no significant difference
among treatment means (Table 5). Only one test diet was offered to the experimental
rabbits at a time for thirty minutes. Among the three test diets offered, crumbled stale
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
bread (17.5) was the most liked by the experimental rabbits as shown by the acceptability
ranking. The acceptability of stale bread was very low. This is because of voluntary feed
intake factors of the animals such as the flavour, odor, taste, smell, physical texture, and
size of the food.
It is well known that particle size of the diets may influence acceptability. Particle
size and textures also may have some effect as evidenced by the fact that many animals
will readily crack or rolled grains than to whole grains.The diet with the shortest particle
size reduced feed intake of fattening rabbits, lactating does and suckling rabbits (21–30 d
of age) by 7%, 10% and 30%, respectively (Nicodemus et al. 2006).
Table 5. Relative acceptability index
RELATIVE ACCEPTABILITY
TREATMENT ACCEPTABILITY RANKING
________________________________________________________________________
Broken stale bread 12.50 3
Crumbled stale bread 17.50 1
Fine stale bread 14.50 2
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Summary
The study on the preference and acceptability of stale bread by domestic rabbits
was conducted at Lower Tomay, Bahong in La Trinidad, Benguet on September
2012.White loaf bread, about 4 to 5 days from the expiry date, were collected from a
selected bake shop in La Trinidad, Benguet The stale bread were either broken into pieces
and crumbles, or ground into fine particles to produce three forms by which the bread was
offered to the experimental animals.
The dietary treatments in five replications and laid out incompletely randomized
design were as follows: T1 (broken stale bread), T2 (crumbled stale bread) and T3 (fine stale
bread). From each test diet, 50g of samples were taken for dry matter content
determination. Five New Zealand white rabbits were used in a palatability trial which
lasted for 10 days and in acceptability trials carried out in two days for each form of stale
bread. In the palatability trial, the cafeteria-style was used in which rabbits were given a
selection of the diets presented in equal amounts simultaneously. Rabbits were offered 100
g of the test diets in separate containers twice daily at 6:30 AM and 6:00 PM. The location
of the containers in the cages was randomized at each feeding to prevent bias due to
position.
The same dietary treatments were tested in the acceptability trial involving the same
rabbits used in the palatability trial. Only one test diet was offered to the experimental
rabbits at a time for a period of 30 minutes. Drawing of lots was used to determine which
diet would be offered in sequence. Each rabbit was offered 100 g of fine stale bread at
6:30AM for two days. The diet was withdrawn from the animals 30 minutes after this was
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
offered and weighed for leftovers. In both experiments, drinking water was supplied ad
libitum in earthen containers.
The form of stale bread such as broken crumbled and fine did not have significant
effect on relative palatability and acceptance by the experimental rabbits. Among the three
diets offered to the rabbits, crumbled stale bread was preferred and accepted most by the
experimental rabbits.
Conclusions
Stale bread, whether broken, crumbled or fine, has no apparent effect on palatability
and acceptance by rabbits. Thus, stale bread can be fed to rabbits in any form. Crumbled
stale bread was the most preferred by the rabbits among the three diets offered.
Recommendations
It is recommended that crumbled stale bread can be offered as alternative feed. For
higher palatability and acceptability stale bread can be offered as toasted or dry to rabbits.
However, this needs to be confirmed in a feeding trial involving growing and fattening
rabbits.
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
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rabbit production Development. Surrey, BC Canada V4N 3T7.Retrieved onApril1,
2012 from http://www.cipav.org.co/lrrd/lrrd18/02/samk18022.htm.
MCNITT, J. R. CHEEKE, N. M. PATTON, and S. D. LUKEFAHR. 1996. The Rabbit
production .Interstate Publishers, Inc. Danville, IL. NRC. United States Canadian
Tables of Feed Composition.
MOTEDAYEN, M. H., F. TODEDEHGHAN, M.A. AKHAVIZADEGAN, B. TOHIDI
and O. GHADAMPOUR. 2001. Practical Approach to minimize wastage in the
Rabbitry. Arch. Razi Inc. (2001) 52.
NICODEMUS, N., J. GARCÍA, R. CARABAÑO and J. C. DE BLAS. 2006. Effect of a
reduction of dietary particle size by substituting a mixture of fibrous by-products
for lucerne hay on performance and digestion of growing rabbits and lactating does.
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http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/livsci/article/PIIS0301622605
003/abstract.
OMOKANYE, A.T., R.O. BALOGUN, O.S. ONIFADE R.A. AFOLAYAN and M. E.
OLYEMI. 2001. Assessment of preference and intake of browse specie by Yankasa
sheep at Shika Niger. Small Ruminant. Res. 42: 203-210.
PHILLIP-DONALDSON, D.2003. Pet Nutrition Guide: Pet food Palatability Research and
future prospects, Book Services, H.R. Publications.Pp.236-238.
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RAMCHURN, R. and Y.DULLULL. 2001. The intake and digestibility of stale bread by
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2012fromhttp://www.cipav.org.co/lrrd/lrrd13/3/ram133.htm.
SAMUEL, S. 2000. "Brewing and baking”. Ancient Egyptian materials and technology.
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Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013. Preference and Acceptability of Stale
Bread as Feed for Rabbits. Benguet State University, La Trinidad, Benguet.
Adviser: Sonwright B. Maddul, Ph.D.
ABSTRACT
The study was conducted to determine the palatability and acceptability of stale
bread as feed for rabbits. Five New Zealand white rabbits were distributed using the
completely randomized design to the following treatments: T1 = broken stale bread, T2 =
crumbled stale bread, T3 = fine stale bread. The mean dry matter content of the
experimental diets was 47.37%. Palatability and acceptability by rabbits did not differ
among the dietary treatments. Crumbled stale bread was the most preferred with
palatability index of 97.07%. Of all the three the diets offered (broken, crumbled and fine
stale bread), acceptability index ranged from 12 – 17%.
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
INTRODUCTION
Rabbits have enormous reproductive and growth potentials which have yet to be
harnessed in developed countries in the form of a profitable rabbit meat industry. Rabbit
production is a means of utilizing small rural holdings in a profitable manner and as a more
efficient means of converting low quality feed ingredients into meat for human
consumption. Rabbit production can also be a family hobby for semi-rural and urban
families and at the same time give the families a supply of very nutritious meat, with all
amino acids for human requirements, that is low in cholesterol and high in Omega-3 fatty
acids (McCroskey, 2000).
The cost of commercial feeds usually accounts for about 70% of total cost of rabbit
production and therefore, to reduce the cost of commercial feed there is a need to use
locally available feed resources. According to Cheeke (1986), one of the advantages of
rabbit production in tropical countries is that rabbits can be fed forages and agricultural by-
products that are not suitable for human consumption. In addition, rabbits do not compete
for feedstuffs used for traditional livestock.
Current feeding practices vary widely in the tropics, depending on the types of feed
material that are available locally. In Africa and Southeast Asia, feeds commonly given to
rabbits include grasses, legumes, groundnut haulms and cowpea haulms, root crops, water
plants and various herbs Aduku and Olukosi (1990). The feeding of stale bread and tortillas
in Mexico has been reported by Lopez et al. (1999) and in the backyard system of rabbit
production in Mauritius by Ramchurn and Dullull (2001).It is reported use as feed
supplement for rabbits; however, stale bread is not fully utilized as another feed resource.
In the locality, it is not known whether stale bread is being fed to rabbits.
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
There are no published data or information available on the utilization of stale bread
as rabbit feed. Consequently, knowledge on palatability and acceptability of stale bread by
rabbits is either inadequate or lacking.
Palatability refers to perceptions of a food’s taste, smell, and texture. Palatability is
important since there is nothing less nutritious than a food an animal will not eat. Although
certain flavours, smells and textures of food are known to appeal more than others, the only
way to assess the palatability of a particular food is conduct Palatability trials in the type
of animal for which the food is intended. These usually involve offering the food to a
sizeable number of animals in their normal environment, over several days, and assessing
their level of consumption and enjoyment.
Stale bread is readily available from local bakeries and bread shops. Its utilization
as rabbit feed is a means to avoid wastage of resources and to convert this waste into
nutritious meat and income. To fully utilize such waste, it would need research that will
demonstrate the potential of stale bread as feed supplement in order to improve rabbit
production.
One of the solutions to the problem of rabbit raisers on how to cut feed cost is to
use locally found materials that meet the daily requirements of the animals. The result of
this study may help the rabbit raisers to lessen their expenses as well as add to their income.
Furthermore, the findings of the study will provide necessary information on the preference
of rabbits for stale bread.
The specific objective of the study was to determine the palatability and
acceptability of stale bread by rabbits. The study was conducted at lower Tomay, Bahong,
La Trinidad, Benguet from September 1 to September 17, 2012.
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Commercial feeds are usually fed to rabbits but these are too expensive especially
in developing countries. Therefore, to reduce the cost of feeds, alternative resource
materials are exploited. Food wastes have been tried as a diet for rabbits by many
researchers as an attempt to reduce the high cost of rabbit feed. For example, tomato skin
and seeds (Alicata et al., 1988), dried orange and lemon pulp (Leto et al., 1984) were used
for feeding meat rabbits. Unthreshed inflorescence or seed heads of mature grain amaranth
plants as feed ingredient of concentrate diets of rabbits was examined by Bamikole et al.
(2000).Feeding experiments have been done to prove the possibility of using stale bread
for rabbit feeding and resulted in the reduction of feed costs.
Utilization of Bread as Rabbit Feed
In Saudi Arabia, Al-Shami and Mohammed (2009) investigated the effect of
Wasted Bread Crumbs (WBC) or Rejected Dates (RD) as replacement of barley grains on
growth performance and carcass traits of growing rabbits.Their data revealed that WBC
was more efficient, resulted in good and higher growth performance and rabbits utilized it
better than RD. Both WBC and RD reduced dressing % and increased head and viscera
relative weights when compared with the control while, WBC reduced (p>0.05) abdominal
fat relative weight and RD increased (p>0.05) abdominal fat relative weight. Both WBC
and RD had no effect on chemical composition of rabbit’s meat. The data indicated that
WBC posses good energy source at different levels for rabbit feeding while RD were less
fit and require further investigation.
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
According to Jenkins (1975), a 250 g of bread per day could supply 800 calories
and 30 g of protein. This amount can also supply 30% energy requirement and 10% of
dietary fiber. By weight, dry or stale bread has about the same feeding value as cereal
grains. Jamora (1978) reported that stale bread has a protein content of about 9%, and can
be used to provide up to 40% of the total ingredients.
Ramchurn and Dullull (2001) used 32 crossbred rabbits which were randomly
allocated to four dietary treatments: ad libitum commercial rabbit pellets, 75% pellets and
stale bread ad libitum, 50% pellets and stale bread ad libitum, and only ad libitum stale
bread. No obvious health problem was encountered during the experiment. The parameters
measured were feed intake and digestibility (dry matter, organic matter, crude protein,
crude fibre and energy).Average feed intake was the highest with 100% commercial
pelleted diet (128 ± 2.04 g DM/day) and lowest on 100% stale bread (58.5 ± 2.45 g
DM/day), reflecting a 54% decrease in dry matter intake. The dry matter, organic matter
and protein digestibility were higher on stale bread than on commercial pellets.
Palatability
Palatability is a measure of how readily animals will eat a food, and how much they
will consume. There are two ways to test and measure the palatability of foods. The first
palatability is called first bite preference. The measure of the animal’s first impression of
foods aroma and appearance. Because the novelty of a new diet can cause highs and lows
in the first bite test. The second test is called the Total Volume Measurement. It determines
the staying power or ability of diet to maintain the animal interest over time. This is the
animals overall choice of food based on taste, texture for entire period (Phillip-Donaldson,
2003).
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
Acceptability
The measure of whether an animal will consume enough of a food to meet its caloric
needs. To determine whether a food's acceptability changes with time of day and degree to
which a food is appropriate for a given mealtime, preferences will be obtained in the
morning Twenty-nine laboratory taste tests were conducted, each with from 27 to 38
consumers. During each test, one or more food products were tested for
preference/acceptability and then rated for their appropriateness in 10 different use
situations. Additional tests were conducted to assess any biasing effect of collecting the
appropriateness data on the obtained acceptance ratings and the applicability of
appropriateness scaling to conceptual foods. It is concluded that appropriateness ratings
can be obtained in taste tests without jeopardizing the validity of preference/ acceptability
judgments. In addition, appropriateness judgments obtained as part of routine sensory
evaluation can provide valuable information to guide product development and to
maximize food utility in the intended use situation by Ayala et al. (1998).
Effect of Particle Size on Performance
Physical form of forage may influence productive performance through the
influence on mastication, microbial fermentation in the rumen, and the rate of passage and
digestion in the gastro-intestinal tract Lu et al., (2005). The method of processing the feeds,
such as chopping, is also a factor which effects feed intake. When feed is chopped into
short pieces, the length of the long fibers is decreased and the animals have less opportunity
to select between the different parts of the feed. This leads to increased feed intake and
reduced time for eating. However, when grass or hay is offered in long, unchopped form
the animals have more opportunity to select between stem and leaf, which leads to
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
increased nutritive value of the feed consumed and increased time for eating. Omokanye
et al. (2001) found that chopping of browse species before offering enhanced intake by
around 60%.
Do Thi Thanh Van (2006) cited the research work of Kenney and Black (1984) who
found that reducing the length of forage particles increases intake rate and preference for
the short material. This principle appears toehold irrespective of the DM content of the
forage.
Rabbits seem to perform better when fed pellets than when they are fed mixed
grains or textured feeds, primarily because the animals are not able to sort out preferred
items. For example, Jackel (1952) who reported that pelleted dehydrated alfalfa is preferred
to alfalfa in its natural form. Rabbits, like most other animals, will select only the alfalfa
leaves and leave the stems uneaten. This feeding practice results in a low-fiber diet and
potential enteritis. Pellets need to be hard and durable, because rabbits prefer not to eat the
fines. If an animal does eat too many fines or if the particle size is too small, there will be
an increase in retention time in the gut, reduced gut motility, and enteritis. Large
indigestible fiber particles are needed for normal cecal-colonic motility. Hypo motility of
the gut predisposes an animal to enteritis. Feeding pellets of small diameter (<0.25 cm)
will lower intake and ultimately weight gain due to increased feeding time (Maertens and
Villamide, 1998). Feeding larger diameter pellets (>0.5 cm) results in greater feed wastage.
Maertens and Villamide (1998) recommend a pellet length for rabbits of 0.8 to 1.0 cm
because longer pellets will cause greater breakage and production of smaller pellets.
McNitt et al. (1996) suggests that a solid and firm pellet of 0.63 cm in length and 0.47cm
in diameter is optimum for rabbits.
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
Motedayen et al. (2001) concluded that the use of crumbled pellets for lactating
rabbits having litters of 20–50day old result to minimize the feed waste by 12.4 % in control
group and 0.7 % in experimental group without any adverse effects and it also cause an
increase in growth rate of young rabbits by 13 %.
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Experimental Materials
A total of five rabbits, approximately 3 months old and of the New Zealand White
breed was used in this experiment. The rabbits were purchased from a single source to
minimize variations. The animals were treated against endo-and ecto-parasites following
recommended practices. The rabbits were housed individually in elevated cages made of
metal framework and wire screen.
White loaf bread, which is about 4 to 5 days from the expiry date, was collected
from a selected bake shop in La Trinidad, Benguet. The stale bread were either broken into
pieces and crumbles, or ground into fine particles to produce three forms by which the
bread was offered to the experimental animals.
Experimental Procedure
The form of stale bread served as dietary treatments:
T1 = Broken stale bread
T2= Crumbled stale bread
T3 = Fine stale bread
Preference and acceptability of stale bread were determined by feeding the rabbits
with the dietary treatments in two experiments as follows:
Dietary Palatability Test
The experimental animals were given a choice from several diets of stale bread. The
relative intakes of the diets were measured quantitatively to represent the response of the
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
animals. The cafeteria-style was used in which rabbits are given a selection of different
food items presented in equal amounts simultaneously.
The preference trial lasted for 10 days in two phases: protocol conditioning and
preference testing. A 5-day conditioning phase served to familiarize rabbits with each test
diet. Following the protocol conditioning phase, a preference trial was conducted over 5
days. Data on the amount of feed offered and leftovers were gathered during the last phase.
Each dietary treatment was weighed and offered simultaneously in separate
containers. Rabbits were offered 100 g of the test diets twice daily at 6:30 AM and 6:00
PM. Sufficient feed was placed in each container so that feed would not be depleted and
force the rabbits to eat other feeds. Feed remaining from the previous feeding were weighed
to determine amount consumed before the containers was refilled. The location of the
containers in the cages was randomized at each feeding to prevent bias due to position.
Drinking water was supplied ad libitum in earthen containers or crocks.
Dietary Acceptability Test
The dietary acceptance trial made use of the single choice selection in which
experimental animals were not given a choice of diets. Only one test diet was offered to
the experimental rabbits at a time for a period of 30 minutes. The same dietary treatments
were tested in this trial involving the same experimental animals used in the palatability
trial. Drawing of lots was used to determine which diet would be offered in sequence.
Each rabbit was offered 100 g of fine stale bread at 6:30AM for two days. The diet
was withdrawn from the animals 30 minutes after this was offered and weighed for
leftovers. At this time, the animals were fed with camote leaves and stems (not included in
the test) for the rest of the day.Broken stale bread was offered in same amount and period
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
of time over two days. The last test diet, crumbled stale bread, was offered in same amount
and period for the last two days of the experiment. The orders by which the test diets are
offered were determined by drawing lots.
From each test diet, 50g of samples were taken for dry matter content
determination. Samples were dried at 60 °C for 24 hours in a Memmert convection oven.
The following data were gathered from both experiments
1. Amount of feed offered daily (g). The amount of each test diet given to an
experimental animal was measured daily using a feed scale.
2. Amount of feed leftover (g). The amount of feed not consumed by each
experimental animal was weighed before a new feed was given in the morning.
3. Weight of feed samples. Samples of the test diets were weighed before and after
oven drying.
From the data gathered, the following indicators were computed:
1. Amount of dry matter in feed. The amount of dry matter in the test diet was
computed as: %Dry Matter =Weight of Feed Samples after Drying X 100
Weight of Feed Samples before Drying
2. Total feed intake, fresh basis. This was obtained by getting the difference
between the amount of feed offered to and feed refused by each experimental animal.
3. Daily feed intake, fresh basis. The daily feed intake was calculated as:
Daily Feed Intake = Total Feed Intake
Duration of Test
4. Total feed intake, dry matter basis. This was computed by multiplying the Feed
intake, fresh basis, of each animal with the DM content of the test diet it consumed.
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
5. Relative palatability index. This was calculated as:
Relative Palatability Index = Daily Feed Intake X 100
Highest Feed Intake
6. Relative acceptability index. This was calculated as:
Acceptability Index = Amount of Feed Consumed X 100
Amount of Feed Offered
Data Analysis
Data on feed intakes, palatability index and acceptability index were subjected to
one-way analysis of variance for completely randomized design of an experiment.
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Dry Matter Content of Test Diets
The dry matter content of the test diets is presented in Table 1.Crumbled and fine
stale bread has 47.86% and 47.42% dry matter, respectively. Broken stale bread has adry
matter content of 46.57%. The mean dry matter content of the experimental diets was
determined to be 47.37%.
Palatability of Stale Bread
Feed intake. Table 2 shows the feed intake in fresh and dry matter basis of the
experimental rabbits. Analysis of variance shows no significant difference among
treatment means. The low feed intake of stale bread in palatability trial may due to the basic
ingredients such as (yeast) used in preparing this product.This can be explained partly by
the fact that rabbits adjust their feed intake according to the energy concentration of the
feed. In the study of Ramchurn and Dullull (2001), the digestible energy of stale bread was
14.9 MJ/kg DM compared with 10.1 for the commercial pellets.Al-Shami and Mohammed
(2009) also found that the relatively high carbohydrate and high digestible energy value
may be related to lower daily feed intake by rabbits.
Table 1. Dry matter content of test diets
TREATMENT % DRY MATTER
________________________________________________________________________
Broken stale bread 46.57
Crumbled stale bread 47.86
Fine stale bread 47.47
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
According to Samuel (2000), the low palatability of stale bread may be due to the
ingredients used in preparing this commodity. Breads are treated with chemical
preservatives for longer shelf life. Another factor involved is that bread is slightly acidic
with a pH level of 5.3 to 5.8. Acidity of diets may result in low acceptance of the test
diets.
Another associated lower feed intake of stale bread may due to the sizes of the test
diets offered to the rabbits. According to Bath (1982), the factor that affect the feed intake
by the animal include the size, and texture of the food. Feed quality and physical
appearance such as dry matter and particle size may affect the feed intake of the animals
Inoue et al. (1994) as cited by Samuel (2000).
Table 2 also, shows the dry matter intake of experimental rabbits. Analysis of
variance shows no significant difference between treatment means. Rabbits fed under
broken and crumbled stale bread have a dry matter intake (DMI) of 64.89 and 70.03 grams,
respectively. Rabbits fed fine stale bread have a dry matter intake of 68.30 grams. These
data are in agreement with Ramchurn and Dullull (2001) who observed that rabbits fed a
sole diet of stale bread had an intake of 58.5 ± 2.45g/kg DM in air dry.
Table 2. Feed intake of the experimental rabbits during the palatability trial
FRESHINTAKE (g) DM INTAKE_ (g)
TREATMENT TOTAL DAILY TOTAL DAILY
________________________________________________________________________
Broken stale bread 133.60 26.72 64.89 12.97
Crumbled stale bread 146.0 29.20 70.03 14.10
Fine stale bread 138.40 27.68 68.30 13.67
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
Palatability index. Table 3 shows the relative palatability of stale bread by rabbits.
Analysis of variance shows no significant difference among treatment means. Based on
the preference for the three test diets, crumbled stale bread was the most preferred by
experimental rabbits, followed by fine stale bread and broken stale bread.
Acceptability of Stale Bread
Feed intake. Table 4 shows the amount of feed intake of experimental rabbits in the
acceptability trial. Statistical analysis shows no significant difference among treatments
means. The feed intake by rabbits in this experiment was lower compared to those in the
palatability trial because of the shorter duration. Lower feed intake can be explained partly
by the fact that rabbits adjust their feed intake according to the energy concentration of the
feed.
Ramchurn and Dullull (2001) found out that the reduction in intake of stale bread
increased as duration of study and the proportion of the stale bread increases. According to
Atkins and Smith (1997), as cited by Ramchurn and Dullul (2001), the low intake in stale
bread may be due to energy requirement by the animals. If the energy, protein and fiber
content different widely from the animals requirement for energy, protein and fiber,
Table 3. Relative palatability index
RELATIVE PREFERENCE
TREATMENT PALATABILITY RANKING
________________________________________________________________________
Broken stale 89.07 3
Crumbled stale bread 97.07 1
Fine stale bread 93.50 2
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
feed intake would be depressed. The imbalances of protein, calcium and phosphorus,
relative to energy in the stale bread are the most likely explanation of low feed intake when
only this feed was supplied.
Another associated reason for the lower acceptance by experimental animals is the
size of test diets and baking process. Gidenne (1992) reported that the size and type of the
fibre of the diet can affect the feed intake. McNitt et al. (1996) suggested that a solid and
firm diets or a pellet of 0.63 cm in length and 0.47cm in diameter is optimum for rabbits.
According to Maertens and Villamide (1998), feeding of small diameter (<0.25 cm) will
lower intake and feeding larger diameter pellets (>0.5 cm) results in greater feed wastage.
Table 4 also shows the dry matter intake of experimental rabbits. Analysis variance
shows no significant differences between treatment means. A rabbit fed under crumbled
stale bread with dry matter intake (DMI) of 16.79 grams and rabbits fed under broken and
fine stale bread with dry matter intake of 11.96 grams 14.32 grams, respectively.
Table 4. Feed intake of experimental rabbits during acceptability trial
FRESH INTAKE (g) DM INTAKE (g)
TOTAL DAILY TOTAL DAILY
TREATMENTS__________________________________________________________
Broken stale bread 25.0 4.17 11.96 2.03
Crumbled stale bread 35.0 5.83 16.79 2.80
Fine stale bread 29.0 4.83 14.32 2.39
Relative acceptability index. Analysis of variance shows no significant difference
among treatment means (Table 5). Only one test diet was offered to the experimental
rabbits at a time for thirty minutes. Among the three test diets offered, crumbled stale
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
bread (17.5) was the most liked by the experimental rabbits as shown by the acceptability
ranking. The acceptability of stale bread was very low. This is because of voluntary feed
intake factors of the animals such as the flavour, odor, taste, smell, physical texture, and
size of the food.
It is well known that particle size of the diets may influence acceptability. Particle
size and textures also may have some effect as evidenced by the fact that many animals
will readily crack or rolled grains than to whole grains.The diet with the shortest particle
size reduced feed intake of fattening rabbits, lactating does and suckling rabbits (21–30 d
of age) by 7%, 10% and 30%, respectively (Nicodemus et al. 2006).
Table 5. Relative acceptability index
RELATIVE ACCEPTABILITY
TREATMENT ACCEPTABILITY RANKING
________________________________________________________________________
Broken stale bread 12.50 3
Crumbled stale bread 17.50 1
Fine stale bread 14.50 2
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Summary
The study on the preference and acceptability of stale bread by domestic rabbits
was conducted at Lower Tomay, Bahong in La Trinidad, Benguet on September
2012.White loaf bread, about 4 to 5 days from the expiry date, were collected from a
selected bake shop in La Trinidad, Benguet The stale bread were either broken into pieces
and crumbles, or ground into fine particles to produce three forms by which the bread was
offered to the experimental animals.
The dietary treatments in five replications and laid out incompletely randomized
design were as follows: T1 (broken stale bread), T2 (crumbled stale bread) and T3 (fine stale
bread). From each test diet, 50g of samples were taken for dry matter content
determination. Five New Zealand white rabbits were used in a palatability trial which
lasted for 10 days and in acceptability trials carried out in two days for each form of stale
bread. In the palatability trial, the cafeteria-style was used in which rabbits were given a
selection of the diets presented in equal amounts simultaneously. Rabbits were offered 100
g of the test diets in separate containers twice daily at 6:30 AM and 6:00 PM. The location
of the containers in the cages was randomized at each feeding to prevent bias due to
position.
The same dietary treatments were tested in the acceptability trial involving the same
rabbits used in the palatability trial. Only one test diet was offered to the experimental
rabbits at a time for a period of 30 minutes. Drawing of lots was used to determine which
diet would be offered in sequence. Each rabbit was offered 100 g of fine stale bread at
6:30AM for two days. The diet was withdrawn from the animals 30 minutes after this was
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
offered and weighed for leftovers. In both experiments, drinking water was supplied ad
libitum in earthen containers.
The form of stale bread such as broken crumbled and fine did not have significant
effect on relative palatability and acceptance by the experimental rabbits. Among the three
diets offered to the rabbits, crumbled stale bread was preferred and accepted most by the
experimental rabbits.
Conclusions
Stale bread, whether broken, crumbled or fine, has no apparent effect on palatability
and acceptance by rabbits. Thus, stale bread can be fed to rabbits in any form. Crumbled
stale bread was the most preferred by the rabbits among the three diets offered.
Recommendations
It is recommended that crumbled stale bread can be offered as alternative feed. For
higher palatability and acceptability stale bread can be offered as toasted or dry to rabbits.
However, this needs to be confirmed in a feeding trial involving growing and fattening
rabbits.
Preference and Acceptability of Stale Bread as Feed for Rabbits
BITAYAN, ELNORA V. APRIL 2013
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