BIBLIOGRAPHY

TIGUI-ING, JANE B. APRIL 2012. Palatability and Voluntary Intake of Local
Feedstuffs by Rabbits. Benguet State University, La Trinidad , Benguet.

Adviser: Sonwright B. Maddul, PhD.

ABSTRACT
The study was conducted to determine the feeding value of local feedstuffs; the
nutrient content of the local feedstuffs, the preference of rabbits based on palatability of
these feedstuffs and the gain in weight of rabbits. Twenty four mature rabbits (New Zealand
and Chinchilla) were distributed using the Completely Randomized Design to the
following treatments: T0- Galinsoga parviflora,(galinsoga), T1- Talinum triangulare
(talinum), T2- Ipomoea aquatica (kangkong) and T3- Moringa oleifera (malunggay). The
experimental period lasted for two weeks.
Forage samples were analyzed for dry matter, crude protein, crude fiber, ash and
gross energy. Results showed that moringa has the highest dry matter with 12.45% and
gross energy with 4249kcal/kg. Ipomoea aquatica was determined the highest in crude
protein with 29.93%. Also, talinum with 29.50%. has the highest ash content. Furthermore,
galinsoga has the highest in crude fiber with 22.33%. Palatability of the different forages
showed high in Ipomoea aquatica and Galinsoga parviflora. Gain in weight of
experimental rabbits were highest in kangkong and galinsoga compared to talinum and
malunggay. Among the four feedstuffs, kangkong and galinsoga are recommended as
forage for rabbits.
Palatability and Voluntary Intake of Local Feedstuffs by Rabbits
TIGUI-ING, JANE B. APRIL 2012

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INTRODUCTION


Rabbits are herbivorous animals that belongs to the family Leporidae and can be
found in several parts of the world. Raising of the said species may be described according
to whether rabbit is bred for a profit or as hobby. In fact, rabbit production is identified for
the following advantages: high quality skins are for garments and trimmings, manure can
be used as fertilizer for crops and include its use in medical and cosmetic research.
Moreover, rearing of rabbits in developing countries has been widely seen as a means of
poverty alleviation for supplying high quality animal protein.
However, inadequate and high cost of feed ingredients brought about by stiff
competition between people and monogastric animals caused the high cost of concentrates.
Feeds became the problem for most rabbit producers and farmers. Using concentrate feeds
as practiced by rabbit raisers produce very expensive rabbits that consumers are not willing
to purchase. Given low price of selling rabbits, the high cost of feeds has become a
constraint to production. Generally, feeds accounts for 70% of the total cost of raising farm
animals.
The constant increase in the cost of concentrates makes research aimed to identify
potential feed sources that have little or no demand by humans. Such feed sources should
be cheap and available for compounding livestock rations.
Fortunately, rabbits being a monogastric animal, have an enlarged cecum and colon
with high bacterial population (Abou-Ashour et al., 2003) as cited by Gaafar et al., (2010).
Feedstuffs are digested through the action of microorganism inhabiting the cecum of
rabbits. Thus, rabbits being unique from other species have the ability to
Palatability and Voluntary Intake of Local Feedstuffs by Rabbits
TIGUI-ING, JANE B. APRIL 2012

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consume many kinds of natural grasses, vegetables, leaves from trees, fruits and by
products from kitchens or markets.
The feeding and nutrition of rabbits however, require potential feeds sources need
to supply adequate quantity and quality for optimal growth. Forages must have a high
nutritive value to be useful in livestock feeding, with high nutritive value can be a function
of feed intake and efficiency of feeding of extraction of nutrients from the feed during
digestion (Norton, 2003) as cited by Samkol et al., (2006).
Only limited data are available about the feeding value of tropical forages for
rabbits. Therefore, it is important to study alternative feed sources that are high in nutrient
content. This may help solve the problem of most rabbit producers including farmers
regarding the cost of high concentrates. Furthermore, the research finding may develop a
great attention among rural folks to engage in rabbit raising because of its minimal cost.

The study is proposed to provide the necessary information regarding the
utilization of kangkong, malunggay, talinum, and galinsoga, leaves by rabbits. In
addition, this will serve a data in the specific feeding properties of rabbits, including
palatability and of the different leaves.

The general objective of this study is to determine the feeding value of local
feedstuffs. Specifically, the aim of the study is to: determine the nutrient content of each
feedstuffs , determine the preference of rabbits based on palatability of the feedstuffs and
determine the gain in weight of rabbits.













Palatability and Voluntary Intake of Local Feedstuffs by Rabbits
TIGUI-ING, JANE B. APRIL 2012

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The study was conducted at the Animal Genetic Resources (TANGERE)
Project at Bektey, Puguis, La Trinidad, Benguet from November 2011 to December 2011.

Palatability and Voluntary Intake of Local Feedstuffs by Rabbits
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REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Fresh green forage can replace approximately one-half of the concentrate mixture
normally fed to animals and have been found out to be economical (Milsalvas, 2002) as
cited by Dobo (2007). Forages do not only provide protein source but also give some
essential vitamins such as vitamin A and C, minerals and oxycarotenoids (Duke, 1998)
cited by Nuhu (2010).

Utilization of Malunggay Leaves

Recently, there has been an interest in the utilization of Moringa oleifera as a
protein source for livestock. Studies show that moringa leaves have quality attributes that
make a potential replacement for soyabean or fishmeal in non-ruminants also they
reported that the twigs of these plants are very palatable to ruminants and have appreciable
crude protein level (Sarwatt et al., 2002) as cited by Murro and Sarwatt (2004).
According to Fahey (2001) as cited by Murro and Sarwatt (2004), Moringa oleifera
is widely cultivated and has become naturalized in many parts of the locations in the
tropics. Young leaves are used in India as cattle fodder to improve milk yields and in
Zimbabwe as animal feed (Clark, 2001) as cited by Murro and Sarwatt (2004). In the
developing countries, moringa is a highly prized fodder, the leaves are used to feed cattle,
sheep, camels, poultry, and donkeys (Kew, 2002) as cited by Nuhu (2010). Sarwatt et al.,
(2002) as cited by Murro and Sarwatt (2004) mentioned that in Tanzania both large and
small scale farmers grow moringa for extraction of seed oil, so there is potential to used
the foliage for feeding livestock.

Palatability and Voluntary Intake of Local Feedstuffs by Rabbits
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Moringa foliages are inexpensive protein source for livestock feeding. The
advantages of using moringa for protein resource for are numerous including the fact that
can be harvested easily in several times in one growing season and has the potential to
reduced feed cost (Murro and Sarwatt 2004).

Utilization of Kangkong Leaves
Kangkong (Ipomoea aquatica), a semi–aquatic tropical plant grown as leaf
vegetable. It is known in English as water spinach, swamp cabbage and chinese spinach.
Ipomoea aquatica is a valuable feed resource for rabbits apparently providing
adequate protein energy and other essential nutrients for growth (Phimmasan and Preston
2004). It also provides sufficient water (Samkol et al., 2006). However, increasing the
proportion of stem to leaf of water spinach diet will improve live weight gain and feed
conversion of rabbits (Samkol et al., 2006).
Preston (2001) as cited by Samkol et al., (2006) states that water spinach have high
in vitro N digestibility (68.8%) and high concentration of water extractable N (52%). In
the preliminary trial conducted by Phimmasan and Preston (2004), using the indirect
‘insoluble ash’ method, it was found that water spinach had high digestibility indices of
dry matter, ash, organic matter and crude protein (84.7, 76.7, 88.4 and 79.6% respectively)
for growing rabbits. Moreover, the leaves and stems of water spinach contain more than
20% crude protein in dry matter basis (Sopea et al., 2001) cited by Samkol et al., (2006).
Recently, Phallo et al. (2004) as cited by Samkol et al., (2006) explored the
feasibility of using water spinach in combination with broken rice as readily digestible feed
for growing rabbits. Furthermore, Prak-kea (2003) as cited by Samkol et al., (2006)

Palatability and Voluntary Intake of Local Feedstuffs by Rabbits
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reported that linear increase in growth rate in pigs fed with water spinach, palm oil and
broken rice when up to 6% of fishmeal replaced equivalent amounts of water spinach,
which is attributed to improved amino acid balanced, especially in terms of the sulphur-
rich amino acids. In addition, water spinach has used successfully to replace part of the
protein in a diet of sugar cane juice for breeding sows (Thi Men et al., 2000) as cited by
Phimmasan and Preston (2004). Preston and Rodrigues (2002) reported that water spinach
was more palatable and higher digestibility than the cassava leaves.

Utilization of Talinum Leaves

Waterleaf (Talinum triangulare ) is a herbaceous perennial caulescent and glabrous
plant widely grown in tropical regions as leaf vegetables (Ezekwe and Igbokwe 2001).
Talinum triangulare is edible and has some nutritive value (Folarin et al., 2001) as cited by
Ekpo and Edoho (2007) .In addition, talinum leaves has some medicinal values in humans
and acts as green forage for rabbits (Enete and Okun, 2010). Moreover, water leaf has some
inherent characteristics which makes attractive to small farmers the leaves are used as fed
for pigs, rabbits, cattle and goat (Schippers, 2000) as cited by Enete and Okun (2010).
Preliminary phytochemical studies on Talinum triangulare found the presence of
omega-3 fatty acid high levels of nutritional important vitamin such as ( C, E and
Betacarotene), minerals such as (Ca, Mg, and K) and soluble fibers (pectin), all of which
contributes to its highly elevated antioxidant values (Ezekwe et al., 2004) as cited by Aja
et al., (2010).





Palatability and Voluntary Intake of Local Feedstuffs by Rabbits
TIGUI-ING, JANE B. APRIL 2012

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Utilization of Galinsoga Leaves







Galinsoga is an annual herb found in most temperate and tropical regions of the
world as weed of many crops and waste land (Kagima, 2000). Ferhen (2008) as cited by
Tariq et al., (2008) has demonstrated the antioxidants and phenolic compounds present in
this plant species. Moreover, the roots and juice of the whole plant is applied to treat
wounds (Tariq et al., 2008).
The young stems and leaves of quickweed can be cooked and eaten as greens. The
weed is none poisoning (Stubbendieck et al. 1995) as cited by Kagima (2000). In Java, the
leaves are eaten by humans (Batra, 1979) as cited by Kagima (2000).
Recently, Abad (2002) stated that galinsoga, sweetpotato vine, cabbage and
pigweed can be used as feed for rabbits. However, based on chemical composition and
nutrient intake Galinsoga parfivlora and sweet potato vine had a higher nutritive value than
the whole cabbage and pigweed.











Palatability and Voluntary Intake of Local Feedstuffs by Rabbits
TIGUI-ING, JANE B. APRIL 2012

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METHODOLOGY


Materials

Mature rabbits of the New Zealand White and Chinchilla breed were used in this
experiment. Other materials included individual cages constructed from wood and iron net,
weighing scale, drinking troughs, record book, and polyethylene bags for storing samples.
The experiment used the following feedstuffs for rabbits: Ipomoea aquatica
(kangkong), Moringa oliefera (malunggay), Talinum triangulare (talinum), Galinsoga
parviflora (galinsoga) (Figures 1-4). The foliage was collected daily in Tayug, Pangasinan
to be brought to the experimental area. The feedstuffs were collected daily from several
resources: herbs from Tayug, Pangasinan and tree leaves from Tuba, Benguet. Galinsoga
was harvested from La Trinidad, Benguet.

Figure 1. Galinsoga parviflora


Palatability and Voluntary Intake of Local Feedstuffs by Rabbits
TIGUI-ING, JANE B. APRIL 2012

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Figure 2. Talinum triangulare


Figure 3. Ipomoea aquatica



Palatability and Voluntary Intake of Local Feedstuffs by Rabbits
TIGUI-ING, JANE B. APRIL 2012

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Figure 4. Moringa oleifera


Methods
The study involved a palatability trial in which fresh foliage from the four feedstuffs
were evaluated for preference by rabbit. Each feedstuff was offered with stalk, leaves and
petiole. The palatability trial lasted for 14 days.

A total of 24 rabbits was randomly distributed into four treatments with six
replications. The experiment was laid out following the Completely Randomized Design
(CRD). The three feedstuffs including galinsoga as control was served as dietary
treatments. The treatments were as follows:
T0=Galinzoga( Galinsoga parviflora)
T1= Kangkong( Ipomoea aquatica)
T2= Talinum (Talinum triangulare)
T3= Malunggay (Moringa oleifera)



Palatability and Voluntary Intake of Local Feedstuffs by Rabbits
TIGUI-ING, JANE B. APRIL 2012

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As much as possible, the feedstuffs were obtained from the same source to
minimize variation. Talinum and kangkong leaves were air dried for one day to minimize
the high moisture content. About 300g of each feedstuff per day was offered initially in the
feed rack (Figure 5). The feeding time start at 7:30 am and 4:30 pm.. Body weight was
taken at the start and end of trial. The palatability trial lasted for 14 days. Free access to
drinking water was provided daily. Forage samples were collected, chopped (Figure 6),
oven dried (Figure 7) and subjected to grinding, passing through a 2mm sieve. A 50g
sample was taken per dietary treatment and sealed in an airtight plastic bag (Figure 8).
Samples of each feedstuff were brought to the Animal Science and Dairy Sciences
Cluster, Animal Nutrition Division, University of the Philippines Los Baňos, Laguna for
chemical analysis.


Figure 5. Feedstuffs were offered in the feed rack.
Palatability and Voluntary Intake of Local Feedstuffs by Rabbits
TIGUI-ING, JANE B. APRIL 2012

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Figure 6. Chopping of forage sample for oven drying.


Figure 7. Forage sample after oven drying

Palatability and Voluntary Intake of Local Feedstuffs by Rabbits
TIGUI-ING, JANE B. APRIL 2012

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Figure 8. Forage sample for analysis

The following data were gathered:
1. Chemical composition of feedstuffs. The proximate composition of the test
feedstuffs was analyzed using the methods of AOAC (1990).
a. Gross energy. This was obtained by total energy of feed as measured
by direct calorimetry.
b.
Crude protein. This was obtained by multiplying %N of sample to
6.25.
c.
Crude fiber. This was obtained by extracting the sample with boiling
water ether, distilling off the ether and then weighing the residue.
d.
Ash. This was obtained by burning the samples at 450°C in
temperature for at least two hours.

Palatability and Voluntary Intake of Local Feedstuffs by Rabbits
TIGUI-ING, JANE B. APRIL 2012

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2. Body weight of animals. The weight of the experimental rabbits was measured at
the start and at the end of the study using a livestock scale.
3. Amount of forage offered. This refers to the amount of forage given to the
experimental animals.
4. Amount of forage left over. This was the amount of forage each experimental
animal did not consume.

From the gathered data, the following were computed:

1. Feed intake. This was calculated as the difference between the total amount
of feedstuff offered and total amount of feedstuff leftover. It was expressed as daily
feed intake/duration of experiment.



2. Dry matter of intake. The dry matter intake was computed as feed intake
multipliedby the %DM of the feedstuff.
3. Palatability or forage acceptance index. This was calculated as:
Palatability index= Forage Consumed × 100


Forage Offered

Palatability index was classified as follows: 70-100% = High; 50-69% =
Moderate; and 0-49% = Low palatability (Iyeghe-Erakpotobor and Muhammad, 2008).
4. Gain weight. This was computed on total and daily basis as:
a. Total Gain in Weight = Final Weight- Initial Weight
b. Average Daily Gain (ADG) = Total Gain in Weight
Duration of Experiment






Palatability and Voluntary Intake of Local Feedstuffs by Rabbits
TIGUI-ING, JANE B. APRIL 2012

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Statistical Analysis

Analysis of variance was used to determine differences among treatments.
Duncan’s Multiple Range Test was used to compare treatment means.





















Palatability and Voluntary Intake of Local Feedstuffs by Rabbits
TIGUI-ING, JANE B. APRIL 2012

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RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Chemical Composition of
Feedstuffs
The results of the chemical analysis of feedstuff fed to experimental rabbits were
shown in Table 1. The dry matter (DM) of the different green forages ranged from 92.71%
to 94.68%. The crude protein of four forages were different from each other kangkong (T2)
with 22.93% have the highest crude protein (CP) content among the treatment which was
different from the findings of Mhing (2003) as cited by Phimmasan and Preston (2004)
that the CP content of water spinah can be as high as 32% CP in dry basis. Malunggay (T3)
with 22.84% CP was lower than the CP values of 29.25% and 27.51% reported by Booth
and Wickens (1988) and Oduro et al., (2008) as cited by Nuhu (2010). Talinum (T1) with
21.66% CP was higher than 22.1% revealed by Enete and Okon (2010). Galinsoga with
18.10%CP was different from 19.56% and 26.77% mentioned by Pil-o (2010) and Abad
(2002) respectively.
The crude fiber of kangkong (T2) with 15.71% was higher than Talinum with
15.61%. The previous study of Nguyen et al., (2006) states that kangkong has a higher CF
with 17.67%. Talinum with 11.12% CF was mentioned by Enete and Okun (2010) these
were smaller than the present study. Malunggay with 10.66%CF have the lowest crude
fiber among the treatments. Among the treatments galinsoga with CP content of 18.76%
was higher than 17.87% from the findings of Abad (2002) and smaller than 26.68% states
by Pil-o (2010).
Palatability and Voluntary Intake of Local Feedstuffs by Rabbits
TIGUI-ING, JANE B. APRIL 2012

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The ash content of Talinum with 29.50% was different from Enete and Okun (2010)
that talinum contains 33.98% ash. Galinsoga with 18.76% was slightly similar with 18.34%
ash mentioned by Pil-o (2010) and lower than 20.84% ash by Abad (2002).

Table 1. Nutrient content of feedstuffs













FRESH
TREATMENT %DM
%CF
%CP
%ASH GE kcal/kg














Galinsoga
10.17 22.33
18.10
18.76
3669

Talinum
6.69 15.16 21.66
29.50
3337

Kangkong
11.18 15.71
22.93
14.96
3843

Malunggay
12.45 10.66
22.84
10.15 4249













Samples were analyzed at the Institute of Animal Science Nutrition Laboratory. UPLB
College, Laguna


Gross energy (GE) was determined to be highest in malunggay with 4249kcal/kg.

The variations in the nutrients could be attributed to the age of cutting or harvesting,
climatic conditions edaphic factors, agronomic practices as well as methods of processing
and analysis (Fuglie 1999) cited by Neives and Teran (2004).
The experimental feedstuffs were those available in the locality during the test
period. These local feeds included, waterleaf (Talinum triangulare), water spinach
(Ipomoea aquatica), horse raddish (Moriga Oleifera) and potato vine weed (Galinsoga
oleifera).All the feedstuffs consisted of the stalk or peduncle, the petiole and the leaves.


Palatability and Voluntary Intake of Local Feedstuffs by Rabbits
TIGUI-ING, JANE B. APRIL 2012

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Palatability of Feedstuffs by Experimental Rabbits
Palatability of the different forages by rabbit is shown in Table 2. Kangkong or
water spinach has the highest palatability of 97.59%. Samkol et al. (2006) reported that
water spinach was high in palatability and digestibility. Galinsoga with 97.3513% was also
similar with kangkong both these treatment were classified as high in palatability.

Talinum and malunggay with 56.206% and 52.9522% have a moderate palatability.
Palatability index is classified as follows 70 to 100%= High 50 to 69% moderate and 0 to
49%= low in palatability. Iyeghe-Erakpotobor and Muhammad (2008). Palatability or high
acceptance of a forage by an animal maybe affected by texture, aroma, succulence,
hairness, leaf percentage, fertilization, sugar content. High palatability alone can be
misleading indicator of forage quality (Nieves and Teran, 2004).
Malunggay leaves was found that to contain levels of anti-nutrients based from
the Proximate Study, Mineral and Anti-nutrient Composition of Moringa oleifera Leaves
from Lafia, Nasarawa State, Nigeria by Ogbe and Attiku (2011). Malunggay leaves
contains tannins, saponins cyanide oxalates, and trypsin inhibitors but the levels of these
anti-nutrients detected are low. Also, the Phytochemical Composition of Talinum
tringulare (Water leaf) Leaves in Ebonyi State University, Nigeria by Aja et al., (2010)
results of qualitative analysis that leaves from water leaf leaves in dry and wet sample
showed the presence of alkaloids, saponins, flovonoids, tannins and absence of glycosides.
Talinum and malunggay contains both anti-nuritional factors which are chemical
compounds in plants. These compounds may reduce palatability and digestibility in feed.
In addition, this may decrease the nutritional value of plant food usually by making an
essential nutrient unavailable or indigestible when consumed by human or animals. A
Palatability and Voluntary Intake of Local Feedstuffs by Rabbits
TIGUI-ING, JANE B. APRIL 2012

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common strategy of plants is to produce foul-tasting compounds such as many bitter
nitrogen containing alkaloids glucosinolates and cyanogenic glucorides.
Table 2. Palatability of the different forages













TREATMENT





MEAN














Galinsoga






97.3513a

Talinum






56.2062b

Kangkong






97.5925a

Malunggay






52.9522b













Means with the same superscript letter are not significantly different (P<0.05) by DMRT


Feed Intake of the Experimental Rabbits

Table 3 shows the amount of forage intake of the experimental rabbits. Kangkong
with 11.735 kg total feed intake was higher compared to control (galinsoga) with 11.308kg
this is because Kangkong was higher in palatability than the galinsoga. Another associated
for the increased feed intake might be due to the crude fiber content of the diet. Feed intake
was high with increasing level of crude fiber in the diets of rabbits Aduku et al., (1998) as
cited by Nuhu (2010).

Talinum and malunggay have the lowest feed intake of 3.3162kg and 2.0148kg.
The depressed feed intake of experimental rabbits in these two treatments was affected by
the anti-nutrients content of the leaves. Reduction in feed intake has been ascribed to the
bitter taste of saponins (Ogbe and Affiku 2011). High levels of saponins in feed affect feed
intake and growth rate (Dei et al., 2007 as cited by Ogbe and Attiku 2011). Tannin also
Palatability and Voluntary Intake of Local Feedstuffs by Rabbits
TIGUI-ING, JANE B. APRIL 2012

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depressed feed intake because of their-binding properties tannins are known to be strongly
astringent. This astringency appears to be the major cause of reduce feed intake.
(Allduedge, 1994 as cited by Nuhu 2010). Furthermore, Forbes (1995) cited by
Ogbe and Affiku (2011) found that low feed intake of rabbits maybe related to variation in
the amino acid profiles of the feeds. If the amino acid content in the feed differed widely
from the animal’s requirement for amino acid, feed intake would be depressed.

Statistical analysis shows highly significant differences among treatment means.
Further analysis with Duncans Multiple Range Test (DMRT) shows that galinsoga was
significantly different to kangkong and talinum was significantly different malunggay.

Table 3 also, shows the dry matter intake of the experimental rabbits. Analysis of
variance shows that highly significant difference exist between treatment means. Rabbits
fed under malunggay with average dry matter (ADM) intake of 0.017% and rabbits fed
under talinum with 0.06% DMI have the lowest DM intake compared to kangkong with
0.56% and 0.58% DM intake respectively. Analysis with Duncan’s Multiple Range Test
(DMRT) shows that galinsoga and kangkong not significantly differ from each but
significantly differ talinum and malunggay..
Table 3. Feed intake of the experimental rabbits















FEED INTAKE (kg)

DM INTAKE(kg)
TREATMENT
TOTAL MEAN DAILY TOTAL MEAN DAILY














Galinsoga

11.7308a
0.8380a

8.25a
0.58a

Talinum

3.3162b
0.2370b

0.65b
0.06b

Kangkong
11.7355a
0.8385a
8.26a
0.56a

Malunggay

2.0148c
0.1438c

0.24c
0.017c













Means with the same superscript letter are not significantly different (P<0.05) by DMRT
Palatability and Voluntary Intake of Local Feedstuffs by Rabbits
TIGUI-ING, JANE B. APRIL 2012

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Body Weight of the Experimental Rabbits

Table 4 shows the average initial weight of the rabbits in the different treatments
during the start of the study. The average initial body weight of the experimental rabbits
were not statistically shows no significant different among the treatments means. Galinsoga
and kangkong was observed to have increase in weight from the initial weight while rabbits
fed with talinum and malunggay decrease in mean weight.
However, statistical
analysis shows no significant differences among the treatment means. Experimental
animals fed with with kangkong have the highest mean in weight and animal fed with
galinsoga was quite similar to kangkong. Rabbits under these two treatments increase in
weight because of high palatability and feed intake. Experimental animals fed with talinum
and kangkong were continue in decreasing in weight every week. This was due to the fact
that palatability and feed intake of rabbits were very low. Statistically, significant
differences among the treatments were then revealed during the second (final) week of the
experiment.












Table 4. Body weight of the experimental rabbits













TREATMENT
INITIAL WEIGHT
WEEK 1

WEEK 2




(kg)

(kg)

(kg)


Galinsoga


1.8000a

1.8250a

1.9000a


Talinum


1.8000a

1.7050a

1.6100ab

Kangkong


1.7917a

1.8750a

1.9667a

Malunggay


1.8000a

1.6417a

1.6000a













Means with the same superscript letter are not significantly different (P<0.05) by DMRT


Palatability and Voluntary Intake of Local Feedstuffs by Rabbits
TIGUI-ING, JANE B. APRIL 2012

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Gain in Weight of the Experimental Rabbits

The average gain in weight of experimental rabbits is shown in Table 5. Rabbits
fed with kangkong (T2) have the average daily gain of 12.5g/day. The present study was
lower with the study of Phimmasan and Preston (2004) rabbit fed only on water spinach
gained 18.1g/day or 0.0181kg/day. The study of Samkol et al. (2006) states that water
spinach as source of feed for growing rabbits appears to support acceptable growth rates of
close to 20g/day or 0.021kg.day.
Galinsoga with ADG of 7.14g/day was second highest to kangkong. High weight
gain of animals normally results for increased feed intake and palatability of feedstuffs.
This situation was observed in the present experiment. Rabbits fed with talinum and
malunggay have a negative average daily gain in weight of -13.57/day and 14.28g/day.
The poorer average daily gain of the animals under these two treatments talinum and
malunggay could be explained by the fact that the rabbits did not consumed a lot of the
forage to ensure higher growth. Probably, because diet may be poor in quality and found
that these forage contains anti-nutrients. It might be also be possible that subclinical
infections may have adversely affected their growth rate.
Another possible reason may be linked to poor genetic constitution of the rabbits
used (Nuhu 2010). A highly significant difference among the treatment means. DMRT
shows that Galinsoga and kangkong were not significantly different likewise talinum and
malunggay.












Palatability and Voluntary Intake of Local Feedstuffs by Rabbits
TIGUI-ING, JANE B. APRIL 2012

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Table 5. Gain in weight of the experimental rabbits













TREATMENT

TOTAL GAIN (kg) AVERAGE DAILY GAIN (g)














Galinsoga


0.09167a

7.14a

Talinum


-0.1900b


_13.57b

Kangkong


0.1750a


12.50a

Malunggay


-0.2000b

-14.28b













Means with the same superscript letter are not significantly different (P<0.05) by DMRT












Palatability and Voluntary Intake of Local Feedstuffs by Rabbits
TIGUI-ING, JANE B. APRIL 2012

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SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION
Summary

The study on palatability and voluntary intake of local feedstuffs by rabbits was
conducted at the Animal Genetic Resources (TANGERE) Project at Bektey, Puguis, La
Trinidad, Benguet on November to December 2011. This aimed to determine the nutrient
content of the four feedstuffs; determine the preference of rabbit based on palatability
andrate and the gain in weight of rabbits. Twenty four New Zealand White and Chinchilla
rabbits were used in the experiment. The experimental period lasted for two weeks.

There were four treatments and six replications laid-out following the Completely
Randomized Design as follows: T0-Galinsoga, T1- Talinum, T2-Kangkong, T4-Malunggay.

The experiment lasted for two weeks. Forage leftovers were collected daily during
the experimental period. Forage samples were analyzed for dry matter, crude protein, crude
fiber, ash, and gross energy. Results showed that malunggay has the highest in dry matter
with 12.45% and gross energy with 4249 kcal/kg. . Kangkong has the highest in crude
protein with 29.93%. Talinum has the highest ash content with 29.50% . Galinsoga was
determined to be the highest in crude fiber with 22.93%.
Palatability of the different forages showed highly significant differences among
the four forages. Kangkong and Galinsoga were the most consumed by the rabbits. Body
weight of experimental rabbits showed highly significant difference at the final week of
the experiment. Gain in weight of rabbits were highest in Kangkong and Galinsoga
compared to talinum and malunggay.













Palatability and Voluntary Intake of Local Feedstuffs by Rabbits
TIGUI-ING, JANE B. APRIL 2012

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Conclusion

Kangkong (Ipomoea aquatica) and galinsoga (Galinsoga parviflora) appears to
have the highest palatability while Talinum and malunggay have a moderate palatability to
rabbits. Similarly, Kangkong and galinsoga resulted in high feed intake and gain in weight.
Both of these two treatments have high nutritive value as forage.
Recommendation

Kangkong and galinsoga are recommended as main forage for rabbits because of
their high palatability.


Palatability and Voluntary Intake of Local Feedstuffs by Rabbits
TIGUI-ING, JANE B. APRIL 2012

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Palatability and Voluntary Intake of Local Feedstuffs by Rabbits
TIGUI-ING, JANE B. APRIL 2012

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