Effects of incorporating agro-industrial by-products into diet of New Zealand rabbits: Case of rebus of date and apricot kernel meal

Vet World Vol.10 December-2017 Article-7

Research Article

Veterinary World, 10(12): 1456-1463

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2017.1456-1463

Achour Mennani¹, Rafik Arbouche², Yasmine Arbouche³, Etienne Montaigne⁴, Fodil Arbouche², and Halima Saadia Arbouche²

1. Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Science of Nature and Life, University of El Tarf, Algeria.
2. Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Science of Nature and Life, University of Ghardaia, Algeria.
3. Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Science of Nature and Life, University of Setif, Algeria.
4. Joint Research Unit Market, organization, institution, actors strategies, University Supagro of Montpellier, France.

Background and Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the effects of incorporating the by-products complex of date and apricot on the fattening performance of the New Zealand breed of rabbits, to reduce the economic costs of the food formula.

Materials and Methods: A total of 288 young New Zealand rabbits aged 35 days were divided into four equal groups each containing 72 animals and into sub-groups of 6 rabbits per cage, depending on the rate of substitution of corn by date rebus and of soybean meal by apricot kernel meal (0%, 10%, 20%, and 30%).

Results: The change in weight from day 35 to 77 and the average daily gain are not significantly different, regardless of the diet. The pH and water content are proportional to the substitution rates (6.4-6.6% and 66.5-68.8%). Meat protein levels increased significantly, in particular for the 10% and 30% groups (+8.1% and 6%) while the fat and mineral content levels decreased significantly, in particular for the 30% group displaying -16% and -17%, respectively. Incorporation of dates and apricot kernel meal into the ration of rabbits reduces the cost of the kilogram of food produced of -9%, with an opportunity cost of 165 Algerian dinars (DZD).

Conclusion: The date rebus/apricot kernel meal complex can be used as an alternative to the corn/soybean meal complex at substitution rates of up to 30% without adverse effects on growth rates, feed contribution, or slaughter yield. It improves the chemical composition of the meat and reduces the cost price of the quintal of feed produced. Keywords: agro-industrial by-product, apricot kernel meal, fattening, rabbits, rebus of dates.

Keywords: agro-industrial by-product, apricot kernel meal, fattening, rabbits, rebus of dates.

How to cite this article: Mennani A, Arbouche R, Arbouche Y, Montaigne E, Arbouche F, Arbouche HS (2017) Effects of incorporating agro-industrial by-products into diet of New Zealand rabbits: Case of rebus of date and apricot kernel meal, Veterinary World, 10(12): 1456-1463.

Received: 01-08-2017 Accepted: 14-11-2017 Published online: 12-12-2017

Corresponding author: Fodil Arbouche E-mail: arbouchefodil@yahoo.fr

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2017.1456-1463

Copyright: Mennani, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.