Effects of Replacing Soybean (Glycine Max) with Fermented Sickle Pod (Senna Obtusifolia) on the Productive Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Domestic Rabbits

An experiment was conducted for 56 days to determine the productive performance and carcass characteristics of domestic rabbits fed fermented Senna obtusifolia seed meal (FSOSM)-based diets. A control soybean meal-based diet and diets containing 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% FSOSM as a replacement for soybean were formulated for the study. Twenty (20) domestic growing rabbits with an initial weight range of 605.25 – 662.75 g were randomly allotted to the five dietary treatments in a Completely Randomized Block Design with four replicates of one rabbit each. The productive performance was not significantly (P < 0.05) influenced by the diets. The daily weight gain ranged from 11.11 – 12.09 g/d, total weight gain 622.16 – 677.01 g/d, daily feed intake 55.15 – 61.41 g and feed conversion ratio ranged from 4.83 – 5.02. The carcass characteristics were similarly not affected (P < 0.05) by the dietary treatments. Dressing percentage ranged from 50.05 – 59.70% and retail cuts for shoulder, rack, loin and thigh were 17.73 – 18.99, 5.20 – 6.28, 13.26 – 14.17 and 20.28 – 22.33 percent body weight. It was concluded from this study that replacement of soybean with FSOSM up to 100% had no adverse effects on the productive parameters and carcass characteristics of domestic rabbits.