Effect of Feeding Corn (Zea mays) Germ Meal in Rabbits

Abstract

A feeding trial was conducted with an objective to assess the effect of feeding corn germ meal (CGM) in broiler rabbits. Twenty-four weaned rabbits (6-8 week old) were randomly allotted to three groups, comprising of eight animals in each treatment group based on body weight. The group-I (T1) rabbits were fed with composite diet containing wheat bran as one of the major ingredient, while the groups II (T2) and group III (T3) received composite diets comprising of CGM which substitutes 50 and 100 % (w/w) of wheat bran respectively. The experimental period lasted for twelve weeks. The DM intake (g/h/d) T1 (92.51±0.31), T2 (88.40±0.29) and T3 (92.80±0.30) did not differ significantly among rabbits fed with different dietary regimen. The average daily gain (ADG) was significantly (P≤0.05) higher for T2 group (15.26 g/h/d) as compared to the rabbits of T1 group (11.13 g/h/d) and T3 group (11.22 g/h/d). However, the difference in ADG between T1 and T3 was not significant. The efficiency of feed utilization for weight gain (g DM intake / g gain) was significantly (P≤0.05) higher in T1 (8.52) and T3 (8.54) compared to T2 (5.92) group of rabbits. No significant difference was observed for digestibility of OM, however T2 was having significantly (P≤ 0.05) higher DM and CP digestibility than T1 and T3. Similarly, digestibility coefficient of CF for different treatments were found to be statistically similar, there was a significant difference (P≤ 0.05) observed in NDF digestibility among T1, T2 and T3 groups. ADF digestibility was found to be significantly higher (P≤ 0.05) in T2 than T1 and T3. There was significantly (P≤ 0.05) lower hemicelluloses digestibility for T1 when compared to T2 and T3 groups and significantly (P≤ 0.05) lower cellulose digestibility for T3 when compared to T1 and T2 groups. Thus CGM was found to be satisfactory substitute for wheat bran for economical rabbit production.