Nutritional evaluation of processed mango (Mangifera indica - Kent) seed kernel meal as replacement for maize in the diet of growing crossbred rabbits.
Shittu M. D., Olabanji R. O., Ojebiyi O. O., Amao O. A., Ademola S. G.
Author Affiliation: Department of Animal Production and Health, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, PMB 4000, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria.
Online Journal of Animal and Feed Research (OJAFR) 3 : 210-215
Abstract : A study was conducted to investigate the effect of different inclusion levels of sun-dried and parboiled mango seed kernel meal in diets of growing rabbits. Thirty crossbred male rabbits of between 6-8 weeks old with average initial weight of between 630.70 g-646.36 g were used. Five diets were formulated to contain 0 (control) 10 and 20% sun-dried mango seed kernel meal (SMSKM) and 10 and 20% parboiled mango seed kernel meal (PMSKM) substituted for maize of the control diet. The rabbits were randomly divided in to five groups of six rabbits each with each rabbit serving as replicate in a complete randomized block design experiment. Feed and water were offered ad libitum. The response criteria shows that the average daily feed intake ranged from 63.51 to 71.57 g for all the five diets. Effects of dietary treatments on weight gain and feed conversion ratio were not significant (P>0.05). The relative weights of the organs examined (liver, spleen, heart, testis, lung, kidney) were not significantly (P>0.05) different across dietary treatments. The feed cost/kg reduced significantly (P0.05) as the levels of inclusion of MSKM increased. It was concluded that SMSKM and PMSKM can be included up to 20% level in growing rabbit rations without adverse effect on growth performance and carcass characteristics of growing rabbits. Mango seed kernel used in this study is of no direct value for man hence its utilization as a feed ingredient will lower feed cost and encourage increased production of meat and by implication availability of more animal protein to the populace.