Influence of biologically treated jojoba meal with or without Alpinia galanga on growth performance and blood profile of weanling rabbits in North Sinai, Egypt

Abstract

The purpose of this work was to assess the utilization of biologically treated jojoba meal without or with Alpinia galanga as a protein source in weanling rabbits' feed. Thirty weaned New Zealand white (NZW) rabbits, aged 35 days and weighed 653.0±45.03 g, were assigned at random to three treatment groups (10/group). Experimental groups were as follows: the 1^st group: Basal diet (CON), the 2^nd group: Basal diet containing 10% treated jojoba meal (JML; substituted 40% of the soybean protein) and the 3^rd group: Basal diet containing 10% treated jojoba meal and 0.25% Alpinia galanga (JMLA). At the finish of the experiment duration, four rabbits were randomly picked from each group and slaughtered to examine carcass features and blood characteristics. Results indicated that replacement of 40% soybean protein by protein of biologically treated jojoba meal without or with Alpinia galanga did not affect growth performance such as live body weight (LBW), total weight gain (TWG), daily weight gain (DWG), total and daily feed intake (TFI and DFI), feed conversion ratio (FCR), relative growth weight (RGW) and performance index (PI) at different ages (5-13 weeks age). Viability (%) was 100% for all treatment groups. Results indicated no discernible variations in blood parameters or carcass features among treatment groups. It could be concluded that the weanling rabbits' growth performance and health are unaffected using biologically processed jojoba meal without or with Alpinia galanga as a partial substitute for soybean meal protein.