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MEKARN MSc 2008-10 |
Miniprojects |
In most developing, tropical countries such as Laos, Vietnam or Cambodia, farmers keep livestock like cows, buffaloes, pigs, fish and poultry for their main source of income.
Rabbit (Orytotagus cuniculus) production is a relatively new development in the region. In recent years, their production in Vietnam has developed rapidly to meet an increased demand for fresh meat for human consumption to replace the shortfall in supplies of meat of chicken and ducks as a result of Avian Influenza (Nguyen Thi Kim Dong et al 2006). The rabbit is a non-ruminant, plant-eating animal that has the ability to consume many kinds of natural grasses, vegetables, leaves from trees, fruits and by-products from the markets.
Water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica) is a vegetable that is consumed by people and animals; it has a short growth period, is resistant to common insect pests and can be cultivated either in dry or flooded soils. Moreover, it has been found that water spinach has a high potential to convert nitrogen from biodigester effluent into edible biomass with high protein content (Kean Sophea and Preston 2001). Hongthong Phinmasan et al (2004) reported that water spinach as the only source of feed for growing rabbits appears to support acceptable growth rates of close to 20 g/day with a DM feed conversion of 2.7. This simple feeding system may be attractive for small-holder farmers in the tropics, due to the possibility to raise rabbits with a local resource (water spinach) that is easy to grow and needs no processing.
Sugarcane may be a potential feed source in subtropical and tropical areas. Its advantages as a forage crop include: 1) adaptation to the tropical and subtropical environments, 2) less sensitivity than other crops to poor soil fertility, the hot-humid climate, and insect and disease problems, 3) existing technology for its production, 4) a high yield capability, and 5) the unique ability to maintain consistent quality as a standing crop in the field (Pate et al 2002).
Rabbits are herbivores and are classified as hindgut (caecum and colon) fermentors. In nature they are highly selective feeders and they can efficiently digest a wide range of simple and complex carbohydrates by curtsey of their digestive strategy. The rabbit has an efficient monogastric mode of digestion that is followed by fermentation of 'selected' cellulose feed and endogenous materials in the caecum through the action of a resident bacterial ecosystem comprised primarily of Bacteroidesspp (Leng 2006).
It’s hypothesized that:
? The rabbits will have a lower feed intake and lower growth rate when they will be prevented from consuming the caecotrophs, and digestibility will be improved when they will have access to the caecotrophs.
? The growth rate will be increased when they will be fed by sugarcane stalk as a supplement.
¨ To determine effect of access to caecotrophs in rabbits
¨ To study effect of sugarcane stalk as supplementation feed on growth performance of rabbits fed water spinach
¨ To study the digestibility of rabbits with and without access to caecotrophs
The experiment will be conducted at the experimental area of Kampong Cham National School of Agriculture, Cambodia, and will cover the period 09 August to 09 September 2008.
Sixteen young rabbits with an initial average live weight of 744g (640 to 780g) will be arranged in a complete randomized design with 4 treatments and 4 replications (Table 1). Sixteen bamboo wooden cages will be used as individual cages for each rabbit. The factors are:
Access to caecotrophs or no access
Supplementation or not with sugar cane stalk
The individual treatments are:
? WS: Water spinach alone
? WSS-C: Water spinach + sugarcane stalk
? WSC: Water spinach alone + rabbits fitted with plastic collar
? WSSC-C: Water spinach + sugarcane stalk + rabbits fitted with plastic collar
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Table 1: Layout of experiment |
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Cage No. |
Treatment |
Cage No. |
Treatment |
1. |
WSSC-C |
9. |
WSC |
2. |
WSS-C |
10. |
WSC |
3. |
WSS-C |
11. |
WS |
4. |
WSSC-C |
12. |
WSC |
5. |
WS |
13. |
WS |
6. |
WSSC-C |
14. |
WS |
7. |
WSS-C |
15. |
WSS-C |
8. |
WSC |
16. |
WSSC-C |
The rabbits on the treatment “without access to caecotrophs” are fitted with a plastic collar (Photo 1). Water spinach and sugarcane stalk will be bought from neighboring farmers. The diets will be supplied ad libitum and offered three times a day, in the morning at 6.30 am, at 11.30 and at 4.30 pm. The leaves combined with the stems of the water spinach will be hung as a bunch inside of the cage (Photo 1). Sugar cane stalk will also be hung inside of the cage. Water will not be supplied during the whole periods as there is sufficient moisture in the water spinach..
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Water spinach alone |
Water spinach + sugarcane stalk |
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Water spinach alone + rabbits fitted with plastic collar |
Water spinach + sugarcane stalk + rabbits fitted with plastic collar |
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Photo 1: Rabbits in the cages |
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The cages are made from bamboo and wood with dimensions of width 0.5m, length 0.5m and height 0.5m. There are holes in the cage floor to let the faces go through (Photo 2).
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Photo 2: Rabbit housing and rabbit in the cage |
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The rabbits will be weighed every 5 days during the trial which lasted 35 days. Individual feeds and residues will be recorded daily. The foliage (of water spinach) will be separated into stems and leaves and the proportion will be recorded every five days. Sample of feeds (water spinach leaves and stems and sugarcane stalk) will be analyzed for DM and N. In addition, the residue of feed will be analyzed for DM every 5 days. The DM content will be determined using the micro-wave radiation method of Undersander et al. (1993). N will be determined by the Kjeldahl method (AOAC 1990). The faces will be collected during 5 days at the end of the experiment and will be determined the DM content, N and Ash.
The data will be analyzed according to the General Linear Model option of Analysis of variance (ANOVA) using CRD procedure of Minitab software (version 13.1). Sources of variation will be with or without collar, feed and interaction between with or without collar * feed, and error.
AOAC 1990 Official methods of analysis. Association of Official Analytical Chemists, Arlington, Virginia, 15th edition, 1298 pp.
Chiv Phiny and Lampheuy Kaensombath 2006: Effect on feed intake and growth of depriving rabbits access to caecotrophes. Livestock Research for Rural Develop-ment. Volume 18, Article No. 34. http://www.cipav.org.co/lrrd/lrrd18/3/phin18034.htm
Hongthong Phimmmasan, Siton Kongvongxay, Chhay Ty and Preston T R 2004: Water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica) and Stylo 184 (Stylosanthes guianensis CIAT 184) as basal diets for growing rabbits. Livestock Research for Rural Development. Vol. 16, Art. No. 34. http://www.cipav.org.co/lrrd/lrrd16/5/hong16034.htm
Kean Sophea and Preston 2001: Comparison of biodigester effluent and urea as fertilizer for water spinach. Livestock Research for Rural Development. Vol. 13 (6) http://www.cipav.org.co/lrrd/lrrd16/5/hong16034.htm
Leng R A 2006
Digestion in the rabbit -a new look at the effects of
their feeding and digestive strategies.
Nguyen Thi Kim Dong, Nguyen Van Thu, Ogle R B and Preston T R 2006: Effect of supplementation level of water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica) leaves in diets based on para grass (Brachiaria mutica) on intake, nutrient utilization, growth rate and economic returns of crossbred rabbits in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. Workshop-seminar "Forages for Pigs and Rabbits" MEKARN-CelAgrid, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 22-24 August, 2006. Article # 20. RetrievedAugust 23, 108, from http://www.mekarn.org/proprf/kimd2.htm
Pate F M, Alvarez J, Phillips J D, and Eiland B R 2002: Sugarcane as a Cattle Feed: Production and Utilization. University of Florida, Extension Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences.
Undersander D, Mertens D R and Theix N 1993: Forage analysis procedures. National Forage Testing Association. Omaha pp 154.
