Passion Fruit Peel in Growing Rabbits Feed

Resumo

The use of alternative foods for rabbits aims to reduce production costs, due to their ability to extracting
nutrients from non-conventional feeds. Thus, passion fruit peel (PFP) appears as a potential use in feeding rabbits.
This study aimed to determine the chemical and energetic composition of PFP and evaluate the effects of inclusion
for growing rabbits. For the digestibility trial, 24 rabbits were distributed between two treatments (reference ration
and test ration, composed of 70% reference ration and 30% PFP) with 12 replications of one animal per plot. For the
performance trial, 120 rabbits were distributed within a randomized block design, in a 5x2 factorial arrangement, with 5
levels of inclusion of PFP (0, 8, 16, 24, 32%) and 2 sexes (male and female) corresponding to a total of 10 treatments
with 12 replications each. PFP had 10.99% CP, 6.25% EE, 47.40% ADF, 54.66% NDF and 4,156.50 kcal DE/kg, on a dry
matter. The inclusion of PFP did not influence the final weight and weight gain of rabbits, however it was observed that
rabbits fed at the level of 32% inclusion of PFP consumed less amount of feed, with no negative effect on performance.
Decreased cholesterol and triglyceride levels were observed in relation to control and an increase of creatinine in
rabbit’s blood. As there was an improvement in the economic parameters without affecting the performance and carcass
characteristics, it’s recommended to include this ingredient up to level of 32% in the feed for growing rabbits.